MBSA club hosts discussion on mixed and multiethnic identities
Members of the club join together to take a picture at the end of the meeting (Tariq Jernigan/The Black Explosion)
The Multiracial Biracial Student Association at the University of Maryland held a meeting on April 26 going over the importance of mixed and multiethnic identities within the LGBTQ+ community.
MBSA is a club at the University of Maryland that strives to promote multicultural awareness while creating a diverse and tight-knit community that can be called home for everyone not only mixed-raced people.
Ava Lamberty (she/her) Junior at the University of Maryland studying Biology, and treasurer of MBSA, presented at the meeting and began by prompting everyone to introduce themself.
The group first discussed intersectionality.
Intersectionality is experiencing multiple oppressed identities including sexuality, gender identity, class, disability and more.
When giving the prompt, Lamberty led members of the club into small groups to talk about their intersexual identities and how they can navigate through them on a daily basis. Lamberty herself experienced erasure of her identities at a doctor’s office.
Lamberty went over the importance of finding out who you are and being comfortable with who you are.
“You come into every space as a person who is queer, multiracial, disabled, whatever different identities that you fit in,” Lamberty said.“You can’t just be like, oh I'm just not gay today”.
Feeling comfortable in who you are is something that Lamberty and the club members expressed throughout the meeting. Finding your people no matter what you identify with or as is what the MBSA wants their club members to find.
“It's so hard because just knowing that you don't really have to fit into one little bucket because growing up, I kind of always knew I just was black, little black enough,” Hana Eubanks (she/her) Senior and member of the club said.
The club is hosting a sendoff for seniors, calling all Maryland students to attend and join their club no matter what they identify as.
“You'll probably find someone who is the same mix as you, which is always super fun. They shouldn’t be scared, especially this club, there’s nothing to be scared of in this club,” Eubanks said.
Finding the in-between and discussing these problems with a community that you feel comfortable with is important according to Lamberty.
“You find yourself by finding other people who relate to you,” Lamberty said.
A senior member of the club, Courtney Ruddy, talked about her experiences on the first days she walked into the club, saying “When I walked in the room that first day, [I] found the community immediately. They were so nice”.
There’s no such thing as not fitting in the club because all identities and races are welcome, Hannah said.