Being the "Other"

On Tuesday, I had the opportunity to visit the Black Student Union, a club of BYU students from African-american and other Black backgrounds. They meet on a weekly basis and hold activities and service projects that help to unify them at a university where they are a minority. 
                                  

This poster represents the union. They recently had this poster made by a fellow member of the union. As pictured, an outline of the African continent as well as an African art inspired image of a woman have been chosen to represent the Black Student Union (a.k.a. BSU). The union also have an Instagram page (which I now follow). 

Arriving at the activity, I felt nervous. I really do not like being one to stand out at activities (because there is comfort in blending in).  I wasn't quite sure what to expect and hoped that the members would not be offended by my attendance. I was hoping to learn from the members and observe how they work in the own culture. 

 However, this was a big life lesson for me: when I arrived, the members of the club were really inviting, loving, smiling and even started conversations with me. I instantly fell in love with the members because of their open hearts. I got to know a lot of the fellow BYU students that were there and learned that they were from all over the world. Some members were from African countries such as Nigeria and Ghana and some were from Texas and Philadelphia (not all were of the same race or ethnicity). 

The meeting took place in a large room in the Wilkinson center at BYU campus. As this was the opening social event for the semester, we started by sitting in a large circle and talking about the structure of BSU and the different activities that would run throughout the year. After the opening remarks, we were given a BINGO sheet titled 'social Bingo' and had time to go around the room, speaking with other people to get to know them and find things that they had done. For example we had to find someone who: 

- knows someone who speaks a second language

- comes from a foreign country

- loves cheese

- loves fried chicken

- has been on a stomp team

- has had a weave 

- has been in a gospel choir 

This activity helped me to understand the different cultures that were a part of BSU. I loved it! I came to understand the way in which a lot of the students captured their identity through the every day things and habits they have. 

This is Andre, the union's president. He is from Texas and is a sophomore at BYU. I had the opportunity to speak to him about my assignment and ask him some questions about BSU. 

When I asked him why he enjoyed being involved in the group he said that he really felt at home. He really enjoys attending BYU but it very obviously has a majority white student body and he sometimes feels that he is "getting whiter the longer he has been here" and really likes having time each week to be around people from similar backgrounds, other members of the group. Something that surprised me was that he says he can speak here without having to "hide his accent". He just sounded southern to me but other members of the group told me that it was a "black accent". We had a really good discussion and now when I see him between classes on campus, we exchange a friendly smile. Another thing that I enjoyed about meeting Andre was his honesty with me. He told me that another reason he loves being in the Union is that it gives him an opportunity to meet girls that have similar backgrounds and he even asked me for my advice on a girl he had met that evening! 

This experience of talking to Andre taught me that an diversity is a beautiful thing but we should embrace our own cultures. I have the desire to be an inclusive pedagogy teacher and help my students to feel that they can embrace their cultures. Overcoming racism does not have to be the focus in my classroom but rather we can focus on our identity and the privilege that we have because of our race  and heritage. This can be done through having different unions and inviting others to participate in activities held by these unions. 

these are group photos that we took at the end of the meeting and they were posted on the union's Instagram page

Overall, I learned that being the other is something that we all have to experience in life because we are all different; however, we can make this a positive experience for those who are the "other". Because of the loving atmosphere that was present at the BSU meeting I felt accepted and enjoyed my time I spent with the members. I was able to overcome my thought of ethnocentrism and come to know these beautiful students for who they are rather than who I imagined them too be. I believe that having people participate in projects f being the other can help us to overcome discrimination and passive racism.  I plan on visiting the club again! On the other hand, I reflected on experiences that I have had with others who have been "the other" and feel that I could have made more of an effort to help them feel welcome. I know that I can change and do better! By taking the foundations of multicultural class and implementing the teaching techniques and overcoming social reproduction through actively changing my classroom and the education environment in which I will work, I know that I can use celebratory multicultural education and curriculum integration to make "being the other" a thing of the past.