African - American students in unity

The Black Student Union at Cal State Long Beach kicked off its 16th annual Black Consciousness Conference last weekend to help broaden student knowledge and education about the AfricanAmerican community.

"True Blackness: Unveiling the Past, Understanding the Present, to Pave a New Future" was held on Friday through Sunday in the University Student Union.

The three-day conference featured several keynote speakers, vendors, workshops, a talent showcase, music and a banquet.

"We had a good turnout and I was extremely pleased with the conference," said Andrea Higgins, BSU president. "It was for students or anyone in the community who is interested in issues dealing with black people. As students, we need to reconnect with the community, black families, black businesses and high schools ."

The conference began Friday with a faculty, staff, alumni and student luncheon to build a foundation with the school before kicking off the conference, Higgins said.

Students were able to shop at an African marketplace and listened to a distinguished keynote speaker each day of the conference, in addition to various entertainment events.

A panel discussion included the Rev. Troy Muhammad, Professor Amen Rahh, Sister Mzuri Pambell and Kody "Monster" Scott. The panel targeted several local high schools invited to interact, discuss issues and learn the history of the African-American community.

"The way that we've been taught black history in America has a lot to do with where we are today," Higgins said. "We have a certain perspective of history. We've been taught a very Eurocentric approach and we've been denied a lot of our culture and histo ry.

"We want to unveil some of the lies and show students how being taught this Eurocentric way has brought us to the way we think. It has an effect on our attitudes toward each other, our families, education and work. Then we can understand where we are today and move towards a positive tomorrow."

A unity breakfast Saturday was held to raise money for scholarships.

The conference also featured a children's mini-conference, which included storytelling, games, drawing and an African dancer exhibition.

Students visited the Black Inventors Museum in the Informal Lounge Saturday, which displayed African-American collected data and inventions, such as the traffic light.

"It's important that we look at what's happening to black people," Higgins said. "We have the conference in December because everyone always focuses on Black History Month in February. It's not just one month that we need to be celebrating who we are, we need to love each other everyday."

The conference also had topic discussions on brotherhood and sisterhood attitudes, focusing on mutual respect and issues that redefine relations between African Americans.

The conference ended with a banquet to recognize faculty, staff and students who have been instrumental throughout the year, Higgins said..

"I wanted people to walk away thinking and loving themselves," she said. "I wanted people to think about what it means to be black and how they feel when seeing black men on TV portrayed as negative images. I wanted people to feel good, but walk away say ing, 'How am I going to change just one thing in my life to help the cause?' And they did."