African American Life at the University of Houston
How African American students at the University of Houston maintain cultural pride and stay motivated to reach graduation
The number African American students pursuing a degree in higher education has increased at a tremendous rate over the last decade. African Americans are pursuing degrees in business and opening their own institutions, companies, and resource centers. At the University of Houston there are currently 4,401 Black students enrolled for this 2019 fall semester. Although this number is relatively high compared to other Texas universities, it has not been growing as substantially as it was in previous years. Students have taken it into their own hands to create a sense of pride for the African American community on campus.
There are a number of organizations catered towards the black community on campus to make students feel included and appreciated. One of the most popular is the NAACP. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored people is not only a campus organization, but also a national organization. Students in this group are able to work together to bring awareness to issues within the black community. “Police brutality is an ongoing issue that our people struggle with daily, so we came up with an idea to bring awareness to our campus and held the silent museum.” Autumn Mouton, NAACP member. The silent museum is an annual event where students stand outside in front of the M.D. Anderson library with information cards about different instances of police brutality. Sandra Bland was one of the victims the NAACP chose to highlight this year at their event. As students walked by they were able to learn about the tragedy that took place in 2015. “There are often students who have no idea what happened that year, so this event gave them an opportunity to learn and stand in support of our fellow brothers and sisters” Autumn Mouton.
Outside of informative events the NAACP hosts an annual fashion show for students, models, and designers to highlight their emerging brands to the public. The fashion show typically cost around $2,500 to put on. The NAACP planning committee meets a year in advance to begin the process of putting on the event. Members begin by organizing fundraisers to gain money for all of the fashion show essentials. Next they select a location and decide on the theme of the show, each year the theme is a little different. The models are chosen by the chair board members of NAACP in a tryout that takes place two months before the show. The students work extremely hard to put on the best possible production that showcases the designers work for everyone to see. The designers are all students at the university who are in the process of developing a brand. Marketing is one of the most difficult parts of growing a company, so this show is an opportunity to do so in a professional setting. “We like to contact local black owned businesses to come and sell their products during the day of the event.” There are usually anywhere between 10 to 20 vendors available at the fashion show. “Everything at the show is by students, even down to the food we cater.” This past year Taylor Combs, a UH senior with an emerging catering business supplied the food. “Our main goal at these types of events is to kick start the companies of our members and get them ready to take on the real world.” Autumn Mouton.
The NAACP does a lot of community service work. Members volunteer at local middle schools such as Yates and create mentoring programs in hopes of breeding the next generation of African American students to reach their highest potential not only in school, but also in their family lives. Aside from spreading awareness the organization prides itself on being able to give back to the community and defy the stereotypes of young black men and women. A few examples include, the angry black women, the dangerous black man and the unprofessional black student. These stereotypes can make it very difficult to find employment, so the University provides organizations for young black professionals as well. BSHA, black student health association is one of the organizations created for young black professionals looking for a career in the health field.
There is a scarce number of African American doctors and surgeons, so this org is designed to keep students motivated to finish school and complete their goals. BSHA bring in medical professionals such as Barry Winston to speak to students not only about the positives but the struggles he faced as an African American man pursuing a career in medicine.” Nothing worth fighting for comes easy, this job is not for the lazy, but it is for the man, or the woman who is hungry for success” Barry Winston. After the meeting Barry was available to meet individually with students who had specific questions regarding his field of work, and reaching the next level.
