Black Student Union tackles racial injustice

The Black Student Union (BSU) at Salt Lake Community College is dedicated to bringing cultural awareness to campuses and the surrounding community.

Jaycee Galvin, president of the BSU at SLCC, invites other students to participate in BSU events and meetings.

“My advice to students coming into BSU, is just to show up to our meetings and be yourself,” stated Galvin. “We have Black people in all shapes, colors, and sizes who attend, and we love each of them.”

Students can share their own ethnicities, learn about other members, and discuss the troubles that affect the Black community. Anyone is welcome to attend and learn.

In the wake of the George Floyd and Breonna Taylor killings, the BSU hosted an event called “The Time is Now: Let’s Talk About Racial Injustices” on June 26 at Taylorsville Redwood Campus.

Once a month, the club holds a meeting called “Cultural Spotlight.” A member or officer of the BSU can share stories about their hometown or environments that others may not be aware of.

The club also hosts “Real Talk Thursdays.”

“Real Talk Thursdays are meant to have a real conversation about what is going on in the Black community,” said club advisor, Glory Stanton-Johnson. “We’ve had discussion on colorism, racism, microaggressions; anything that we feel are necessary that will help our African American students at Salt Lake Community College.”

The most recent “Real Talk Thursday” focused on racial injustice and how to change the racial climate in America. Multiple speakers at this event spoke about the injustices that are plaguing America.

One way discussed to promote change was to vote. Another change Galvin would like to see involves ending microaggressions.

“Microaggressions are like mosquito bites,” said Galvin. “Mosquito bites are minor annoyances, typically. However, imagine if you were bitten by mosquitoes every day, sometimes multiple times per day, eventually the minor annoyances would become major.”

Microaggressions occur often to black people, some typical examples of these are: “Can I touch your hair?” or “Wow, you are very well spoken.” For most people these comments seem innocent, but to the Black community, they can have a different context.

“The only way that racism will end is with you,” said Stanton-Johnson.

The BSU holds regular meetings Thursdays at noon at the Taylorsville Redwood Campus Student Center in room 221/223.