Update: Bobby Seale Campus Visit

MSU-YDS

Update: Bobby Seale Visit

(Pictures and Video to come soon!)

MSU YDS, in collaboration with the W.E.B. DuBois Society, another MSU student group dedicated to racial, social, and sexual justice, recently hosted a visit by Bobby Seale, co-founder and former chairman of the Black Panther Party for Self Defense. Mr. Seale arrived at MSU on January 14 and left on the morning of January 16, with the main events taking place on the fifteenth. The day consisted of two “mixers,” the main speaking event, and a dinner with various DuBois Society and YDS members, along with some of our campus sponsors. At the “mixers,” Mr. Seale interacted and talked with students from two of MSU’s residential colleges: James Madison College, and the Residential College for the Arts and Humanities. The main event took place at the Kellog Hotel and Conference Center at 5:00 P.M. and consisted of a lecture by Mr. Seale on “The State of Black Politics in the Twenty-First Century.” The main event was very well attended with only standing room left in the auditorium due to an audience of over 300 MSU students and East Lansing community members. After their departure, Grace Rutledge, who accompanied Mr. Seale on his visit, told us that Mr. Seale had nothing but good things to say about his stay at MSU.

Significance

We, the members of MSU YDS, believe that this event was of great importance in encouraging dialogue within the MSU-East Lansing community both about the implications of the recent election of America’s first black president, and also about the current financial crisis. Mr. Seale addressed President Obama’s recent election and it’s relation to the ongoing struggle for civil rights in the United States, in which the Black Panthers were, of course, played a major part. He also discussed the importance of community organizing and support in times of need like the current crisis, using his own experiences with the Black Panther Party as examples of such activities. The event was, unfortunately, especially relevant in the context of the recent shootings of black youth by police officers. We hope, however, that Bobby Seale’s visit will help to promote dialogue pertaining to these ongoing assaults against minority communities, the structural problems behind them, and what actions might be taken to address these problems.

Follow-up

In the wake of this event, MSU YDS has seen an increase in membership and in interest in the group. We are hoping to ride this momentum and continue dialogue on MSU’s campus about the need for socialism during this vital time in American history.
On the 12th of February, MSU YDS will be hosting a panel discussion about the need for viable alternatives to the capitalist system if we are ever to emerge from this economic crisis, and socialism as one of these alternatives. The panel will include both faculty and student panelists and the event will be titled “Finding a Way Out”. The date for the event is February 12th, and the event will take place at 6 pm. Some members of MSU YDS are also planning on attending the YDS National Conference in New York.