2008 Woodie Awards
BSU president gives farewell address at MLK Dinner
Dominic Dorsey II
Issue date: 1/30/08 Section: Commentary
Editor's note: Dominic Dorsey II, former Black Student Union president, originally delivered the following text as a speech during last week's Martin Luther King Jr. Dinner. We have printed it with his permission.
It is widely accepted as common knowledge that the organization Black Student Union (also referred to as BSU) is a group for African American students at predominantly white institutions throughout the country for the purposes of social interaction and cultural celebration. The activities they promote and engage in most commonly involve a fish fry or barbecue of some sort, a few parties and an event or two during Black History Month. However, for students, faculty, staff and administrators at IUPUI, this definition clearly does not do our Black Student Union justice.
Since it's inception in the 1960s, Black Student Union has been a proactive force for social justice, and in 2007 things have been no different. Carter G. Woodson once said: "If a race has no history, if it has no worthwhile tradition, it becomes a negligible factor in the thought of the world, and it stands in danger of being exterminated." Fortunately for us, our race does have a rich and powerful history, one of struggle and triumph; perhaps most paramount being the victories of the Civil Rights Movement. Thanks to men and women like Huey P. Newton, Malcolm X, Kwame Ture, Rosa Parks, Medgar Evers, The Little Rock Nine, and believe it or not, regardless of the political insight Hillary Clinton has, or lack thereof, whom we honor today for his tireless contributions to countless generations that follow: A high school graduate at 15, Bachelors Degree at 19, Ph.D. at 26; Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
As president of the Black Student Union for the past 19 months I have been privileged enough to walk with young leaders who see the importance of this history and take the responsibility to keep the same integrity these men and women had. We stand on the shoulders of their vision of prosperity and in obtaining degrees ourselves, and going on to live full and abundant lives we are by some small measure the fulfillment of the hopes of the slaves.
It is widely accepted as common knowledge that the organization Black Student Union (also referred to as BSU) is a group for African American students at predominantly white institutions throughout the country for the purposes of social interaction and cultural celebration. The activities they promote and engage in most commonly involve a fish fry or barbecue of some sort, a few parties and an event or two during Black History Month. However, for students, faculty, staff and administrators at IUPUI, this definition clearly does not do our Black Student Union justice.
Since it's inception in the 1960s, Black Student Union has been a proactive force for social justice, and in 2007 things have been no different. Carter G. Woodson once said: "If a race has no history, if it has no worthwhile tradition, it becomes a negligible factor in the thought of the world, and it stands in danger of being exterminated." Fortunately for us, our race does have a rich and powerful history, one of struggle and triumph; perhaps most paramount being the victories of the Civil Rights Movement. Thanks to men and women like Huey P. Newton, Malcolm X, Kwame Ture, Rosa Parks, Medgar Evers, The Little Rock Nine, and believe it or not, regardless of the political insight Hillary Clinton has, or lack thereof, whom we honor today for his tireless contributions to countless generations that follow: A high school graduate at 15, Bachelors Degree at 19, Ph.D. at 26; Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
As president of the Black Student Union for the past 19 months I have been privileged enough to walk with young leaders who see the importance of this history and take the responsibility to keep the same integrity these men and women had. We stand on the shoulders of their vision of prosperity and in obtaining degrees ourselves, and going on to live full and abundant lives we are by some small measure the fulfillment of the hopes of the slaves.
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