During the annual AHANA Leadership Council (ALC) retreat at the beginning of this year, one issue rang clear for many participants: Something had to be done about the lack of cohesion among the student clubs celebrating peoples of African descent. This problem has been discussed many times in the past few years, yet not until now has action been taken to implement a solution.
Jodi-Ann Burey, director of AHANA Caucus and A&S '08, spearheaded the effort to bring together the African and African-American culture clubs. "There was no umbrella group for the clubs that represented African Diaspora," she said, "so I took it upon myself to establish a group like Asian Caucus for clubs that represented African Diaspora." Burey said that after she and some other students went to a few Asian Caucus meetings, they realized just how effective this sort of organization would be for their clubs.
Burey said that several years ago an umbrella group for clubs representing the African Diaspora, called United Front, existed at Boston College. She is not sure when and why it disappeared, but she wanted to resurrect it. Burey said she decided to "revamp and revitalize [United Front] and make it something that's useful and efficient for our clubs." And so United Front exists once again at BC.
United Front consists of six student clubs: Cape Verdean Student Association (CVSA), Haitian Association (HA), Caribbean Culture Club (CCC), Black Student Forum, African Student Association, and NAACP. Burey explained that because NAACP is a club for all people of color, it is only a pseudo-member of United Front.
In its mission statement, United Front strives to achieve community, increased communication, and heightened consciousness. Burey said, "We wrote the [mission statement] in a way that would encompass much more than just getting clubs together." United Front is about "black students with a black consciousness," Burey said. One example she gave of raising consciousness is discussing influential black leaders who may not be as well known as Martin Luther King, Jr.
One of United Front's functions, Burey said, is to "express some kind of blackness in a very diverse way." She said this includes "being more global about black consciousness and understanding what that can mean on different levels." United Front has the potential to not only raise consciousness within the organization but also throughout the BC community as a whole.
Michelle Andrade, president of CVSA and CSOM '08, said she believes United Front to be a great advancement for clubs representing the African Diaspora. "It brings us closer together," she said. Andrade said United Front can provide a community of support for all clubs involved. In addition, she said, "It gives us the opportunity to combine our events." United Front allows the clubs involved to share ideas and members, Andrade said. Also, sharing funds and publicizing events is much simpler under an umbrella group.
One specific conflict Andrade believes United Front can alleviate is that of acquiring space on campus. She expressed the difficulty of getting the permission to use a room through the room- request process. "Room requests are affecting clubs," she said, "and this process will be easier when we all collaborate."
Andrade discussed another example specifically pertaining to her club for ways that United Front can be useful. CVSA used to sponsor a service trip to Cape Verde for its members, but now it cannot get the approval of the administration because of the high cost. Andrade said, "The CVSA service trip is an example of what United Front can do."
"It can make possible something that a lot of students want but can't lobby for alone," Burey said.
United Front, as it exists currently, is comprised of 12 members: a member of the executive board and a freshman representative from each club. Once Burey, Andrade, and other key players in United Front graduate, the freshman representatives are responsible for continuing the legacy. Ideally, United Front will eventually have its own budget and a full-functioning executive board. "I'm excited for next year or the year after that. United Front can be much, much more than it is now," Burey said.
"BC can be very isolating for a person of color. United Front, in addition to AHANA student programs, could be a student center community that can do things for the community," Burey said. "I want it to be really political too. I feel like the University is going in a really conservative direction, and some of the needs that AHANA students will want are going to be the second or third agenda item," Burey said and suggested that United Front can turn more attention to the needs of students of color.
Burey said that she hopes United Front can attract the attention that the TRUTH movement did. She believes that if United Front becomes established and well known it can accomplish the previously mentioned goals. "[United Front] is just a little experiment right now, but I feel like it really has great potential to fill the vacuum that exists currently," Burey said.
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