Black Student Union is a cultural organization at Texas A&M University-Commerce that serves Black and African American students and faculty. 

Primarily, their goal is to enhance educational opportunities for black students and to raise awareness of political and cultural issues faced by the demographic.

Cultural clubs and organizations have been a part of university life for many years as a

growing number of minorities are pursuing higher education.

“BSU is a great org bringing awareness to things that are going on around the world

dealing with black excellence or the problems that can be solved,” junior Derrick Sneed said.

Black Student Union made its way to A&M-Commerce in early 2017.

“I heard about BSU at ManeStreet,” junior Daryl Brown said. “I liked the variety of

events they offered for interacting with students.”

The first Black Student Union was founded in 1966 at San Francisco State University, known as a predominately white institution. 

It was “a safe place for the black community to gather after segregation,” BSU Secretary

JaKyra Givens said. 

She heard about the union at ManeStreet in 2019.

“I like the community that it builds. It brings black students closer to one another,”

Givens said.

Black Student Union is open to all students, regardless of race.

“We have general body meetings every other week on Thursdays in Traditions at the

Student Center,” Givens said. 

The meetings start at 4:30 pm.

But BSU extends past the black community and the Commerce campus, reaching out to

other organizations, raising awareness of global issues and doing community service.

Cultural organizations play a large role on campuses, surrounding students with similar

individuals and exposing them to other groups as well.

“I feel like diversity isn’t taught that much in the classroom, so that’s where the

organizations pick up the slack. They aren’t closed off to one specific culture so all of the

students here have the opportunity to experience different cultures,” Givens added.