The Students for Accountability and Action (SAA) held a cookout event to bring together the Winthrop students to discuss the Black community and their relations together and with other races on Oct. 25.
Student and president/chair member of the SSA, Jeremiah Williams, came up with the idea to bring the student body together and have comfort talking about how they feel and what they believe.
The idea of a cookout event is only the beginning.
“The event is to give a voice to people who were previously ignored and to have conversations that black people have behind doors out in the open,” Williams said about his inspiration behind the event. “And to have conversations that are needed for people who want to understand.”
While there are other opportunities on campus that open relations between all races, classes such as HMXP are only a taste of what individuals have to say and what they believe.
Five panelists and one doctor were on the panel to discuss their personal experiences as either Black or biracial. The panelists included Clay Moorer, Carrie Vaughn, Ava Senyard, Amaya Brown, Kierra McCall and Dr. Adolphus Belk.
Questions asked of them included, “When do you think you were first aware of your race?” and “Do you find it difficult to talk about black issues with other people of different identities and races?” There was also a discussion regarding Black loyalty to the Democratic party.
Williams’ supervisor of the event, Dr. John Holder, is proud of Williams’ “Come Out To The Cookout” event and says he “really enjoyed and learned a lot as I always do listening to others of different life experiences of my own. I think it is something that needed to be addressed and talked about.”
Williams was also interested in the varying responses of the panel, specifically mentioning the answers to the questions about Black ideology. Some of the panelists answered that they identified as democratic, another as communist, and one said that they didn’t agree with any side on the political spectrum.
The panelists showed only a sample of how diverse the Black community is. It also adds to the centuries worth of Black thought and philosophy.
The cookout isn’t the first time the SAA created a platform to speak out about the need for change and the addition of voices.
The SAA is a student organzed group that aims to work and advocate for other organizations on Winthrop’s campus to bring attention to university centric problems and issues known to the administration and board of trustees.
SAA made it’s debut in April 2022 when Williams and other members of the organization spoke before the university’s board of trustees during the public comment of April’s full board meeting to advocate for student voices.
Other topics that the SAA has addressed include, but are not limited to, the physicality and safety of dorms, more accessibility on campus and the promotion of activist groups on campus. And, anything that promotes Winthrop into becoming a more inclusive and diverse campus.
The SAA promises to continue its promotion for change and encourages more events like the “Come Out For A Cookout.”
The next event hosted by the SAA is an event similar to the cookout but focuses on the Hispanic Community. This event is called “Beyond Black and White” and will take place in November.
