At the Donversity Rally, Black Student Union (BSU) came together on the gym floor to perform a modified version of the poem “The N Word” by David Tharrar. This poem talks about the hate and bigotry that has been aimed at black individuals throughout history with the use of the word. 

“What I really love about the poem is that it really emphasized how the N word has impacted black people through history, and that the word has history behind it that a lot of people don’t know about or that they ignore whenever they think about the word. I feel like that was really emphasized in the poem, and I wanted to get that out to the Amador community and overall that there are derogatory terms, and those derogatory terms should not[be] said because they are very hurtful to different races and people, said BSU President Dara Perkins Arango (‘22).

BSU members alternated through different stanzas of the poem, holding up signs to emphasize certain phrases and clarify the message to the audience. Finally, members implored the audience to think twice before they use this hateful language and led everyone in a pledge to think before speaking. Their emotional performance invoked raucous applause from the students and teachers alike.

“It was pretty powerful in my opinion, and because certain words were being used that I found really offensive and disrespectful in my opinion. And hopefully the people who heard it will not use that word anymore or specific words that are offensive to other people as well,” said BSU member Jamien Crenshaw Raymond (‘24).

In addition to the rally, BSU also participated in the Club Fair outside the library, selling food items and shirts. The Black Student Union at Amador meets at least once a week in room M-4 during lunch. At the meetings, members engage in icebreaker activities and socratic discussions to learn about important topics relating to black culture.

“We have done conversations [about]  Malcolm X vs Martin Luther King, colorism, redlining, African American vernacular English, which is like Black English people would say. Just like the hard topics that no one really seeks out unless you really want to learn about it,” said Arango.

While the Black student population on campus might be small, Donversity helped BSU gain awareness among the Amador student body and gave them allies in their motivations and goals as a club. Donversity is all about coming together, embracing our different backgrounds, cultures, and perspectives.