New BSU poster campaign promotes black voices
‘NYU needs to be aware of the constant struggles black students face’
Note cards covered the walls along the grand stairs at Kimmel this week as part of a new BSU campaign.
Each card read “#Black________Matter” in bold print, in which the blank space was filled in with something handwritten.
All the cards were written testaments of what it means to be a black student at NYU.
The cards were a part of the Black Student Union’s #BlackPresence Campaign.
Senior president of the organization, Arielle Andrews, posted an update on the group’s Facebook page for a “Die In” held in Bobst last December.
Students lay on the ground of the library’s lobby as part of a BSU-hosted demonstration to show their support for the Black Lives Matter movement.
Arielle explained the movement was “an effort to share our [black student] narratives and show the university that we are present”.
Prior to the campaign, 250 note cards were filled out during various Black Student Union events.
The goal was to then hang all the note cards in various areas of Kimmel in order to expose students to different perspectives.
Rahani said: “I think NYU and it’s administration needs to be aware of the constant struggles it’s black students face.”
Arielle Andrews and Rahani Green, The President and Vice President of NYU’s Black Student Union
The movement not only represents student opinions, but has subsumed other movements, including Black Trans Lives Matter.
The cards represented various perspectives on the dichotomy of gender politics in the black community and how black individuals are portrayed in media and sexual politics.
Grad student in Public Health Obi Nwafor said: “As a grad student I appreciate the efforts made.
“At a school like this it’s easy for black voices to get drowned out.”
Arielle said: “The point of this campaign is to raise awareness, so we wanted to take a shift from doing demonstrations that are reactionary and do something that was more proactive.
“This was another opportunity for us to be heard and show the University that we are here.”
These cards were not only limited to black students but also focused on other students of color.