George Floyd’s death was a wake-up call for people across the nation. The Black Lives Matter movement over the summer triggered a new level of responsiveness for the needs of Black students at the University of Idaho and it led to the revival of the Black Student Union.
BSU (not to be confused with Boise State University) is a historic organization created to give Black students a unifying place to be seen, heard and safe.
“I would like a place where people of color on this campus can feel like they have a place where they can come and let down their guard and feel like there are people that understand their specific struggles,” Vice President of the BSU Princess Kannah said.
If you look around any town in Northern Idaho, it’s very clear that this is an area that has a low percentage of people of color and an even lower percentage of Black people.
Out of the nearly 12,000 students attending UI, only about 1% are Black.
“When you come to Northern Idaho, if you’re a person of color, it’s hard to feel like there are no other people of color,” Kannah said.
With so many other racial groups operating under the Office of MultiCultural Affairs, a Black Student Union was necessary but had previously lacked the organization.
A handful of students met outside of the Student Recreation Center in September to talk about getting things on track.
“We didn’t even have positions then,” James Lee III, BSU treasurer, said. “We just wanted to all get together and talk about what we would like to see from the organization.” .
After the gathering, an emergency election was held to pick the new executive board.
“Our numbers aren’t as high as we want them to be, so emergency election was; ‘alright, who wants to nominate themselves for president, tell us why you think you should be president’ and everyone votes, majority wins,” KT Turner, the communications director of the BSU, said.
Since this election, all the officer positions have been filled and the group meets every Friday at 5 p.m. via Zoom.
Dr. Sydney Freeman considers himself an unofficial advisor and self-proclaimed supporter of the BSU. He personally mentored Alphonse Crittenden who was elected president, as well as other leaders of BSU.
Freeman has been able to help the students navigate the bureaucracy of the university to achieve their goals.
“I try to guide them on ways in which to do that and when I can speak on their behalf in rooms which they are not in, I think it helps them manage their goals,” Freeman said.
He explained that although the students want the cultural center, it is hard to know who to talk to and what to say.
The UI BSU was originally established in 1971 to combat the frustrations and meet needs of Black students on campus at the time and has since gone through ups and downs.
They were given the first cultural space based on identity on campus, the second being the Women’s Center in 1972.
After the pipes burst in the building that housed the Black Cultural Center in 1973, the building was torn down, leaving BSU to bounce around without a home.
Ever since this incident, BSU has had no unifying space or director and no consistency.
Today, BSU hopes to gain a lounge in the ISUB with a connecting office for their director as the new BCC.
The beginning of this process was a partnership with ASUI, filling out a space proposal and presenting to the ASUI body explaining the history, justification and a financial plan.
BSU has many letters of recommendation on their behalf and letters of support written by several people including their advisors, the director of the Diversity and Equity Center and even UI President C. Scott Green.
Crittenden said the group would like to be in the area where the IT department is now so they can have a space for a director as well as a lounge where students may study and talk to other members.
In addition to a physical space, BSU would like the university to hire a director for their space. They have already written and submitted a job description for their future director and Vice President Kannah believes they may be interviewing people soon.
Next year marks the 50th anniversary of BSU, and the students and their supporters hope that they will be able to celebrate their new home, along with their milestone.
Paige Fiske can be reached at arg-life@uidaho.edu.