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Caitlin Thomas

Cause Reflection: AOS and Africa Night


December 2015
I have had an amazing first semester in college, and I can honestly say a
large part of that is due to the people I have met and the conversations weve had.
This school has an incredible amount of diversity which is the main reason I love it
so much. I have become closest with four girls that I have met on my hall, two of
which live next door. These two girls, Alcious and Amina, are from Liberia and Sierra
Leon. We all quickly became friends, primarily due to that fact that we can have
serious conversations and we all appreciate, and are interested in, where each other
comes from.
Ive always been infatuated by other cultures, and the way people experience
life in other parts of the world. Alcious and Amina have been instrumental in my
learning about African cultures through their stories and willingness to share. Earlier
this year I attended an Organization of African Students (OAS) meeting and listened
to them discuss the upcoming Africa Night event, which I also attended. The
members of OAS divided themselves into groups to decide how they will represent
the fashion, music, lifestyle, and economy of their subject country. This year OAS
and Africa Night put a focus on Equatorial Guinea, as they choose a different African
country each year to represent.
OAS and CAB (Campus Activities Board) held the 10th annual Africa Night in
McKnight Hall on November 21st. The event included dancing, fashion shows,
singers, and skits which all reflected one aspect or another of African culture. The
host of the event was a popular social media figure, Aphrican Ape who every
African student was familiar with prior to the event. He MCed the event with a
sense of humor that almost seemed to evoke a sense of nostalgia to the African

students. They all could relate to what he spoke about, and were all given a time
and space to be fully embracing and prideful of their culture.
Within the past semester, I have become aware that everyones feminism is
different. I used to see feminism as simply equality for women and never really
looked at the ways aspects of ones life could mold their feminism. Feminism, to the
individual, can easily be shaped by race, religion, class, and experience. My
feminism has a heavy focus on abuse victims, because I am one. I have noticed the
majority of black girls that consider themselves feminists have a large focus on the
rights of black women. Looking back, I see how foolish it is to try and divide race
issues and feminist issues when the two are so commonly interwoven.
During our This I Believe presentations, Kierra described being a woman of
color as a double whammy. That is absolutely devastating, and hasnt left my mind
since. It is a betrayal to the sisterhood to stop fighting for womens rights when your
type of woman gains sufficient privileges. In this year, I have not only learned
about African culture, but also the obligation I have to my black sisters. Women are
already made to feel lesser than, and so are people of color. I feel ashamed and
ignorant for only recently realizing these two things would obviously correlate.
There is nothing more crucial to ones mental health than a feeling of worthinesswe must teach every gender and every color that their worth could never be
accurately measured by another person.
As previously stated, I am a survivor of mental, physical, and sexual abuse,
and I have had a lifelong battle with depression. Though these things are not who I
am, they have significantly molded who I am. I must be on the side of those who

know what its like to suffer. Women of color, like Transwomen, are actually more
likely to be abused or assaulted. I have a responsibility to fight for every woman
who knows the feeling of pain inflicted by patriarchy, therefore, I have a
responsibility to fight for every woman.
Women are constantly being pit against each other to distract us from the
bigger problem at hand. I feel as though this is even more rampant among black
women. To be considered beautiful or even feminine, black women are expected
to straighten their natural hair, have certain physical features, and even be a
certain shade. In the 2 part Harpo documentary titled Light Girls and Dark Girls,
black women identify the ways they have been fetishized, belittled, and degraded
as women, specifically due to their complexion. It is so important for women to
understand each others feminism and why it is the way it is. Had I never looked at
feminist issues through a racial lens, or vice versa, I would still be blind to the ways
women of color experience injustices due to more than one factor they literally have
zero control over.
The girls I have become close with at school, both on my hall and in this
class, have unintentionally assisted in the creation of my feminism. I am very
grateful to know such a spectrum of strong women that constantly inform my views
and understanding of equality. Likewise, I am grateful to know such diverse people
who inform me in similar ways on similar issues. Africa Night was a brilliant
experience that I would absolutely recommend to other students. You did not have
to be African to appreciate the culture and humor, if you werent African, it was
impossible not to learn about the culture through the humor and other aspects of

the night. Similarly, I do not have to be a woman of color to understand that their
feminism, their rights, and their pain is just as legitimate as any other woman.

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