March 20, 2011 - 4:33pm
Black Student Union hosts first "Big Hat Brunch" for African-American women
BY SARA BOBOLTZ
The Black Student Union hosted a “Big Hat Brunch” in the Vandenberg Room of the Michigan League yesterday, intended to be a “dialogue about women of color.”
The event was part of a two-day series called Women’s Empowerment Weekend 2010, which the BSU plans to turn into an annual affair. About 40 women and a few men attended to discuss the past and present struggles of African-American women.
The formal event included a catered brunch, and guests — many of whom were decked in hats — were seated at several circular tables to encourage discussion. Both University undergraduate and graduate students attended the event, some with their mothers. Two faculty members, Patricia Coleman-Burns, assistant professor of Afro-American Studies and Nesha Haniff, lecturer in Afro-American and African Studies, also spoke at the forum.
Haniff commented to the audience about the event’s suggested attire.
“I like the idea of the big hat,” Haniff said. “It’s part of the historic tradition in the African-American community. I think it’s something we should learn from our elders, about style, about grace, about presentation.”
The event started with prayer and then a dance performed by LSA sophomore Jessica Barnes, who is also programming co-chair for BSU.
Coleman-Burns opened the discussion by briefly mentioning the history of African-American women at the University, and then posed one of three questions for those in the audience to discuss: “What do you think the role of older women is for younger women?”
LSA senior Brittney Williams responded that younger African-American women do not appreciate the roles of older African-American women in the community, which she said is a problem.
“A lot of times we discredit the black women who came before us and put us where we are because of their lack of education,” Williams said.
Williams suggested that older members of the community are important resources and said the younger generation should appreciate them more.
“My grandmother has an elementary school education and says some of the wisest things I’ve ever heard in my life,” she said.
LSA senior Victoria Roache said she knows many older African-American women who did not attend college and that inhibits communication between generations and the ability to relate to one another.
The second question posed to the room was about the meaning of “sisterhood” and its role in the African-American community.
Roache explained how conflicting identities of African-American women often take precedence over sisterhood.
“Sometimes it’s really hard, especially for a woman at the University of Michigan,” she said. “It’s very hard to try to foster this sisterhood when we’re fighting all the other institutional things, trying to fight our way up the ladder,” she said.
Haniff also commented on the ways in which African-American women choose to identify themselves.
“With this issue, it’s supposed to be that all women, black women, white women, are sisters, and that’s not necessarily the case,” Haniff said. “Black women in Women’s Studies always have to choose if they’re for race or if they’re for gender.”
She also expressed concern for African-American students who may feel isolated on campus because of these different identities.
“At least having some place to talk about it is important,” Haniff said. “I get a lot of kids who come into my office just to talk.”
For the final question, LSA sophomore Constance-Marie James, BSU programming co-chair, asked what could be done to improve sisterhood and the state of the African-American community. According to Coleman-Burns, there is a disproportionate number of African-American students at the University — 2,200 in undergraduate and graduate programs out of 41,000 total students.
Haniff said African Americans should not “flaunt” or take their educations and successes for granted, but that she sees a lot of University students who do. She also stressed the importance of letting older generations play a part in the lives of younger ones.
“I think it’s so important that our mothers understand and see what we are doing, and see what the environment is here,” Haniff said. “Our mothers, our mentors, the women who raised us are very, very important.”
