Nubian Message, Jan. 30, 2020 — Communities united: Kobe's legacy

NUBIANMESSAGE NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY | RALEIGH, NC | THENUBIANMESSAGE.COM | THURSDAY, january 30, 2020

communities united: kobe’s legacy

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Letter from the editor Hi Everyone, I hope you all are taking care of yourselves and practicing good mental health habits. 2020 is off to a rough start. From the fatal bushfires in Australia, the very scary possibility of a coronavirus epidemic and the death of NBA legend, Kobe Bryant, it’s safe to say this hasn’t been a happy start to the new decade. However, we hope that our content and all of #BlackExcellence that will be showcased in Black History Month will give you hope for the future.

THISISSUE 4

NCSU EKTAA EVENT

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IDENTITY POEM

Sankranti festival.

Black woman navigating the world.

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KOBE BRYANT

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GRAMMYS BLOWBACK

Remembering a legacy.

Who are the Grammy’s actually for?

In this issue, we featured a very special tribute to the legendary Kobe Bryant and the legacy he left behind. Students discussed how they will keep the #mambamentality as they move forward. See page six for this story.

cover photo BY Elikem Dodor and Ugonna Ezuma-Igwe/Nubian Message

The Nubian Message honors the legacy of Kobe Bryant.

Also, the University of NC State has made a huge change to brighten the future of this university. The University is now allowing students to self-select their gender pronouns on MyPack, thus making the university more inclusive and welcoming to non-gender conforming students. To see this story check out page three.

The Sentinel of the African-American Community at N.C. State Since 1992.

On page four, you will see our news article on the annual Sankranti, a traditional Indian kite festival. And on page five, there is a preview of some of the amazing events that will be held during Black History Month. Also in this issue, there is an amazing poem and an opinion on the recent Grammys.

314 Witherspoon Student Center, NCSU Campus Box 7318, Raleigh, NC 27695 office 919-515-1468 advertising 919-515-2411 online thenubianmessage.com

We hope that you enjoy all of the content that we have to offer this issue. We also hope that you continue being resilient and strong to turn this year around and make it a great one.

“Great Things come from hard work and perseverance. No excuses.” - Kobe Bryant In solidarity, Yesenia Jones

Yesenia Jones

Editor-in-Chief

nubian-editor@ncsu.edu Jalen Rose

Managing editor

nubian-managingeditor@ncsu.edu Elikem Dodor Ugonna Ezuma-Igwe Layout designers

Elikem Dodor

Social Media Manager

Only with the permission of our elders do we proudly produce each edition of Nubian Message: Dr. Yosef ben-Yochannan, Dr. John Henrik Clark, Dr. Leonard Jeffries, The Black Panther Party, Mumia A. Jamal, Geronimo Pratt, Tony Williamson, Dr. Lawrence Clark, Dr. Augustus McIver Witherspoon, Dr. Wandra P. Hill, Mr. Kyran Anderson, Dr. Lathan Turner, Dr. M. Iyailu Moses, Dokta Toni Thorpe and all those who accompany us as we are still on the journey to true consciousness.

news

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NC State offers new gender inclusive my pack option

Adarsh puvvadi/Staff Photographer Anna Christopher, a second-year graduate student studying social work sits at the GLBT center in Talley Union on Tuesday, Nov. 20,2018. The GLBT center is an active community for GLBT and allied students, staff, faculty and alumni.

At the beginning of this semester, NC State announced Jalen Rose that students Managing Editor would now have the option to self-select their own pronouns into the university’s system as known as, MyPack portal. The MyPack portal is generally used as a reference point for the university directory which contains each student’s information. The Department of Registration and Records sent an email to current students explaining their new option: “All students now have the option to self-select your personal pronouns and gender identity in MyPack Portal via the Personal Information tile. These fields are entirely optional and not required to update.”

The gender identities available for students to choose are agender, gender fluid, genderqueer, man, non-binary, two-spirit, woman and self-entered. The gender pronoun options will include: he/him/his, she/ her/hers and ze/hir/hirs.

The Office for Institutional Equity and Diversity (OIED) released an article breaking

yesenia jones Editor-In-Chief

down gender identity and personal pronouns as well as explaining the significance of giving students this option. The Assistant Director of the GLBT Center, Andy Deroin, further explained the significance. “Pronouns are a really important and easy way to be affirming of students’ gender identities, so I’m really glad we are able to offer a clear way for students to communicate their pronouns to professors and staff,” Deroin said.

Jordan Bullock, the founder of Channel Blond, provided his thoughts on the update.

“I am excited for this new implementation of being able to select gender pronouns through MyPack,” Bullock said. “A lot of times, folks get misgendered or called pronouns that don’t belong to them personally and I feel like this system will be a part of security for students. It’s a form of defense to me, if a student were to be addressed as the wrong pronoun by staff or professors, then they have the ability to correct them and refer them to where their preferred pronouns are written.”

Bullock’s organization, Channel Blond, is the only student organization for Black GLBT+ identifying students on campus.

The organization works to create a more

welcoming environment for students on campus. Bullock hopes that this new option can work to create a more welcoming environment for all non-gender binary students.

“I think systematically non-gender binary students could feel safer,” he said. “I believe that this is a solid first step to the value of inclusion that OIED puts forth. I am, however, less confident about how this systematic change impacts the physical safety and acceptance (or tolerance) of gender non-binary students. I look forward to the expansion of inclusion not only in policy but in the physicality and culture of NC State’s campus,” Bullock said.

OIED provided a definition of gender identity on their website: “Gender identity is how individuals perceive themselves and their gender. While gender often interacts with one’s sex, the two are different as sex is biological and gender is socially constructed.”

NC State has increasingly made efforts to become more inclusive towards gender non-conforming individuals. In the Talley Student Union, gender-inclusive bathrooms can be found on the first floor. Along with gender-inclusive bathrooms, the OIED

included personal pronouns in their staff directory this past summer.

Universities around the country are beginning to implement programs and policies that are more gender-inclusive. Schools like Stanford and New York University (NYU) have both enacted a gender-inclusive housing program. This allows their students to have a roommate of any gender.

In the summer of 2013, the UNC System enacted a law restricting their universities from allowing students to house with students of the opposite sex. This policy hinders NC State from making progress on gender-inclusive housing. Private institutions, such as Duke, have publicly acted against this housing policy. In 2013, Duke University created gender-inclusive housing that allowed co-ed living and non-gender conforming students to live comfortably on campus.

NC State’s new option for students to self-select their gender is a step forward towards a more gender-inclusive campus that represents progress for many.

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news

Sankranti: The Importance of Knowing Your Culture oluwajoba ogun Staff Writer

On Jan. 24th, North Carolina State University’s Student South Asian Organization, (NCSU Ektaa) put on its first event of the year; The Ektaa Festival of Kites. It is a celebration of the different components of the festival within the Indian subcontinent.

The event began with an introduction from the vice president, Akhiel Talasila, a second-year studying computer science, welcoming the guests as he gave a short presentation on the background and the significance behind the festival.

“The date is recognized as the end of the month where the winter solstice is happening,” he said. ”It’s essentially the first day of the month where the days get consistently longer. The cultural significance of this is that it coincides with the harvest season for most farmers of India and they do lots of different things in villages for Sankranti.”

He goes on to explain the meanings behind the different days, as well as the different activities that people participated in to celebration. He also discussed the reason for kite flying, which is a simple explanation. He said, “My grandfather told me the wind is really good on this day and you have to go and get sunlight and that’s why you fly kites.”

He continued his presentation by showing the audience different photos and videos of Indians celebrating the festival with chicken fights and men vs bull fights, where a bull is released into the fields, and men try and stop it.

After the presentation, students were encouraged to eat pulihora- rice and payasam, a sweet soup.

One of the Ektaa directors began a tutorial on creating the kite while students followed along.

Many of the students came to the event to just to learn more about the traditions of their culture.

“In high school, we didn’t really have hands-on things with our own culture,” Isha Jain, a second-year studying biochemistry said. “I would just hear about it instead of actually participating so I’m able to do that now. That’s mainly why I come to these things because it’s something I’ve never done before but it’s my own

culture.”

Rhea Gopali, one of the Ektaa directors, a second year studying human biology said, “For me, it was like I grew up celebrating this holiday and being able to do that away from home I feel like, is mostly the reason why we organized this event.”

Other students, encouraged by friends, talked about their favorite part of the event and stressed the significance of having these types of events at NC State.

Emily Ye, a second-year studying human biology said, “Learning about the history [of the festival] and the events behind it was my favorite part… It’s important to learn about the different cultures in the world around us.”

Jaleen Mendoza, a fourth-year studying international marketing mentioned that it was interesting for her to recognize similarities between her culture and Sankrati,

“It’s always cool learning about new things and during the different activities that they did. I have found similar things that my culture does. I think it’s important to connect other people to different cultures so everyone can gain more knowledge about other people that go here.”

Nishant Patel, a third-year studying human biology and graphic chair of the organization said, “Our mission, Ektaa, our motto is unity within diversity. So the purpose behind this event is to basically bring the population we have, Ektaa together, to educate them about Sankranti is and to give them a little touch of the traditions of Sankranti…

Talasila passionately summed up the overall purpose of this event, “Lots of people, especially people of Indian heritage heard what it is, but they won’t really know exactly what it’s really for… This is an attempt for people to be more aware of their own traditions.”

india

playlist by Ugonna Ezuma-Igwe , Swathi Karthik & elikem Dodor

In honor of Sankranti, an Indian Festival, here is a playlist with songs in 5 Indian languages: Hindi, Bengali, Tamil, Kannada & Telugu.

Bom Diggy Diggy Zack Knight, Jasmin Walia Nagada sang dho shreya ghoshal New York Nagaram ar rahman Noyone Dhora Daye Na Gourov- roshin Pillaa Raa anurag kulkarni Dil na jaaneya arjit singh Maaruvarthai sid sriram Deewangi deewangi shaan Chippinolagade sonu nigam, shreya ghoshal

china In honor of the Chinese New Year, here are some songs by Chinese artisits.

What you need LAY Dancing King EXO take Off WayV ACRUSH FanxyRed Moonlight Thoughts Sing Rule Breaker Nine Percent Jay Encarnacion-Rivera/Nubian Message Anjali Singh, a second year in psychology, Rhea Gopali, a second year in human biology, and Rahul Kadari, a fourth year in mechanical engineering, focus on their kites’ designs.

Sankranti is a seasonal celebration involving prayer, festivals, and crafts, and celebrates

Aqua Blue Lexie Liu My New Swag VAVA

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features

Sankranti cont.

who is she?

There are two people:

Jay Encarnacion-Rivera/Nubian Message Top: Akhil Talasila, a second year in computer science, takes the

time to sketch out his design on his kite on Jan. 24, 2020. Sankranti is a seasonal celebration involving prayer, festivals, and crafts, and celebrates the lengthening of days throughout the year. bottom: Akash Karri, a first year in engineering, works on his kite design on Jan. 24, 2020. Sankranti is a seasonal celebration involving prayer, festivals, and crafts, and celebrates the lengthening of days throughout the year.

Girl A The girl who loves to talk Never ending chatter Comes with jokes and happiness Thinks that maybe one day she can do whatever she wants to do You can do whatever you put your mind to Loves her melanin Embraces her kinky hair Loves to shop Treats herself Knows she deserves only the best Love yourself child

Silent tears running down her face silent tears became her art Silent tears became her friend It seems as when the darkness hits That’s when she seems to quit On all life surrounding Drifts into another world It seems as if the darkness consumes her The quiet embraces her in its cold arms “I’m sorry” she whispers a million times While she traces the map of her mind Never ending, it’s a winding path

But then there’s Girl B: It’s 3am She somehow ended up Both of these girls exist on the floor Which is actually where in the same being she spends most of her That being, being me. nights Staring at the wall - Elikem thee Poet

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news

#MAMBAMENTALITY: THE LEGACY LEFT BEHIND

Sarah Cochran/Staff Photographer First-years Graham Bryant and Muhammad Shah hold up a Kobe Bryant jersey before the game versus UNC on Monday, Jan. 28, 2020 in PNC Arena. Bryant was a well-known NBA player who died in a helicopter crash along with his daughter Gianna Bryant and 7 others on Sunday, Jan. 27, 2020. NC State lost to UNC 75-65.

“KOBE!” Madison Some kid shouts and Darley takes a step back as they Correspondent

toss a piece of balled up notebook paper into the trash can.

A simple memory. A treasured tradition.

And now it is his legacy.

On Jan. 26 the world stopped. Kobe Bryant, 41, and his daughter, Gianna Maria Onore Bryant, 13, passed in a helicopter crash Sunday afternoon on the way to the Mamba Sports Academy for a basketball game scheduled that afternoon. This devastating news stopped many people in their tracks. Social Media posts began to flood the timeline as the heartbreaking story developed.

Kobe. Everyone knew who you were talking about. Born on Aug. 23, 1978 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Bryant was a well-rounded young man with a love for basketball. He played high school basketball at Lower Merion in Pennsylvania. He went straight to the NBA, drafted by the Charlotte Hornets as the 13th overall pick

of the 1996 draft. He began his legacy at age 17, the youngest NBA player in history.

An 18-time All-Star known for his scoring ability. He was also known for his multiple championship rings. Bryant and another All-Star, Shaquille O’Neal, won three NBA titles from 2000 to 2002, and again gained two more rings in 2009 and 2010. After his 20 year NBA career with the Lakers, he was assured to be a first ballot inductee into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame later this year, according to CNN. While known for his amazing talent on the court, his legacy meant more than turnaround jumpers. He inspired people all over the world. His impact can be seen here on NC State’s campus. A few students spoke on Kobe Bryant’s impact on their lives.

First-year, Sincere Hale shared his thoughts on the tragedy.

“Kobe had a great influence on how I played football and the mentality I had on the field,” Hale said. “He really had the mentality of being the best and trying your best and trying your hardest at everything…

Kobe’s mentality should live through all of us as we try to be successful and accomplish all of our goals.”

Kobe was an inspiration to many athletes across the nation. A member of the NC State intramural Basketball team and a third-year studying biochemistry, Brianna Harvey, shared her sentiments.

“I was a military kid so I moved every two to three years... Basketball was always my first introduction to a new place,” Harvey said. “When I lived in Fort Irwin in Southern California, there was a Military Appreciation game in the Staples Center and I saw his (Bryant’s) jersey up in the rafters. I always liked him as a player and his mentality on and off the court.”

Bryant’s mentality was an inspiration to all. His hard work and dedication to not only basketball, but to life was a mentality that many mirrored.

“Mamba Mentality is all about focusing on the process and trusting in the hard work when it matters most,” Bryant said. “It’s the ultimate mantra for the competitive spirit.

It started just as a hashtag that came to me one day, and it’s grown into something athletes - and even non-athletes -embrace as a mindset.”

As Bryant stated, mamba mentality is more than a competitive spirit, it is a mantra to keep going. Many students mentioned the mamba mentality is something they live by. Adrian Gibbs, a first-year majoring in life sciences continues to be inspired by Bryant’s mentality.

“Kobe was not just a baller, but a motivation for all of us through his work ethic and family values,” Gibbs said. “His legacy is bigger than basketball…”

Kobe Bryant’s passing made the world stop. But his legacy and the mamba mentality will live on forever.

“I have nothing in common with lazy people who blame others for their lack of success,” Bryant said. “Great Things come from hard work and perseverance. No excuses.” #BlackMambaLivesForever

opinion

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2020 Grammys For Whites, By Whites Andrea Alford The 2020 Grammy Awards were on Jan. Correspondent

26 and there are a few things we’d like to discuss. Not like we’re surprised, but the Grammys were again put in the spotlight for being biased against Black and brown people. There were more people of color (POC) than usual in the big four categories of Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Song of the Year and Best New Artist. However, each of those awards went to Billie Eilish, an 18-year-old white girl that dresses like Big Pun. Now there’s no denying that Eilish has some talent, but the question is did she really deserve these awards or is the Recording Academy giving out awards for white people doing the same old sh*t instead of more talented Black and brown artists?

Now let us start with Tyler, the Creator, a rapper/songwriter and founder of Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All (OFWGKTA).

He won the Grammy for Best Rap Album for his project “IGOR,” although he is more

currently known to produce genre-bending music that is more of the alternative variety.

When I think of a rap album, I don’t think of “IGOR,” I think about “Room 25” by Noname, “So Much Fun” by Young Thug, or “Better Dayz” by Tupac. “IGOR” is a great album and a continuation of a change that Tyler, the Creator, has been doing since his previous project.

After he won the award, Tyler, the Creator had a few things to say about the Recording Academy.

“It sucks that whenever we — and I mean guys that look like me — do anything that’s genre-bending or that’s anything they always put it in a rap or urban category. I don’t like that ‘urban’ word — it’s just a politically correct way to say the n-word to me,” he responded to a reporter from Rolling Stone.

This is not the first time that Black artists have felt this way. It’s kind of hard to articulate feelings on this topic because I think that people of color need to be recognized and awarded for their accomplishments. But

it seems like everywhere you turn there’s a group of Swifties (Taylor Swift fans) that are crying about how she’s the best and an “icon,” even though she so blatantly copies and takes inspiration from Black and brown people.

Black artists can put out any type of project and still be put in the urban category.

FKA Twigs, a Black British singer who was nominated for Best Music Video for her song “Cellophane,” has also spoken on this topic.

“When I first released music and no one knew what I looked like, I would read comments like: ’I’ve never heard anything like this before, it’s not in a genre.’ And then my picture came out six months later, now she’s an R&B singer,” FKA Twigs said in a 2014 interview with The Guardian.

This is just one side of the problem. Other than being short-changed in the breadth of music that these artists can be affiliated with, there’s also the problem of even getting in the door at all. When it comes to Latinx

music, the Grammys has made a place at the table for Latinx artists… but did they really? The winner of the Best Latin Rock, Urban, or Alternative Album, Rosalía, is a white woman from Spain. Now last time I checked, Spain is not part of Latin America.

The Recording Academy jumped at the opportunity to give the award to someone who spoke Spanish, but they didn’t care enough to do the research.

Hispanic is NOT the same as Latinx.

We can’t even focus on getting afro-Latinx artists in the categories if they won’t even get white Latinx people in!

All we can do is continue to support the Black and brown artists we already love because we can’t continue to wait on white people to acknowledge us. We have to make sure they know that we understand the game and we’re not down for the sh*ts.

Black Men Should Do Better Last November, Jalen rose Managing Editor Gabrielle Union-

Wade was fired from America’s Got Talent. This termination happened after Union-Wade reported sexist and racist behavior in the work environment. After this news went public, Union-Wade received tremendous support from the general public as well as fellow colleagues. So much so that NBC is currently conducting an investigation into America’s Got Talent to further explore Union-Wade’s concerns.

Last week, when asked for his thoughts on the situation, current America’s Got Talent host, Terry Crews had some comments.

“I can’t speak for sexism, because I’m not a woman, but I can speak on behalf of any racism comments,” Crews said. “That was never my experience on America’s Got Talent.” He also added that the environment on set is “the most diverse place I have ever been in my 20 years of entertainment.” This statement serves as a complete denial of

Union-Wade’s claims.

What seems like a simple disagreement is actually a much larger issue that has often profited Black men at the expense of Black women.

Too often do we as Black men call on Black women to aid us in our times of need just to throw them under the bus the next day.

Two years ago when Terry Crews came forward as a sexual assault survivor, Gabrielle UnionWade publicly offered him support. So why was Crews so quick to refute Union-Wade’s claims of a toxic work environment?

The short answer is privilege. Crews has the privilege to deny sexism. He has the privilege to avoid discussing “controversial” matters. He has the privilege to offer

his opinion without worrying about his personal job security. And he knows this.

The longer answer is that Black men (like Crews) expect Black women to stand in solidarity over racial discrimination yet refuse to acknowledge gender discrimination specifically constructed against Black women.

Black women aren’t able to choose between being Black and being a woman. It’s about time that Black men recognize this.

Choosing to speak out against racism but staying quiet once the topic of sexism arises is not solidarity. It’s faux social justice.

“Too often do we as Black men call on Black women to aid us in our times of need just to throw them under the bus the next day.”

Performative wokeness only benefits oppressors.

Crews had the opportunity to publicly support Union-Wade and chose to do the exact opposite. His words would only appeal to the heads of NBC. Denying a toxic environment doesn’t benefit Black men and it definitely doesn’t benefit Black women. If anything, it causes unnecessary harm.

As Black men, it’s our responsibility to use our privilege to uplift our women. Using our privilege to further separate us from Black women is dangerous. This choice is rooted in a false perception of acceptance from the extra privileged (white people).

We need to do better. It’s unacceptable that we are consistently the weakest link.

Black women deserve better. Gabrielle Union-Wade deserved better. If we aren’t willing to support our women, how can we expect them to do the same?