The Binghamton University Black Student Union will celebrate Black Solidarity Day this Monday, Nov. 3, with a number of campus-wide events, including live performances and a speech by a guest speaker.
The holiday is a day of commemoration for the nation and people of African descent. Every year African-Americans and others throughout the country come together to revisit the struggles of the past and examine the greater possibilities for their future. It is celebrated annually on the Monday before Election Day.
Black Solidarity Day was founded in Brooklyn in 1969 by Dr. Carlos Russell, and its concept is derived from the play “Day of Absence,” written by Douglas Turner.
In the play, African-American residents of a small neighborhood disappear for a day, unannounced, and in their absence chaos erupts. The community then recognizes the important effect the African-American residents have on the success and happiness of the town.
The scheduled events for the day include a “unity circle” at the Dickinson Community Amphitheater at 4:30 p.m., a reenactment of “Day of Absence” at 6 p.m. in the Fine Arts Building, room 27, and a speech from guest speaker Paul M. Buckley, which will also be held in Fine Arts, room 27.
Following the guest speaker, there will be live performances from BU students and organizations in Fine Arts, room 212.
The performances will include singing by Sasha Gordon, a junior philosophy, politics and law major, and BU’s Gospel Choir. There will also be a dance routine by the Black Dance Repertoire and a poetry reading by Frank Okyere, a senior majoring in anthropology.
Jasen Pascal, a junior double-majoring in economics and Africana studies and president of the BSU, said he believes Black Solidarity Day will generate a sense of unity that will strengthen the black community.
“Through unity anything is possible,” he said. “Divided, it’s hard to get anything done, and together we can make things happen.”
Black Solidarity Day is a way for people of the black community to show they have a say in the United States, Pascal added.
“It shows how the black community as a whole has a strong impact on the economy and politics of the United States, and people shouldn’t forget that,” he said. “African-Americans helped build our nation and we should show it.”
Saidat Abiodun, a junior accounting major and BSU political correspondent, said he believes many will walk away from Black Solidarity Day with a message of power and uniformity.
“Our community has the strength to work together with a common goal, and that is to build upon the success of our community,” she said.
BSU welcomes anyone who wishes to join together on this day of celebration and recognition of the African-American culture’s influence on American society, according to a press release from the organization. Members asked that the participants wear all black to symbolize their unity.