Elon’s Black Student Union President Shares Advice, Resources, and Insights Into the Ongoing Fight for Racial Justice
The current fight for racial justice is not just current. It has been going on for centuries. In this new digital world, which invites digital fatigue, it is important to remember that the movement is not a moment, and that momentum must be kept. President of the Black Student Union (BSU) at Elon University, Queen Assata Stephens, discusses with The Edge how students can continue the fight, both before they return, and after they arrive back on Elon’s campus.
Photograph provided by Queen Assata Stephens.
Stephens, a junior public health major with minors in theatre arts and African and African American studies, has been president of the BSU for approximately a half semester. The mission of the organization is “to engage Black-identified students at Elon University by encouraging the principles of scholarship, leadership, cultural uplift, diversity, and community service,” shares Stephens. The purpose of the Black Student Union, Stephens reports “shall be to represent and protect the needs and interests of the Black student body; to unify the Black student population on campus; and to educate the greater community by promoting cross-cultural awareness, respect, and solidarity in order to create a more inclusive community at Elon University.”
Before students arrive on campus, Stephens suggests various ways for them to be involved in the fight against racial injustice. “Although it is helpful to post things on social media, it is not enough,” says Stephens. “Raise awareness, but also actively immerse yourself in dismantling a system that oppresses others.”
Stephens recommends signing petitions through organizations such as Change or Color of Change and donating to Gofundme accounts organized for police brutality victims’ families. In addition, Stephens encourages shopping at Black owned businesses to “help them to become as successful and lucrative as big, majority White owned businesses.” Stephens mentions Liv Murray as a Black, female entrepreneur to support. Murray is an Elon 2020 alumna who runs a clothing business, the Pretty Vibes Movement.
As a medium of education, Stephens recommends a few books to read and films to watch—books include “How to Be an Anti-Racist” by Ibram X Kendi, “Stamped From the Beginning” also by Ibram X Kendi, and “Medical Apartheid” by Harriet A. Washington. See this article from The Edge for other noteworthy books to read on the subject. In terms of films, Stephens recommends watching those by writer, director, producer, and film distributor Ava DuVernay—“When They See Us” and “13th.”
“If you’re White, use your privilege to help amplify the voices of others who are not,” says Stephens. “Understand that becoming anti-racist is not something that happens overnight or even within a month. It is a lifestyle and you have to be willing and open to learn and check your biases on a daily basis while also supporting others. Being an Ally is good, but being an accomplice is better. You can’t be passive about change.”
The sad but very real truth is that racist incidents occur everywhere, including at Elon University. Stephens shares a few different occasions, including some disturbing conflicts with people driving by in a truck. “The people in the truck would harass Black students,” says Stephens, “and one day they pretended to almost hit a student.” Stephens also addresses microaggressions that occur on campus, in addition to racist comments made by White students in group chats. In order to “stop being problematic,” Stephens says “ educate yourself.”
Stephens shares that on Elon’s campus throughout the school year, the BSU organizes events that create spaces for dialogue on social justice. The BSU president mentions another organization at Elon, the Center for Race, Ethnicity, and Diversity Education (CREDE), as an educational resource for students. Within the CREDE, DEEP is “a great program [which] holds conversations about social justice and the deep roots of society,” says Stephens. During the school year, DEEP meets twice a month in the CREDE to discuss and reflect on articles, videos, and topics regarding social justice.
“For Black students suffering from racist acts and microaggressions, I would say to lean on resources like the CREDE and [the] BSU in times of need,” says Stephens.
When choosing classes to take, Elon offers a variety of diversity-focused courses for students. Elon’s Student Government Association posted a list on Instagram of available classes in many different concentrations, from the Core Capstone course Diversity and Social Justice: Building Cultural Competency, to the philosophy course Rap, Race, Gender, and Philosophy.
Stephens recommends another course, Leading Change/Racial Equality, taught by Dr. Stephanie Baker. “I took this class this past spring and I think Dr. Baker does a beautiful job in fostering these conversations,” says Stephens, “and putting a lot of sources on the table for enlightenment on the racial state of this country as well as how to change it.”
While educating oneself and actively participating in the fight for racial justice, Stephens reminds people that the movement goes beyond “George Floyd or even police brutality.” Though eradicating police brutality is a pertinent issue, the movement for gaining racial justice dates back centuries and includes many topics.
“This [movement] includes the healthcare system and the systematic oppression to keep us from benefiting from generational wealth,” says Stephens. “It's about intergenerational trauma that we as a people have been forced to endure. It's about reparations that we have never received. It's about equity that we haven't received. It’s about the history of America putting their knee on our necks to keep us down.”
Stephens discusses George Floyd, and how when he “died with a knee on his neck, in his eyes, we saw our brothers, fathers, uncles, cousins, friends, and even ourselves,” says Stephens. “The weight wasn’t just on his neck, it was on ours too. But we can breathe, and with every breath we take we are going to fight for justice and for what we have deserved for a long time.”
Stephens adds that we must also remember Black women who lost their lives to police brutality, including Breonna Taylor, whose life was taken while at home. “Black people aren’t even safe in their own households,” says Stephens. “Oftentimes we forget Black women in this movement and we can’t continue to do so. Especially because the [Black Lives Matter] movement was started by Black women.”
The fight is long from over, and requires active participation. “Until there is justice in EVERY sector of our lives, there will be no silence,” says Stephens. “Our brothers and sisters have been silenced for way too long. No justice, no peace.”