Prom Night in Mississippi

Wednesday March 3rd was a big day for Whitman and BSU!

Thanks to the Intercultural Center, the Office of the President, and ASWC and WEB Events, Whitman was able to host Emmy award winning director Paul Saltzman and screen his latest documentary, Prom Night in Mississippi.

And BSU got in on all the fun! Five of our members and our advisor got the opportunity to have dinner with Paul before the film was presented, an offer we accepted graciously.

Us with Paul Saltzman, second from right, after dinner

We feasted on cranberries, salad, stuffed chicken, goat cheese, yummy pound cake and more in the new Glover-Alston Center, the delicious food provided by Bon Appetit.

It was a wonderful experience getting to know Paul personally, and his inspiration for this moving film. Tumi had a lot of questions! 

Over dinner, Paul shared with us a bit of his story and history and how by chance, this film chose him. He then enlisted the help of Morgan Freeman, and told us with three cameramen, how he managed to capture this changing of history in Charleston, Mississippi.

Afterwards it was off to Kimball Theater where the film was screened. Community members, faculty, and students alike all gathered for this memorable film. Seating was packed, leaving some eager audience members to stand against the wall or migrate up to the balcony seating.

And after a few opening words from the man himself, all were all ears as the film started. Here's a few words and background information on the film:

In 1997, Academy Award–winning actor Morgan Freeman offered to pay for the senior prom at Charleston High School in Mississippi under one condition: the prom had to be racially integrated. His offer was ignored.

In 2008, Freeman offered again. This time the school board accepted, and history was made. Charleston High School had its first-ever integrated prom. Until then, blacks and whites had had separate proms even though their classrooms have been integrated for decades.

Prom Night in Mississippi is a critically-acclaimed documentary about a small town and the struggles the students face to put on the high school's first-ever integrated prom. Read more at the official website promnightinmississippi.com

Here's a trailer!



The film was very inspirational and many felt connected with the film through the students of Charleston. Underneath all the racism they've faced, they're just normal teens trying (and succeeding) to change their world.

Undoubtedly, their first integrated prom night was not one they'd soon forget and neither will we!


Here are some stills from the film, courtesy of promnightinmississippi.com. All photos are by Catherine Farquharson:

Thank you Paul Saltzman! Charleston won't forget you and neither will we.

Love,

BSU

I Have a Dream...

Hey everyone!

Now that Black History Month is over, we would like to thank all of you for making it a success! We got a lot done this year, had a lot of new and exciting ideas, and celebrated the accomplishments of many African-Americans.

Here's a gift to you from us!



Keep the dream alive!

Love,
BSU

Souull FOOD!

Finally!

 Soul Food Night is always a very anticipated event at Whitman. Check out last year's pio coverage on the event by clicking here.

The menu was delicious, thanks to Bon Appetit, and we can honestly say it was a smashing success. In keeping with last year, we wanted to have topics that would sprout discussion. Sarah Deming ans Olivia Ware took the lead on this , printing out many quotes  and thoughts on food, and posted them in eye-catching areas all over Prentiss Dining Hall.

This of course got people talking (and eating)! about the scrumptious food they had waited so long for. And the jazz playlist put together by our own Yonas and Nick helped to liven up the mood. Even the basketball players were singing along!

Favorites on the menu included the delectable banana cream pie, fried chicken, mashed potatoes, greens, cornbread, grits, biscuits, and the sweet potato pie, of course!

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Mmmm, pie....

Yumm, yumm!

How could I forget the macaroni and cheese? It was by far the best I've ever tasted. 

And I'm not the only one with this opinion: hungry students were lining up with their tupperware to take food home and save for later!

Sarah knew all about this and came prepared: "I wore tight jeans so I wouldn't eat so much! Let's hope it works!" she gushed.

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A small sample of the salad bar and everyone's favorite, deviled eggs

Courtesy of Julia Bowman for The Pio

But good food is not all people came for; everyone also enjoyed the bonding moments and good conversation!

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Last year's BSU members at Soul Food Night

*Courtesy of The Pio and Ellie Klein

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Us, smiling for the camera!

It was a nice chance for us BSU members to catch up with one another over good food, have good conversation,  and for once to enjoy the product of all our hard work.

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Tish, me, and Tumi having a laugh and enjoying each other's company

Julia Bowman, The Pioneer

It's not a time we will soon forget.

And so together we cheered, laughed and wrapped up a successful Black History Month. Here's to hoping yours was as good as ours!

Love, 

BSU

Professor Vick's Talk

Thursday Februaruy 25th was the highly-anticipated talk by Professor Vick on Racial Prejudice and Obama's Presidency.

As the title suggests, the talk was very enthralling and interesting and all forty plus attendees were deeply focused on her eloquent words.

Vick's talk discussed the political age we are in now and whether Obama being elected as president has led America into a New Age of Tolerance or A New Modern Racism.

She highlighted through her talk that these two terms are more similar than they appear and addressed the fact that Obama's election has perhaps had more of a negative effect on racial prejudice than we realize.

The talk followed many studies done on measuring racism in relation to Obama, one of which interestingly suggested that some voters opposed Obama not because of his policies, party, or his progress, but his race.

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Political cartoon addressing the topic at hand

Further dampening our spirits, Vick presented news clippings that revealed an increasing rise in race crimes during Obama's campaign and how suddenly, race was not the elephant in the room anymore.

Vick speaks on the rise in race-hate crimes during Obama's campaign

The news was not all disheartening. Professor Vick ended her captivating reminding all that it is still early in Obama's presidency and perhaps, things will turn out for the better.

Here's to hoping change will come.

*All photos courtesy of Whitman's newspaper, The Pioneer.

Mentee Fair Day!

Friday February 19th, Whitman hosted its annual Mentees to Campus Day carnival for Whitman student mentors and their mentees!

Here is a little background on the event from Whitman's website:

There are elementary and middle school children in Walla Walla, Wash., who are noticeably better, now — have better attitudes in school, better attendance and are happier. And school officials say they can point to the reason.
Or rather the reasons: Whitman College students.
Every year, about 150 kids who school officials determine could benefit from one-on-one time with a mentor get weekly visits at their schools from Whitman student mentors.
One day a year, the kids do the traveling. They come to Whitman for the much-anticipated annual Mentees to Campus Day carnival — which happened today — a chance to have fun and bond more with their mentors.

Read the full story at http://www.whitman.edu/content/news/mentors

BSU members saw this as a great philanthropic activity and a chance to get our name known throughout the Walla Walla community; many of our members jumped at the chance to volunteer.

 

Laetitiah and I alongside the Photo Booth station

 
 

Laetitiah, Yonas and I worked at the prize booth and continuously received an influx of kids, vying for the cool prizes ranging from rings to bubbles to water guns!

  

Yonas and I excitedly bargain with the mentees!

They kept us very busy!

 

 

It's Yonas and I against the crowd

But it wasn't all work for us. Allan certainly found some time to have a blast and interact with the mentees.

 

Allan gets ready to shoot some hoops

The excited crowd calmed down to enjoy some performances by Whitman's a cappella singing group, Schwa and a performance by Whitman's Dance Team!

The kids are way impressed by the team's mad skills!

 

Undoubtedly, it was a day to remember, not only for BSU but all the mentors and mentees. We can't wait to do it again next year!