African-American 101: Students want to be recognized as individuals


collage of students
|

These black students at Arizona State University want you to know one thing: There isn’t any one thing to know.

“Get to know me,” said Ashley Carter, a sophomore journalism major. “Don’t just judge me by how I look.”

Outgoing. Shy. Bubbly. Laid-back. Academic. Athletic. The members of ASU’s Black African Coalition are part of a diverse group that can’t be narrowly defined.

“If you were actually to go out and meet 100 and 200 different black people,” said ASU history professor Matt Delmont, contextualizing the students’ experiences, “you’d realize there are 100 and 200 different ways to be black.”

The students gathered in this video to share their perspectives, frustrations and hopes in honor of Black History Month. They’ve had their authenticity challenged, felt pressure to represent their entire race and wished African-American history was more of a focus throughout their education.

The video is part of a series from ASU Now that began with Native 101 and plans to expand to give women, Hispanics, veterans and other groups on campus an opportunity to share their own stories and help dispel stereotypes.

More Sun Devil community

 

ASU School of Transborder Studies

School of Transborder Studies celebrates 15th anniversary

During the summer before his freshman year at Arizona State University, Salvador Macias participated in the AGUILA Youth Leadership Institute, a college access organization designed to help young…

Large group of ASU students pose together in front of a scenic view

Barrett program unlocks study abroad for first-year honors students

Twenty first-year students from Barrett, The Honors College at Arizona State University are spending their second semester studying abroad in Rome, Italy.Traveling in a tight-knit honors community…

Woman sits against a wall with painted pitchforks on it

A champion's gift: Donation from former Sun Devil helps renovate softball stadium

Jackie Vasquez-Lapan can hear the words today as clearly as she did 17 years ago.In 2008, Vasquez-Lapan was an outfielder on Arizona State University’s national championship-winning softball team,…