Black History Month at Weber State University kicked off with keynote speaker Bryan Hotchkins, where he addressed Black health and wellness by framing all seven sections of his newest book, “My Black is Exhausted. Forever in Pursuit of a Racist-Free World Where Hashtags Don’t Exist.”
The event was held virtually on Feb. 1 from 6 p.m to 7:40 p.m. Hotckins structured the event to be transactional — he said, “I want us to share our thoughts and please be vulnerable.”
Adrienne Andrews, vice president of equity, diversity and inclusion and chief diversity officer at WSU — who was originally meant to host the event but came down with influenza — hopes “that everyone considers the achievements of Black people and takes time to recognize our central role in U.S. history” for Black History Month this year.
Steven Richardson, director of strategic initiatives for President Brad Mortensen at WSU, hosted the event in Andrews’ stead to read comments and questions throughout the event.
Hotchkins analyzed the geographies of racism with his audience and explained how it’s one’s own responsibility to navigate by looking inward and by utilizing “transgenerational memory conjuring”, which he described in the book as “the process of story repairing where the lost and/or silenced voices of ourselves and elders overlap to create a healing mechanism where the rebuilding of the broken amongst us occurs.”
He elaborated by underlining the importance of being mindful when reconstructing a broken story, for the memories may be difficult to reconjure.
In response to an inquiry on the role of eliminating hashtags for a racism-free world, Hotchkins explained his fear of becoming a hashtag — that it shouldn’t be necessary to mark a tragedy on social media just to bring attention to the issue of racism.
“One of the most important things I hope people take away from this keynote is a recognition that the hashtags of this world were people, real people. Just like you. Just like me,” Andrews said. “And I do not believe that any one of them wanted to become a hashtag in order to educate the world about social injustice or inequality.”
Andrews shared how productive hosting Hotchkins for this Keynote could prove for WSU and its community. “Student leadership from both the Black Student Union and the Ogden NAACP College Chapter informed this selection and our next event later this month,” Andrews said.
The emphasis of Black History Month this year at WSU aims to prioritize mental health and security, which is why the next virtual event will be The Black Clinicians, whose goals are to create a safe therapy space for people of color. This event will be held virtually on Feb. 24 at 6 p.m.
