Earlier this week, students and organizations at SUNY Plattsburgh participated in the campus’ fourth annual Black Solidarity Day.
The theme of this year’s event was “Honoring our Past and Empowering our Future.” Student Association president Hassani St. John kicked off the day-long Social Justice Teach-In.
“Prior to 2022, Black Solidarity Day was something students had to march for and organize sit-ins to get the university’s recognition. But in early 2022 the Student Association authored and passed a historic, formal resolution and President (Alexander) Enyedi officially established Black Solidarity Day as a permanent, mandatory teach-in on the official SUNY Plattsburgh academic calendar.”
There were more than 50 concurrent sessions held throughout the day. One of the first sessions looked into the history of Black and indigenous peoples in the region. Adirondack Diversity Initiative Community Initiatives Manager Tamara Jolly says many people do not realize how diverse the region has been and continues to be.
“I don’t think that there is the acknowledgement of the real depth and longevity of the people who have stewarded this land, how that has shaped the actual nation that we live. You know, this region’s resources were taken to build the rest of the country. Having our connection to the Haudenosaunee Confederacy that we are connected to the origins of democracy. So I think that it’s a much more complex history when we acknowledge the immigrants, the migrant farmers, the folks seeking pioneering refuge here that we don’t always talk about in the way that it needs to be talked about.”
Fuerza: The BIPOC Student Union hosted a presentation on African and African American contributions to cultures across the world. President Ashley Rufino opened the discussion with a look at how music has influenced global cultures.
“African musical traditions preserve cultural identity during periods of enslavement and oppression. Wow, oppression, guys. Spirituals and blues express faith hardship, hope and resistance. In the Caribbean and the Americas, African rhythms blended with indigenous and European influences to create new musical styles. Today African and African American musical influences can be heard across genres and cultures around the world. Examples of these musical genres include spirituals and gospel, the blues, jazz, reggae, hip-hop, Afro-beats, R&B and Rock & Roll.”
SUNY Plattsburgh defines first generation students as those with neither parent having a four-year bachelor’s degree. During a panel featuring first-gen students, Junior Sofia Tabares says she was motivated to go to college by her family history.
“From a young age I learned that education is a privilege, not only as a Latino woman but as a woman in general. A lot of the older women in my family never got the opportunity to have an education. They never got the opportunity to have a job or things in their own name. And growing up I saw that a lot. So even from a young age I was really outspoken and I took education very seriously. I think that’s really what pushes me forward for higher education is the fact that my family never got the chance to, specifically the women in my family never got the chance to. And I’m at a point in this time and age that I can pursue an education.”
Black Solidarity Day is organized by the Student Association in conjunction with the college’s Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. It is held annually on the first Monday in November.
