Black Student Association ended its string of events in recognition of Black History Month with "The Black Resolution: Are you willing to make a change?"
The event, which was Friday in L.A. Pittenger Student Center's ballroom, focused on derogatory language.
"Language is one of the main things that everyone can relate to; language is universal," said Janell Tillman, co-chairwoman of the event.
Co-chairwoman Brittany Black said the event had the same theme as the other Black History Month events: "The Destruction of All Things That are Destroying the Black Community."
Tillman said the event replaced the originally-scheduled march down McKinley Avenue, which was canceled because of complications with the paperwork.
According to BSA's Web site, the program was put on by the organization's Black History Month committee. The committee's purpose is to "highlight contributions African Americans have made to society" and "educate all races during this month with enlightening activities," according to the Web site.
The program consisted of a discussion and a video produced by The MiXx and members of BSA, titled "The Grey Area: Untold."
The video, which began with the statement "viewer reflection is advised," encouraged students to discuss their thoughts on the topics such as language, a lack of knowledge about black history and hip-hop culture, which the video said affect the African American community.
"I thought it was absolutely phenomenal the way the students, the exec board, and especially Brittany Black and Janell Tillman were able to put on this type of event," said Moses Jones, parliamentarian of BSA. "It was absolutely tremendous."
BSA also placed posters with derogatory words such as "bastard," "pimp" and "hoe" on the walls. The correct definition and their ascribed definitions were listed under the terms.
As students entered the ballroom, they were asked to sign the posters if they had ever used or if they had been called one of the terms.
The intention was to show the negative effect of these words.
Tillman said she wanted to dissociate the negative meaning of the words.
"The words are just the beginning, and the actions will begin to show eventually because words have a lot of power," she said.
Attendees who signed the posters participated in ripping them up to symbolize a change, hoping to eliminate the words from their daily vocabulary.
The video was an extension of the discussion and showed the discrimination, which the video said sometimes lives within the African American community. The video discussed topics such as the brown paper bag test, which was used to segregate light-skinned and dark-skinned people. The video also discussed racial slurs that are sometimes used within casual conversation among African Americans.
The video touched on the fact that some blacks neglect researching their history, saying that some young African Americans can do the latest dances, but do not know who founded Black History Month.
The event encouraged young, black students to educate themselves about their history, accept the issues that exist and develop solutions.
"We can talk about what's wrong with our culture, but won't come together to change," according to the video.
Check it out on TV"The Grey Area: Untold" will also air on Ball State Channel 57 and Comcast channel 61 at 9:30 p.m. Tuesday.
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