Black History Month

I attended the first speaker at the Black History Month Conference, Sehree Renee Thomas. Overall I thought she was a decent speaker, yet the majority of her speech was read off of her paper. Because she was reading off of a paper she spoke very quickly and at time I had a difficult time following. With that aside, her speech was about science fiction writing and black authors, and it was very apparant she is passionate about this topic. I was not particularly interested in this topic, but some of her points about the stereotypes of black authors and their influence in the science fiction genre were interesting. For example, many are surprised if a black author wants to write about anything other than race, or issue surrounding race. She discussed how publishers influence this too, such as when a black author writes about gardening they publish it to market a black audience, and she states that its not their fault but the reality of our society. Overall, Thomas had many good points regarding her passion about writing and getting the chance to tell her story about African Americans.

I believe conferences like this are a great opportunity of getting an education at Luther. Conferences like this open eyes to issues that matter in our society, culture, and world, yet issues that we here at Luther may not be directly exposed to. I believe hearing about other peoples' stories and views is a great way to find out your own opinions and beliefs, and maybe even find a new passion that will enable you to make a difference. Although at lower education levels conferences such as those held at Luther usually do not take place, I think it is important to introduce topics that involve diverse issues such as race into education so our students can become aware of them. I believe it is important for students to be well-rounded and being exposed to new topics is a great way for this to happen.