Races relations discussion closes Black History Month

On the last day of this year’s Black History Month, more than 40 people gathered in the University Student Commons Theater for a lecture and discussion organized by the African Student Union.

Feature speaker Samuel Taylor talked about the origins of Christianity and the African race, saying major misperceptions dating back to colonial times have affected race relations today.

ASU President Magai Bol introduced the speaker, saying the event was an attempt to discuss current race issues.

“What we wanted to do is encounter some of the relationship between African-Americans and Africans,” he said. “We’d just like to see what the relationship is and determine ways it can be improved.”

Taylor, who recently published the book, “Why Do African Americans Call Themselves the N. Word,” said African people were taken away from their homes and culture. After years of being mistreated and misinformed, Taylor said, their descendents now see themselves under white supremacy.

“When we were brought here (from Africa), we were taught to be ashamed, to forget what we had achieved,” Taylor said. “If you brainwash people long enough, you can get them to change their perception of themselves and the world.”

Taylor said the result of this misinformation is the “N-Word syndrome,” characterized as “living up to the stereotype” of colored people, created by whites. Taylor said trend-setting black celebrities such as Eve and Mary J. Blige model themselves on white women by doing things like straightening their hair and dying it blond.

“We are the only race on this planet that spends more money than anybody else to look like another race,” Taylor said. “And we know, y’all, we know who gets respect when trying to be like somebody else.”

Taylor said black people raise their children with wrong perceptions, also powered by media images of the same sort, and as a result, blacks today increasingly try to hide their characteristics that distinguish them from whites.

Taylor talked about rap music and how it powers the same wrong message that the media send to black children.

“We’ve got to understand that what they (white people) are feeding our children is not healthy,” he said. “People, we’ve been set up. How did we get to be the criminals in this society?”

Taylor also discussed the way people have created images of Biblical characters including Jesus. The speaker referred to media companies such as CNN and The History Channel, which show mostly white people in Biblical recreations.

Based on descriptions in the Bible, Taylor said, Jesus had wool hair, like blacks.

Many in the audience said the information he presented was interesting and inspiring.

“I was born and raised here, and I’ve always had the image that we’re not supposed to be smart,” said Rahwa Zerihun, a freshman international relations major. “So, he empowers black (people).”

Junior psychology major Barbara Evans-Kwamla said although she knew most of the facts, the speech was encouraging and educational.

“It was very enlightening,” she said. “I’ve heard this information before. But there was some new information, so it cleared a lot of stuff.”

Sudanese student Mawut Duot said despite the history of slavery and negative stereotypes of different races, people need to look forward to a new society and better race relations in the future.

“What happened in the past, happened in the past,” he said. “But right now what we need to do is just to come to conclusion (about) how we can get out of the situation (in which) we have been in the past.”

Junior art major Awer Bul, who is also from Sudan, added to Duot’s idea and said instead of being negative, people need to work for better relations among the races.

“What I’m saying is not that we need to blame everybody,” Bul said. “We need to do something. If you need to change, then do what it takes for you to change.”