The Black Student Union held an open discussion event called ‘Speak Your Peace’ in the Lumpkin Auditorium on Tuesday night. 

The event was brought together by Brittany Britton, a junior sociology major, and she said the event was meant to bring something to students that is missing in everyday classes.

“I decided to do this event because I wanted it to be an open environment where people can speak and be heard and be listened to because sometimes when you’re in class, you don’t get that,” Britton said. “Sometimes you say things and people don’t listen.”

Britton said that she thought the open style forum worked for the group.

“I think some people just came here to listen, but there was definitely a lot of good conversation going on so that was good,” Britton said. “Sometimes it works well and sometimes it can get chaotic and sometimes people get off track. I think in this instance though, because the group was very small and there were a lot of intelligent people, who knew how to articulate themselves well so I think that this kind of forum worked well for this kind of group.”

Asher Roper, a junior graphic design major, said this event was good for the community and a good way to learn from each other. 

“I feel like this event was heavily needed for the black community also for any other diverse cultures out there who need to know more about us,” Roper said. “I also feel that this was another way for us to get different perspective on our situation and how we stand in this country.”

Britton said that her hopes for the event were for people to connect and learn from each other.

“My hope is that someone, or everyone took at least one thing away from this even if it’s just to listen to other people,” Britton said. “Even if it’s just to feel that your thoughts are in solidarity with someone else, because your thoughts or sentiments are the same as someone else’s.”

Roper said that the event was important to his own activism.

“I would just like to say that it was also important for me because I’m a huge advocate for my people to exceed, and I completely understand that we are being held back systematically and sometimes even being held back in our own communities,” Roper said. “And I know that I have that power within me to make that change and even just to inspire others to not be afraid to sacrifice your time and just do anything to stand up.”

Roper also said that the people at the event brought up a lot of great resources for the black community. 

“I believe that we have access to resources that we can make these changes and I’m happy that some of these other people brought some of these resources to light and you never know that article you might read,” Roper said. “Or that book you might read or that interview you see that could be the answer to the problems and could help you make that difference or just be the spark to ignite that flame that you have.”

Allison Little can be reached at 581-2812 or aclittle2@eiu.edu