Why do we have spaces designated for minority groups? After hundreds of years of fighting for desegregation, why would we separate ourselves? These questions plagued me as I pursued the Intercultural Center. I had to ensure that the community understood this was for everyone since there was the misconception it was not. In fact, I was trying to do the opposite of the center by uniting all people with a focus.
I think about our identity-based organizations now, and how they are also fighting for allies to join their organizations. Yes, this is necessary. Necessary to continue spreading the missions of these organizations. But I think about the mission of these organizations and their core purpose, which is to unite their people with a focus.
I will never understand what it means to celebrate with brothers and sisters as part of one Ummah. I will never understand what it means to be accused of terrorism because of the creator I believe in. That experience is not mine and it is not for me to invade. However, I can empathize, love, and fuel that community as best as I can. James Baldwin, writer and activist, says the following in the introduction to Nobody Knows My Name:
“The questions which one asks oneself begin, at last, to illuminate the world, and one become one’s key to the experience of others. One can only face in others what one can face in oneself. On this confrontation depends the measure of our wisdom and compassion.”
Organizations, spaces, and intercultural centers were never meant to make you or me the outsider. In fact, it is to bring us in. But in bringing us in, they ask us to look within ourselves and question our own identities, and where we fit in the puzzle of helping a community celebrate their own.
In this article, I am highlighting the presidents of the three most prominent Black organizations on campus. While their organizations’ missions are to build community, networks, and brotherhood, they all operate through a focus on Black culture.
Joshua Hector is the President of Black Student Union, and identifies as Dominican and Haitian.
Grant Fowler is the President of the Phi Theta Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., and identifies as African-American and Jamaican.
Porschia Marrow is the President of the National Society of Black Engineers, and identifies as African-American.
All have a wide range of other involvements and have established themselves as leaders on campus. Today, they speak of their roles within the Black community at Stevens.
Nasir Anthony Montalvo: How do you interpret your organization’s mission and how do you fulfill that mission?
Joshua Hector: I interpret BSU’s mission as embracing, enriching, and sharing the Black culture here at Stevens. Whether that be through food, entertainment, things that are in the news, educating different African-American cultures, Black stigma, Black stereotypes, and all things of that nature. I go about fulfilling it through events, as well as having a platform or open forums to discuss these topics. Not only with Black students, but with the entire Stevens general body.
Grant Fowler: Alpha’s mission statement has a lot of facets to it, but I’ll start off with developing leaders. Leadership is in a constant state of teaching people what’s right and wrong, so teaching people that it’s okay to be uncomfortable is something I promote. Promoting brotherhood is something part of all Greek life: creating a family that’s not necessarily blood-tied or directly related to you, but creating a family type of environment in a place where you might otherwise feel uncomfortable. The last thing, community outreach, is mainly about going out and getting involved.
Porschia Marrow: For NSBE, our mission statement is to increase the number of culturally responsible Black engineers who succeed professionally, excel academically, and positively impact the community. We host workshops to aid your professional skills, we teach you how to talk to recruiters. We do study sessions with members here to help you. And we like to do things with local schools so that students have people to talk to, and so these students have the resources available so they can go further in life than they would have.
NAM: How did each of your organizations specifically help you get to where you are today?
JH: BSU definitely helped me break out of my comfort zone. It definitely was the start of the domino effect that gave me the rest of the positions I have now, like being a Resident Assistant and chartering a chapter here with Alpha Phi Alpha. I was able to nurture a leadership aspect I didn’t believe I had.
GF: I would say my experience is the opposite of Josh’s, since before Alpha Phi Alpha, I had positions in BSU and NSBE. I wanted to unite all of my experiences, in terms of the family and professional aspects from those organizations. That’s why we chartered here, and it made me realize that if you push for initiative, you can fulfill your journey and make a lot of connections.
PM: BSU provided the social aspect with the Black community I needed, but NSBE was definitely that personal and professional growth that I think we all need when we come to college. It also gave me a way to get to know people in administration, and know who to talk to about issues I have.
NAM: What role does your organization play in creating a better Stevens as a whole?
JH: BSU brings the energy and family aspect to Stevens. We can represent the Black community as a whole. We can be the loudest, we can bring the energy. Because we’re proud to be who we are. And shed our light in the best way possible.
GF: I’m not gonna lie and say Stevens didn’t use the Alphas to recruit more Black and Brown people. But the reason I want to be here is because there’s a lot of things that get you into Stevens, but there’s not a lot of things that make you want to stay. Especially when I first came here, POC were happy or going through the motions of their first two years, but the last two or three are like you’re standing in the jail yard like “man, get me out of here.”
Everyone: [laughs]
GF: So yeah, BSU and NSBE do create those aspects of family, but there’s more needed in terms of social aspects and impacting the Stevens community.
PM: NSBE is all about professional skills, so that role we play on campus is that we give not only Black people, but anyone that comes to our club, the chance to better themselves professionally. And since our conferences are specifically looking to hire minorities, we’re giving students of color chances that may not have been available to them.
NAM: Some things we lack at our school, mainly due to size and space, are specialized Black houses, councils, programs, etc. Basically any resource outside of the cultural organizations. Do you see this changing? If so, why? If not, why not?
JH: In terms of what we need, I think we’re taking a good step with the Intercultural Center. They are definitely trying to make that step. But I feel they’re kind of brushing it to the side as a means to satisfy us and not do anything else. I think they don’t really get it. We’re just starting to get Diversity Education back up again, but it had to take students and faculty to push for this. But without this push from community members, there will be no change. And they will be okay with whatever. There needs to be actual change.
GF: I agree with everything Josh said. It’s always been an exchange with Stevens. It’s always been ,“Why do you want this? What’s the purpose of it,” and then it becomes, “How can we tweak this for our gain and for our university?” and it’s fucked up. Stevens is a temporary pit-stop. You come here, do your time, and then you move on.
JH: Like prison.
GF: [laughs] Yeah, you literally come in, do your time, and then go find that job that’s gonna bring you money. Stevens should be more “home-y.” And make people want to be here. I’m in my last year and it’s not so bad here, but I don’t know if previous seniors could say the same. If we wanted a house or anything, it’d have to be funded by alumni.
PM: At times it’s hard to get things from administration unless they understand what it means for them. This isn’t necessarily in reference to NSBE, as we are a professional org so the events we have are pretty straightforward, but I’ve seen the other minority groups on campus struggle to justify their events especially when the cultural aspects of the event aren’t as well known. But also, most organizations,at least the cultural based ones, are operating under the ‘ I’ll take what I can get’ mentality.
NAM: What can administration do to better support y’all?
GF: Just talk to us, seriously.
JH: Honestly, we’re treated like a statistic.
GF: It’s like a zoo. Like “look at them, they’re doing the work.”
PM: Administration does a decent job of trying to support us, but in this support… instead of celebrating differences in cultures it feels more like alienation which in-turn makes our events seem like they’re Black-only events. They’re open to everyone. You can come. It’s great to emphasize who is being supported by these events but it creates an environment where people are like ‘No we don’t want to come, it’s not for us.
GF: It is! We’re not on display.
PM: They treat our events like it’s a Black-only event. And they’re open to everyone. You can come. But they’re like, “No we don’t want to come, we’ll be the only white people there.”
NAM: But how do we feel?
PM: [laughs] Me in every class. At any point ever here, I feel uncomfortable too.
NAM: Do you have any advice for current and prospective Black students at Stevens?
JH: 1. Be yourself. It’s cliche, but you want to have your own impact. Have passion with whatever you’re doing. 2. Always reach out to your other Black students. We’re all here to talk and socialize. A lot of people think we’re mean or problematic, but that’s not true. We’re all here to help. Black students here have problems with breaking out of their shells, especially on that first day. I felt like that, I didn’t have a community at first. But I was willing to go to events and talk to people and get different perspectives.
GF: I would just say don’t be bound by what you did in high school. Learn about what you want to do, who you are as a person. Don’t think because you’re Black or whatever your identity is you’re restricted to that place — explore everything. People forget that you’re supposed to be learning in college. You should not come out of college the same way you came.
PM: Go to everything. Go to all the clubs, meet everyone, go where you feel comfortable and feel the most accepted. Wherever you’re surrounded by people who share the same ideas and goals as you. You don’t have to join a specific group or club just because you think you might fit in or that’s who you ran with in high school.
Also, my dad always said, “Do what you came here to do.” You came here to go to college and get an education — make sure you get your education. That doesn’t mean you can’t have fun and make friends, but make sure you’re doing well academically.
JH: Start off strong, on a good note. Because if you do, you’re just gonna ride that wave as time goes by. Especially if you’re an engineer.
GF: We all suffer together.
PM: We all got the drive.
Everyone: [laughs]
This interview has been edited and condensed. Keep in mind that these viewpoints/experiences are mine and the interviewees’ and are not necessarily representative of those of the Black or Brown persons at Stevens and beyond.
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