TAASU has been a home beacon for the Black students across the UMKC campus since 1969. They are now using their community to further MLK‘s legacy of promoting change in our society.
Students, faculty and community members gathered at the Student Union on Wednesday, Jan. 29 for The African-American Student Union’s 33rd annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day Breakfast, honoring his legacy with speeches, reflections and a call to action.
Many attendees agreed that these challenging times are very important for all voices across campus to be heard.
“We all know the political climate at the moment, so this event is really important in giving Black students a voice and showing that we can come together to celebrate one cause,” said Kudzai Mazhou, sophomore nursing major and president of TAASU.
“It just creates a community when we need a community the most,” said Mychael Green, sophomore business administration major and TAASU board member.
Among the community members represented on Wednesday were several state officials, Chancellor Mauli Agrawal and the keynote speaker Dr. Toya Like.
Like, an associate dean of the school of humanities and social sciences on campus, reminded attendees that they have a “responsibility as individuals but also as a collective” to make sure that they are making “the change that we want to see in the world.”
“Having these events that honor the legacy of those who did that in their own life and their own journeys is inspiring, inspirational and motivating,” said Like. “We get to be around others that are aspiring and hoping for the same thing.”
Like’s speech reflected some of the key values of TAASU, talking about the importance of being yourself.
“One thing she was talking about is that the characteristics of yourself always matter,” said Alex White, PR chair of TAASU and junior studying film and media arts. “In TAASU, we strive for greatness, we strive to let people know that it is okay to be yourself and do everything you need to do to be you.”
TAASU reached out to the larger Kansas City community to help plan the event, with live music from Mr. Kevin Johnson, a local artist, and a full breakfast being served.
“We got our music from the community,” said Mazhou. “We reached out to whoever wanted to participate and they are showing appreciation because it’s not easy to be a part of this event, it takes a lot of time and it’s a big commitment.”
Several TAASU alumni attended the breakfast and connected the importance of events like this continuing not only MLK’s dreams of change, but TAASU’s legacy.
“I think about the political environment and it makes me want to fall back on fear because there’s such a risk in all of that,” said Stasi Bob-Ligon, TAASU alumni. “I have to remember how resilient people are and be very hopeful for the future in spite of what’s all going on now.”
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