As March is in full swing and February is behind us, the students of Ohio Northern University also remember Black History Month, and one particular event that highlighted it. The Black Student Union (BSU) hosted a soul food dinner at Affinity Commons on Tuesday, February 24, at 6 pm. The menu included mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, gravy, collard greens, chicken, and more. It was a really good turnout, especially of football players at the event, all showing their support of Black history. Soul food is a big part of Black culture and is an overlooked part of the culture. The style of cooking originated during American slavery. It was leftovers from what the white people had, and the slaves had to take the scraps and put their own style to it. Soul food is something that a lot of Black people have grown up eating and enjoying, and it was good to see a many people of different races and backgrounds show up and enjoy the food that is so important in Black culture. There was also music from the 90s and 2000s, with soul, R&B, rap, and various other songs—that you often hear in Black culture—being played. The music drew the students in; it gave them an immersive sense of how important Black culture is and how much history there is behind it. The Soul Food Dinner was the third event organized by the Black History Month Committee for the month of February, preceded by Trivia Night and Bingo Night. Given that only about 3.1% of ONU students identified as African American in 2023, according to the 2023-2024 ONU Fact Book, these events were a great representation of ONU students and staff showing support for their students of African American descent, and it helps grow the Black community here at ONU.
Student and football player Jaden Crowe expressed his appreciation for the event: “The food was amazing. It was a great atmosphere and really brought back memories of me being at my grandma’s house. It felt like I was in a safe space where I was with people that I knew who had the same culture as me. I’m really happy ONU did something like this.” I also talked to student and football player Elijah Williams about whether ONU should continue to have these kinds of events, and he had this to say: “Absolutely, I think only you should do more of these types of events. What I’m doing in my Senior Thesis class is I’m writing about a paper that basically talks about how important Black History Month, and how it should be celebrated not only in February, but for the entire year…I feel like when colleges do events like these, it brings a real awareness, and I definitely believe we should do more. We should be doing more of these events to bring more culture, to bring more awareness, and to bring more of a sense of community.”