A Black History Month speaker encouraged TCU students not to allow others or an institution to force them into boxes they don’t fit into.

Entertainer and journalist Jeff Johnson said some Black college students might grapple with an internal struggle between the dominant culture at predominantly white institutions (PWI) and their respective priorities. 

“There are expectations when you go to a PWI or even the wrong school that you have to fit in this box,” Johnson said.  

He said that it’s important for students to recognize the box and step away from it if necessary.  

“I went to the University of Toledo on a full-ride track scholarship thinking I could be a whole person in college like I was a whole person in high school,” Johnson said in response to a question from MeKayla Cook, a junior theatre major.  

He said he walked away from a full-ride scholarship at the University of Toledo because he wanted to become more involved in campus life by joining the Black Student Union, which he claims the institution severely lacked.  

Johnson said he understood the internal struggle because he studied the life of Paul Robeson, a former Rutger University graduate who, at the time, was the only Black student at the institution. 

“With a piece of strategy and a desire to make a difference as well as silent help,” is what Johnson attributes as the solid foundation that made the Black Student Union successful at the University of Toledo.

These core propositions seen with his Student Union are why offices like TCU’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion are significant in the TCU community. 

“Whenever we have offices that remain committed to the value of what it means to have diversity, inclusion and equity on a college campus, it’s great,” Johnson stated while giving his opening remarks.  

Students like Favor Igwilo, a sophomore pre-med major, thought the Black History event was a success. “I enjoyed hearing Jeff’s story and how the ways he went about change on his campus,” Igwilo said when explaining how TCU’s Black Student Association promoted the Zoom panel, making her aware of the DEI event.