As the calendar turned to February, so did the commencement of Black History Month. For this Black History Month, All Black Emory (ABE) is using their Instagram platform to highlight Black health and wellness, as well as educating their followers on important Black figures in Atlanta.
ABE, one of several Black student organizations on campus, focuses on open dialogue with its members and the Emory University community. The student organization is partnered with Emory’s Barkley Forum for Debate, Deliberation and Dialogue, which empowers young students to use their voice.
“We want to create a safe space for the Black community on campus and make sure their voices are amplified,” ABE marketing director Jada Oriaha (24C) said.
Last semester, ABE hosted several town halls during which members asked questions that sparked discussions about the Black community at Emory. Cookies from a local Black-owned bakery were also provided.
For Black history month, ABE’s Instagram posted a series of informational posts on civil rights activists from Atlanta and information about racial disparities in the medical system.
Coming up, the ABE will be hosting a series of podcasts in conversation with leaders and organizations of Atlanta’s Black community to highlight different perspectives and stories.
“There are different college experiences for Black and non-Black students,” ABE creative director Kennedy Baskin (22C) said. “Non-Black students should understand these differences.”
The Emory Black Student Union (EBSU) is another impactful Black student organization on campus.
The student organizations differ in that the ABE is based around discussing the Black experience at Emory whereas the EBSU is focused on event planning and programming on campus. Oriaha emphasizes that EBSU and ABE, along with several other Black student organizations, can exist together.
“Both are important; we can never have too much community on campus,” Oriaha said.
Oriaha recalled anticipating the same lack of community at Emory that she felt in her high school in Houston, which was a predominantly white institution (PWI). Participating in ABE at Emory helped her find the community she longed for in high school.
“There is a fear for Black students that they will feel isolated in a PWI college,” Oriaha said. “[In ABE], we talk about the Black community and if we feel like a Black community on campus because some people say they don’t feel that.”
The ABE provides many Black students with the opportunity to cultivate conversation and find community. The student organization shows that there is a large array of experiences and perspectives of Black students at Emory and that the community is not a monolith. That said, Baskin highlights that the spirit of perseverance bonds most of the Black students at Emory.
“Black students are still thriving even though we have additional obstacles,” Baskin said. “All of us are exceptional, and we have to be. We don’t have an option to not be.”
