BSU members proceeded with the discussion by talking about the diaspora wars, which are controversial among the black community. Participants started off with a “true or false” game, which addressed common misconceptions about African Americans, with members deciding if a statement was true or false. 

Participants also discussed interracial couples in the media and how they apply to modern society. This part of the event included conversation about whether or not a black woman and a white man having a relationship, or vice versa, is an issue. The floor was open to event attendees a little bit later, when everyone basically talked about whatever was on their mind that had to do with the kinds of challenges faced by the black community. 

This was essentially the “real talk” part of the discussion. Students also shared personal stories about times when they felt underappreciated because they were black, and how they resolved those issues. 

Jayden Rose, a sophomore studying marketing, shared a story about when she and a group of friends were belittled by a white woman using racial slurs on social media, and how they took it upon themselves to make the situation better by defending themselves against the attacks.

“I thought it was interesting hearing everyone’s opinion. I realized that a lot of people feel the same way that I do about issues in the black community, and that we share experiences,” Michelle Grant said. 

“As far as what was interesting, there was conversation about how like we have to be different versions of ourselves depending on the environment we are in, and I’m starting to realize that is kind of unique to our community, to black people.” 

Other attendees from the event shared their thoughts.

“We need to support each other a lot, more than we are doing right now so that we could be the most successful we can be,” said Javena Rowe, the freshmen representative of BSU.