The Oswego State Black Student Union has been active on campus since 1968, and members of BSU’s executive board say they are grateful for the work their predecessors did to give them this platform.
According to BSU’s constitution, the organization serves to disseminate information concerning black people, educates the campus community about the culture and historical contributions of the black community to the U.S. and internationally, develops unity, pride and leadership among all students, and provides support to the black community of Oswego.
“For 50 years, the goals of the BSU have been the same: to create a safe and welcoming environment for students to embrace their culture while also taking pride from the struggles and achievements of our past,” said Khalia Hepburn, treasurer for Oswego State BSU.
The Oswego State BSU was formed in 1968 to serve as a voice for black students on campus. In 1968, as is the same today, black students were a minority on the Oswego State campus, and legally enforced racism was a recent memory for many black Americans.
Jim Crow laws, the legal framework for segregation of black Americans in the American South, had only been struck down three years before the Oswego BSU was formed. Northern states, while they did not have overt race laws, still had economic segregation that forced many black Americans to live in poorer neighborhoods through a process known as redlining, when services like mortgage loans were denied to residents of certain areas based on the racial or ethnic makeups of those areas. That practice, which began with the federally sponsored Home Owner’s Loan Corporation, was outlawed in 1968, although according to a Washington Post article, may still exist today in the private sector.
The issues the BSU of 50 years ago addressed, such as police profiling, mass incarceration and racially charged protests and standoffs, still exist today, according to Hepburn.
“History has a way of repeating itself,” Hepburn said. “When you hear stories of kids getting called the N-word from moving cars on Bridge Street, it does feel like we’re fighting the same exact issues.”
Students from minority groups that attend Oswego State may find that they are surrounded by many different groups, and while the school recently announced that the Class of 2021 is the most diverse freshman class ever admitted to Oswego State, only 34 percent of the class comes from ethnic minority groups, meaning that more than 65 percent of that class identified as white non-Hispanic.
A sense of community, where everyone knows one another and has shared experiences, is what Tenaja Smith-Butler, committee leader for the Oswego State BSU, said she feels is the most important part of the Oswego State BSU. She said she came to Oswego knowing it would most likely be a predominantly white institution and was already looking forward to joining the BSU when she came to campus for her first semester.
Smith-Butler attended the involvement fair in her first semester on campus and met some of the executive board of the union at that time. Smith-Butler said that she was invited to the first BSU meeting of the semester that week and even signed up for the annual ALANA Fashion Show, a showcase of clothing and outfits designed and worn by members of ALANA organizations on Oswego State’s campus.
“I was hooked from that first meeting and endeavored to schedule my classes and work so that I could keep attending,” Smith-Butler said.
Hepburn described getting involved with the BSU at Oswego “like walking into a family reunion.”
Hepburn said that she feels the most important part of the Oswego State BSU is the programs the union hosts. Those weekly programs, which serve to teach a new lesson or discuss a new topic, leading attendees to debate and learn.
“Being able to share knowledge and ideas is important to me, and BSU is the perfect platform for discussion,” Hepburn said.
The main goal of BSU, according to Hepburn, is to give minority students a voice, as it has been for the past 50 years. Hepburn said, with the rise of other organizations for Latin, African, Asian and Caribbean students, she feels that minority students now do have a voice on campus.
Smith-Butler said another goal of the BSU is to provide an environment where students could feel comfortable and surround themselves with people that, while they may not share the same exact background, could still understand one another’s shared experiences.
“At least in my case, they have more than achieved that goal through the programs, events and atmosphere they provide,” Smith-Butler said.
Both Smith-Butler and Hepburn said they would like to thank the BSU members from 50 years ago, who started the organization when, according to Smith-Butler, being a member of the organization could get you targeted or beat up.
“I would let them know that this is all possible because of them,” Smith-Butler said. “Every struggle, every fight, every restless moment, every victory [they] managed has made it possible for us to be who and where we are today.”
Photo: Taylor Woods | The Oswegonian
