The Center for Racial Reconciliation and MOSAIC will be sponsoring “Colored,” a presentation in honor of Black History Month, on Thursday, Feb. 27, at 7 p.m. in Hartley Recital Hall.
Vernetta Anderson, coordinator in the Center for Academic Success, will be recounting events in her life where she has faced struggles because of her race. The story will start at her birth in 1959 and trace her life as it unfolded parallel to the country’s shift from segregation to the present day. Anderson will be sharing experiences from as early as her birth to as recent as within the past few days.
“I call race the ‘background noise of my life,’ so I want people to understand what I mean when I say that,” said Anderson.
The Center for Racial Reconciliation and MOSAIC believe that this will be a valuable opportunity for students to gain a new perspective and seek understanding. They also hope it will be a step toward striving for change.
“There is a dark story in our country’s history that I and others don’t want to see repeated, so one way for that to happen is for that story to stay out there, for it not to be buried,” said Anderson. “When you bury things, you forget them.”
This event is open to all students, and the hope is that attendance will include people who may not yet be informed or involved in racial reconciliation on campus.
“Even though it might be painful to hear about it or might make people feel uncomfortable, I still feel like that bridges us together,” said Stacie Bailey, senior applied linguistics major and executive council member of MOSAIC. “You can build connections through being uncomfortable — I know I have.”
Anderson believes that Union students are going to help qualify what is important in the world and how it is going to be framed. She wants students to be informed as they speak and as they form opinions.
“I have a little sign on my door that says, ‘Be the Change,’ and I want to challenge our students to be the change,” said Anderson.
Hartley Recital Hall can be found on the first floor of Jennings Hall in room 123. The event is set to last until 8 p.m.
Photo by Maggie Exum
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