Yale conference heightens black solidarity

Yale students are accustomed to being told they are the "leaders of the future."

Last weekend, almost 200 black students got a head start on that promised role.

African-American undergraduate groups from around the country attended the second annual Black Solidarity Conference from Nov. 1 to 3, hosted by Yale's Black Pride Union and the Black Student Alliance at Yale. The conference's title, "Empowerment 2000: Building Black Leadership for the 21st Century," aptly summarized the theme of the entire conference, as the groups attempted to give new meaning to that old graduation cliché.

"There are many black people who are concerned about their communities and want to change them, but don't know how to or don't have models," BPU President Terri Davis, SM '99, said. "We wanted to give them something they could directly apply to their communities immediately."

Approximately 175 students, most of whom came from outside Yale, attended the conference. The keynote speaker, political activist Angela Davis, attracted more than 600 people to the kickoff dinner in Commons. Most of the conference consisted of workshops that centered on a vast array of topics, from spirituality and education to activism and economic development.

Although the conference was intended to strengthen the African-American community at large, BSAY co-chair Lorelie Williams, BK '98, said it was also meant to unite Yale's African-American community and get it excited for the future. "We want all of Yale's black community to come together, the alumni, faculty, students, workers--everybody who's involved with the University."

Such mobilization was not confined to the walls of the Ivy Tower. While learning how to do things using their own resources was a major part of the conference, African-American students were also given ample opportunity to network. "We will be leading the black national community in a few years," Williams said. "We have come of age to build strategies and are trying to get in contact with the people that we will undoubtedly be working with in the future."

Brooke Richie, ES '99, BPU co-president, called the conference a success. "Intelligent, active, concerned students from all different types of schools were able to come and perpetuate themselves towards strengthening the black community by making connections and finding out how advances can be made."

Stephanie Etienne, TC '00, said, "We got concrete solutions to solve problems and found out ways we could make our own smaller, as well as national, community stronger."

The event also served to highlight the still-important role that African-American political groups play on campus. While BSAY and BPU are two of Yale's most active African-American groups, they are far from being the only ones. The Yale Black Political Forum has also made many strides in advancing the African-American community by inviting guest speakers like Black Congressional Caucus Chairman Donald Payne and South African Ambassador Franklin Soon.

Jamie Harrison, PC '98, co-chairperson of the YBPF, commented, "We need to go back to our communities and show them the way. The black community lacks a great deal of role models, so those of us who can be ones must be as active as possible." The group plans to have a career forum in the future to give students a better insight on their individual futures.

Yale's African-American student leaders emphasized the importance of these groups in mobilizing minority communities. Co-sponsored by the Yale's Women Center, Gateway Community College, the Afro-American Cultural Center, and the Yale Center for the Study of Race and Inequality, the conference was designed to alert other groups on campus about the need for empowerment, perhaps following the example of the black community.

While this was only the second Black Solidarity Conference, its organizers plan to make it a stronger, greater force as a forum for black students to meet in the future. Many participants said the conference should aim to attract a more geographically diverse attendance. This year, most of the participants were from the Northeast.

Despite any criticisms, the conference's keynote speaker was optimistic that efforts like last weekend's would spread. "The prospects are very positive. The black community is very diverse and looking for all sorts of answers, but we are formulating a common ground to answer these needs. There is still a lot of work to be done."