{"id":2923,"date":"2026-02-18T14:37:08","date_gmt":"2026-02-18T20:37:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.jccc.edu\/messenger\/?p=2923"},"modified":"2026-02-20T14:54:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-20T20:54:09","slug":"jcccs-black-student-union-provides-community-to-all-students","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.jccc.edu\/messenger\/2026\/02\/18\/jcccs-black-student-union-provides-community-to-all-students\/","title":{"rendered":"JCCC’s Black Student Union Provides Community To All Students"},"content":{"rendered":"

(Photo by: Garrett Lovell)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\n

The Black Student Union Brings Community to all Students<\/p>\n

Inclusion means creating a space for everyone. On JCCC\u2019s campus, the Black Student Union does just that, opening its doors to all who want to make friends and have fun while learning more about Black history and culture. Through weekly meetings and bigger events, the Black Student Union provides a space to build community and promote belonging.<\/p>\n

The Black Student Union, or BSU, emphasizes empowerment, culture, education, community engagement, activism and networking as part of its goals. Advisor Lareesa Nelson emphasized uplifting future leaders as part of the club.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy job is to help [the officers] be the best in whatever role they choose \u2026 I\u2019ll say, \u2018Who\u2019s going to do that?\u2019 and the president eventually picks up on what I\u2019m saying, and then she starts saying that. So then I\u2019m sitting back, and I\u2019m letting her lead.\u201d<\/p>\n

Recruiting Officer Dylan Magwere says the club has helped him to develop leadership skills and confidence.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt really has [helped me],\u201d Magwere said. \u201cMost of my friends are in the club.\u201d<\/p>\n

Recruiting Officer Olivier Soljour shared a similar sentiment.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m Black, \u2026 I never really had that sense of community where I could be myself, and I feel like [with] those guys \u2026 I can be myself, and they won\u2019t really judge,\u201d Soljour said.<\/p>\n

Part of being community-focused means including everyone, and BSU leadership emphasizes that the club is open to all students. Soljour shared that many students ask him if they can join if they aren\u2019t Black.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d rather have all races,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Nelson also takes pride in the inclusivity the club provides toward all people.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s Caucasian students that come, there\u2019s African students \u2026 I\u2019ve never seen a student be like \u2018why are you here?\u2019\u201d Nelson said.<\/p>\n

That same focus on community informs the direction of club meetings. Students share their mood at the beginning of each meeting along with introductions, showing the underlying emphasis on involvement and inclusion. Club activities after that can vary; some meetings are discussion-based and deal with Black history and culture, while others may involve games to unwind. Discussions range from music to hair to students\u2019 future goals.<\/p>\n

The BSU also puts on larger events through the semester, depending on the interests of club members. One upcoming event is Community Day, which will include performances, panels, hands-on activities and live music. Community Day will take place in the Student Center on Feb. 26 from 11-1 p.m.<\/p>\n

They have also had many speakers over the years. Malcom X\u2019s daughter spoke to the club during Covid-19. Quinton Lucas, mayor of Kansas City, Missouri, visited along with the police department so students could ask questions during a time of unrest in the city.<\/p>\n

Other activities and events in the past have included karaoke, poetry slams, a Black business expo, a redline tour, and a game day.<\/p>\n

Students interested in checking out a weekly meeting can find the BSU in the Co-Lab at 2 p.m. on Wednesdays. Event locations can vary, so it\u2019s best to check their Get Involved page to be sure.To learn more about the Black Student Union visit their Get Involved Page<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Black Student Union Brings Community to all Students
\nInclusion means creating a space for everyone. On JCCC\u2019s campus, the Black Student Union does just that, opening its doors to all who want to make friends and have fun while learning more about Black history and culture. Through weekly meetings and bigger events, the Black Student Union provides a space to build community and promote belonging.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":2924,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advgb_blocks_editor_width":"","advgb_blocks_columns_visual_guide":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,6],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[344],"class_list":["post-2923","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-life"],"author_meta":{"display_name":"Saul Epstein","author_link":"https:\/\/blogs.jccc.edu\/messenger\/author\/sepstein\/"},"featured_img":"https:\/\/blogs.jccc.edu\/messenger\/files\/2026\/02\/BSU_0327.jpg","coauthors":[{"link":"https:\/\/blogs.jccc.edu\/messenger\/author\/ashlyn-guinn\/","display_name":"Ashlyn Guinn"}],"tax_additional":{"categories":{"linked":["Featured<\/a>","Life<\/a>"],"unlinked":["Featured<\/span>","Life<\/span>"]}},"comment_count":"0","relative_dates":{"created":"Posted 7 months ago","modified":"Updated 7 months ago"},"absolute_dates":{"created":"Posted on February 18, 2026","modified":"Updated on February 20, 2026"},"absolute_dates_time":{"created":"Posted on February 18, 2026 2:37 pm","modified":"Updated on February 20, 2026 2:54 pm"},"featured_img_caption":"","series_order":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"authors":[{"term_id":344,"user_id":0,"is_guest":1,"slug":"ashlyn-guinn","display_name":"Ashlyn Guinn","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&r=g","author_category":"","first_name":"","last_name":"","user_url":"","job_title":"","description":""}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blogs.jccc.edu\/messenger\/files\/2026\/02\/BSU_0327.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.jccc.edu\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2923","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.jccc.edu\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.jccc.edu\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.jccc.edu\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.jccc.edu\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2923"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.jccc.edu\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2923\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2932,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.jccc.edu\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2923\/revisions\/2932"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.jccc.edu\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2924"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.jccc.edu\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2923"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.jccc.edu\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2923"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.jccc.edu\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2923"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.jccc.edu\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=2923"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}