It Is BSU-SGA-YCD Alliance Time! A GDN Exclusive

Peter Grear

The threat to America’s democracy grows more significant by the day. Protecting our democracy is a job that calls for a new, focused student coalition. Many Black student organizations are named, Black Student Unions are needed to answer the call to help organizations protect Black voting rights. In addition, Student Government Associations (SGA) on HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) campuses are equally crucial in protecting voting rights. The right to vote is the cornerstone of democracy.

The current danger to democracy reminds people of the unrelenting threats Black people have always faced in America. It also reminds people of the response that Black communities have always made to their ever-present threats. We need students to, once again, come to the rescue. We need student coalitions and supporters to offer ideas that will take us beyond November’s General Elections and the

Presidential Elections of 2024. We need an alliance between the NAACP YCD (Youth and College Division) and Black Students Unions (BSU) and SGAs.

The national infrastructure of the NAACP YCD is a necessary element in Black student resistance to voter suppression and the ongoing threats to democracy. On campuses with no NAACP YCD chapter, the leadership of the respective SGAs or BSUs should create one. Once Black students are effectively organized, they must join hands to institutionalize voter engagement on their campuses and initiate mobilization activities for themselves and their peers.

I suggest that BSU and SGA leaders contact the national office of the NAACP for help in their efforts to organize. In addition, their collegiate advisors will gladly help them with the process.

Greater Diversity News (GDN), home of student engagement, will provide ongoing coverage of Black students as they organize and mobilize. GDN welcomes news and developments related to student engagement. We are requesting news items and interviews with student activists and leaders. We have several assets that we use in our project. Some are Greater Diversity News website, print, and eNews.

Our social media site is the New Black Student Movement (The NBSM), a think tank for student engagement.

This suggestion is consistent with GDN’s promotion of “It’s A Family Affair: NAACP membership.” We urge our readers and supporters to contact the students they know and encourage them to consider this suggestion and discuss it in their respective student organizations.

To remain current with relevant local, state, and national news and our student engagement coverage, including the “The New Black Student Movement” (The NBSM) and “It’s A Family Affair: NAACP membership” initiatives: sign up for GDN’s free eNews publications at www.greaterdiversity.com, “read” our Greater Diversity News page. In addition, please ask your organizations, friends, and associates to do the above to generate and maintain greater participation with student engagement.