How Black student leaders at UMR are creating space for conversation
For a group of student leaders at the University of Minnesota Rochester, the 28 days in February carry more meaning than most of the other 337 days of the year. It’s a time specifically set aside to uplift the stories and voices of Black Americans, worldwide and at home — and they plan on bringing those stories to as many people as possible in 2021.
“This is a month to truly focus on our history,” said Lilly Nwaokorie, second-year student at UMR and president of the school’s Black Student Union. “Historically, we’ve very much been pushed to the side, so it’s important to have this period to focus and hear our voices, speak on what happened in the past, and to talk about those things in our school.”
In recognition of Black History Month, African Cultural Club (ACC) and Black Student Union (BSU) are hosting four community events, dedicated to highlighting the strength and resilience of Black people.
The programs started on February 12, with BSU holding a screening of the 2013 film Fruitvale Station. On February 19, BSU will have virtual attendees fire up their smartphones for a Black history-themed Kahoot & Bingo game night — top prizes include an Amazon Alexa and an instax digital camera.
The next evening, February 20, ACC plans on bringing back their yearly poetry slam — normally held at Café Steam, but moving virtual this year because of the pandemic. On February 23, events conclude with a BSU-hosted roundtable discussion on police brutality.
While planning events in a pandemic is no easy task, former ACC president Amarachi Orakwue said offering nothing in February was never an option. Pandemic or not, she said there is a perpetual urgency behind Black History Month — starting conversations and thoughts that can last well past the end of the month.
“How much can we convey in such little time?,” said Orakwue. “It needs to be a year-long conversation. People should always be willing to listen to the accomplishments of African-Americans and always look for ways to make our society more inclusive and welcoming.”
The events are not relegated to UMR students only, explains UMR senior and current ACC president Christine Chukwuocha — anybody that wants to join in can hop on the Zoom meetings. While membership in the student organizations is a bit more stringent (limited to UMR attendees), that’s the only barrier. Any Raptor can join ACC or BSU, regardless of their skin color.
The main goal of these organizations, she says, is to create connections and open doors for people — as long as they agree to listen. In turn, she hopes the events ACC and BSU provide can help all their members become better people.
“It’s about creating a group of people that are willing to learn,” said Chukwuocha. “That’s what attracts people in the UMR community: being in a place and an environment to have conversations that are open. We’re striving to create a space that is open to conversation.”
A Culture of Inclusivity and Connection
While the young women at the helm of ACC & BSU forge ahead with their events, they say UMR’s hands-on, collaborative nature has shown them how to become better students and citizens — becoming engrossed in the science of health care while forging real-world relationships in the field.
Second-year student and incoming ACC president Debbie Morara called UMR and the whole city of Rochester “homey” — in other words, small enough to know professors on a personal level, but large enough to advance career prospects in a tangible way. That was a sentiment that stuck with ACC vice president Rediat Tilahun, who’s found countless role models to emulate in her work simply through showing up to class.
“After I joined UMR, I’ve found so many people that have motivated me to do more,” said Tilahun. “There are so many new things you can find here, even if [Rochester] is a small town. There are so many people here, from a diverse background, that have inspired me.”
While these five women banded together (in collaboration with roughly a dozen other organizers) to bring these four events to life, they’ve joined forces at different points in their time at UMR. Orakwue graduated last year and is pursuing a career in health sciences in Rochester. Tilahun, Nwaokorie and Morara still have a few years left… and Chukwuocha is just three months away from earning her degree in health sciences.
As Christine plans her final events with ACC and looks forward to the future, she will take a pause to reflect on her journey - and pay respect to the people that came before her. UMR’s “rigorous” curriculum tested her in ways she never originally expected, but she’ll come out the other side a better health care provider — and a better person — because of it.
“I didn’t feel like I belonged right away, but now I’ve come to appreciate what I overcame,” said Chukwuocha. “UMR challenged me to overcome obstacles, be okay with failure, and to strengthen myself academically. As women of color, we have this intersectionality, knowing what it means to be challenged but also knowing how to overcome challenges and find greatness. I found part of that strength here.”
