Oswego State’s Caribbean Student Association discussed the importance of the knowledge of some of history’s most famous civil rights activist at a presentation on Tuesday.
The Caribbean Student Association is a group at Oswego State that focuses on categories within the Caribbean such as the history, culture, struggles and diversity. The CSA partnered with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People to try to break down the history of the United States’ most popular civil rights activists, such as Martin Luther King Jr., Harold George Belafonte and Marcus Garvey. It was a topic that tipped off a lot of controversy.
Jabari Daniel, the director of programming of the CSA, has a mission to teach students about the history about some notable activist that actually came from the Caribbean.
“We basically inform people what we know about before colonization,” Daniel said. “Harry Belafonte, Marcus Garvey and Stokely Carmichael, they were those who actually had a strong impact on civil rights here in the U.S.”
Daniel is from Jamaica, so the activist he decided to talk about the most was mainly Garvey, who is also from Jamaica. Daniel realized the damage Garvey has made while being an activist. Garvey was labeled as a separatist because of his radical views on race.
“Marcus Garvey was very influential when it came to civil rights,” Daniels said. “He influenced leaders like Malcolm X and Huey Newton, who started the black panthers.”
At the presentation, just the idea of Garvey and Carmichael sparked a lot of issues within the classroom. Some students agreed with Garvey and Carmichael, while others believed they went about it the wrong way. Although, a lot of students tend to agree with each other on being able to understand one another before coexisting.
Donavon King, a student at Oswego State, said believes he knows where the real problem resides within the presentation. King noticed what should have been addressed in the debates against other students, which was that each side wants the same things.
“There is large disparity between students who are knowledgeable and cultural about themselves and the students who are not,” King said. “But then again, those two demographics want the same thing, which is freedom and equality. You don’t have to know where you come from. You just need to know how you’re moving forward.”
King said he believes people should all move forward if different races plan on solving more issues in the near future.
Dasia Ojeda, the director of the programming of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, has similar thoughts. Ojeda believes that African-Americans are conflicted between each other.
“It’s important to take that step back, and realize that in order for us to come together with anybody else, we must first unite ourselves,” Ojeda said.
The presentation brought many beliefs and controversy out of people, but it also acted as a base for the first step of students understanding each other.
Photo: Ryan Zalduondo | The Oswegonian
