Black women have always been at the bottom in terms of pay rate but number one in AIDS and an alarming 68% of Black women are overweight according to the Center of Disease Control. There are a lot of reasons we should talk about these issues but we don’t. And if we do, we do it once and feel good about ourselves. The only problem is these are constant problems that leave our community in despair with few to no solutions.
Women of all ages, as well as a lone man, were comfortably spread out in a parlor at the Union when Ashley Robinson finally had the opportunity to tell her thoughts on the topics of peace, unity and social justice at the Successful Black Women’s first annual Peace Summit on Sunday.
The event was hosted by Michigan State University’s Successful Black women; a registered student organization (RSO) at Michigan State University that is committed to its mission to assist in the overall academic success of its peers, which includes the retention and graduation rates for both undergraduate and graduate women at MSU. SBW has made great strides since its founding in 2008. The organization strives to provide the highest quality programs and activities to develop proficient leaders among its constituents. Members of SBW recognize that they can’t perform at their best by working in isolation from others who
have different cultural backgrounds than their own. One of the many ways SBW has chosen to build intercultural bridges is to host a conference initiative that they invite you to support.
Topics including on-campus racial issues and the case of Trayvon Martin were discussed amongst the crowd as they munched on baked goods and punch. The summit also included a keynote speaker and participants taking an oath to become peace ambassadors.
“The purpose of a peace ambassador (certification) is to take the experience that they take from this program and implement it in their day-to-day lives,” Kilgore said.
While in discussion many attendees said there were definite issues with social justice and unity on campus, several thought students are taking the right steps forward.
“Hopefully they’ll continue to focus on their vision and mission, and hopefully they’ll work harder to bring groups together,” said keynote speaker Patricia Lowrie, director of the MSU Women’s Resource Center
