Black Student Union President Tyie Gordon and Vice President, Roshawantala Cunningham hosted their first Black Student Union meeting of the fall semester on Sept. 25.

The advisers are African American studies department Chairperson Carolyn Hodge and history anthropology and geography department Chairperson Manu Ampim.

Cunningham said the reason she wanted to join the BSU is because she likes being in a space where everyone looks like her. She also likes to learn about the different resources for African

American people. She said she likes to learn more about her history.

To start the meeting, members recited a pledge with the name “We are an Afrikan People!” Ampim spoke about the history of the BSU.

He said by the late 1960s, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the Southern Christian Leadership Coalition (SCLC) found fault with younger activists who were being dominated by highly educated attorneys and ministers to bring change.

On April 19, 1967, Kwame Ture (formerly Stokely Carmichael) visited Seattle to speak to a packed audience at Garfield High School and the University of Washington where he was known as a former Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee chairman.

Carmichael said, “We must organize black community power. To end abuse and to give the Negro community a chance to have its needs addressed.”

Gordon said the reason she joined the BSU is because her mother was involved in the Black Power movement in years past.

Positions including secretary and treasurer are currently open until Oct. 9, which is when the next meeting will be held.