You might be wondering what the average Tufts student does in their free time? You might be asking yourself what clubs or extracurricular activities are tufts students involved in? There are so many extracurricular activities to get involved in here at Tufts. For example, I am a part of the Tufts Historical Review, Onyx Magazine (a black student led magazine here at tufts) and last but not least Black Men’s Group.
Black Men’s Group is a student-led group here at Tufts sponsored by the Africana Center. The purpose of Black Men’s groups is to create a community and a safe place for black men to garner fellowship and community at Tufts University. Our meetings occur weekly at 8pm on Thursday nights. My good friend Wanci Nana is the discussion leader for our group. He is a fantastic discussion leader and always keeps the conversation flowing. During our meetings discuss our specific challenges we face as Black men here at Tufts. We also often times have guests’ speakers come in to talk about many topics ranging from Black history at Tufts to modern day prison reform. We have also had events like social mixers, parties and trivia nights with other black student groups at Tufts and with other black student groups at other schools in the Boston area. For example, we had a black history and culture trivia night last February for Black History Month with Harvard’s Black Student Union. We also hosted a party last February for Black History Month in which we invited other Black students from other campuses.
Black Men’s Group is extremely meaningful to me as a Black man on Tufts' campus. When I first came to Tufts as a freshman it was a little bit of a culture shock for me because I came from a majority African American county in Maryland and my high school was majority Black. During my first year it was a little hard being the only Black male in many of my classes. I didn’t know how people would perceive me. I admit I dealt with imposter syndrome during my first year. This caused me to have a lot of self-doubt and social anxiety during my freshmen year. Joining the Black Men’s Group helped me to adjust better to Tufts. I created new friendships and connection in this group by creating fellowship with other Black men. Now I am aware that I have allies and people that look like me who will have my back during tough times.