{"id":7495,"date":"2019-03-04T21:35:52","date_gmt":"2019-03-05T02:35:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thediplomaticenvoy.com\/?p=7495"},"modified":"2019-03-05T21:47:15","modified_gmt":"2019-03-06T02:47:15","slug":"abc-panel-tackles-issues-in-african-diaspora-community","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/thediplomaticenvoy\/2019\/03\/04\/abc-panel-tackles-issues-in-african-diaspora-community\/","title":{"rendered":"ABC Panel Tackles Issues in African Diaspora Community"},"content":{"rendered":"

Saveria Antonacci<\/strong><\/p>\n

Staff Writer<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>On February 26, the Joseph A. Unanue Latino Institute and the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship Association hosted the inaugural \u201cABC Panel.\u201d At this event, faculty and student panelists of various backgrounds discussed the complexities of African Diaspora, black identity, and colorism.<\/p>\n

Rev. Dr. Forrest Pritchett, an activist and mentor who moderated the panel began by saying that\u201c[this is] an opportunity to build bridges with one another\u2026 the ABC Panel is for everyone.\u201d He described the purpose of the panel as an exercise in survivability between opposing forces, with some urging to assimilate, and others seeking to preserve cultural pluralism.<\/p>\n

The first half of the panel consisted of five professors and mentors, including Dr. Binneh Minteh, an Associate Professor of International Relations in the School of Diplomacy. When asked about blackness and his opinion on who should be able to speak about it, Dr. Minteh alluded to his background of being a political refugee from The Gambia. He states that \u201cthe best person to do this is the person who is more of a unifier,\u201d and continues that \u201cwhen [he] think[s] of the history of man and woman of color in public spaces of the United States, there has always been a struggle for authenticity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other panelists, including Dr. Donnell Pierre of the Educational Opportunity Program, gave their opinions on what it means to be black. He added \u201cI don\u2019t need to perform\u2026 I feel a desire to educate\u2026 I am right. I am authenticity.\u201d Dr. Pierre believes in the power of education and that it is critical to understanding others and proving the bias of misconceptions.<\/p>\n

The panel then focused on intersectionality within the black community. In an effort to give audience members and panelists a glimpse into the complexity of this issue, Dr. Juan Rios, an Assistant Professor of Social Work, summed up his experience with being Afro-Latino in academia. He says \u201cit\u2019s always sort-of this tension between who I am and where I come from, versus what is the expectation,\u201d and he wonders that \u201cif I drop the word \u2018dope\u2019 in my sentence in class, will the students look at me [as if] I\u2019m educated enough?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ms. Lauren Mitchell of Freshman Studies also spoke about her experience with colorism as a biracial woman in predominantly white spaces. She said in the workplace, she says \u201cI have to make sure that I am articulate and eloquent.\u201d She admitted that while people have become more accepting of the shade of other\u2019s skin, especially over social media, colorism still prevails in society. She has noticed that people with darker skin tones are not given the same amount of attention as those with lighter skin. At the same time, being a light-skinned woman in the black community can be isolating.<\/p>\n

Additionally, Dr. Roseanne Mirabella, a Professor of Political Science and Public Affairs, provided a different perspective as a white woman. She explains, \u201cI\u2019m pretty conscious of being different\u2026 When thinking of what it means to be black, I see it through the eyes of my daughter. I have a 33-year old adult daughter with Down Syndrome that happens to be African American.\u201d Dr. Mirabella acknowledges, \u201cI have no idea what it\u2019s like to walk this earth in skin that\u2019s different than mine.\u201d She urged students to recognize their advantages over others and to be each other\u2019s allies on campus.<\/p>\n

For the second half of the panel, students were able to share their experiences and opinions pertaining to the campus climate of Seton Hall. Emani Miles, an Africana Studies and Political Studies student, noted that \u201cthe administration has thought that the black community is a monolithic community, that we all have the same goals, that we all have the same experiences\u2026 and quite frankly we\u2019re very diverse.\u201d She stressed that there must be more attention given to these complexities. Osei Lindsay, a biochemistry major, added, \u201cSometimes we preach [diversity], we preach black culture, but we don\u2019t appreciate the differences amongst ourselves as well.\u201d The student panel then discussed whether students of Seton Hall are prepared for the workplace after graduating. All of the students agreed that their upbringing prepared them more. Jim Bedoya, a Business Marketing and IT Management major believes that he and many other students are prepared by \u201cgoing outside of their comfort zones.\u201d<\/p>\n

Throughout the discussion, the panel spoke about the theme of acceptance and the power of being able to accept one another. Dr. Pierre emphasizes that \u00a0\u201cto be who you are is to know who you are, and once you realize who you are, [you can] say \u2018I don\u2019t need to change.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On February 26, the Joseph A. Unanue Latino Institute and the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship Association hosted the inaugural \u201cABC Panel.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4480,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"colormag_page_container_layout":"default_layout","colormag_page_sidebar_layout":"default_layout","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[546,1589,389],"tags":[705,1578,1636],"class_list":["post-7495","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-campus-spotlight","category-february-2019","category-diplo-news","tag-seton-hall-university","tag-1578","tag-race-relations"],"yoast_head":"\nABC Panel Tackles Issues in African Diaspora Community - The Diplomatic Envoy<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/thediplomaticenvoy\/2019\/03\/04\/abc-panel-tackles-issues-in-african-diaspora-community\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"ABC Panel Tackles Issues in African Diaspora Community - The Diplomatic Envoy\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"On February 26, the Joseph A. 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