For Members Only, Northwestern’s Black student alliance, hosted the fourth annual Intercollegiate Black Cookout, welcoming five Chicago-area universities to the Lakefill Saturday.
Students from DePaul University, University of Illinois Chicago, Loyola University Chicago, Elmhurst University and The University of Chicago were all in attendance. Complete with student vendors, food trucks and line dancing, the event was themed “Trail-Ride” and hosted hundreds of students.
“It’s really important to connect with the people that share an identity with you, come from the same background and have had the same experiences,” said Weinberg sophomore and FMO co-Coordinator Marie-Synclaire Gbadebo. “We are in a very predominantly white institution area, so I think it is important to create opportunities to meet more Black people from other areas.”
FMO and Black student unions from the other five universities began communicating with each other about the cookout in the fall, Gbadebo said. As the host, FMO led the logistics planning to ensure a safe and fun event for all attending.
For several students, this annual event wasn’t just about free food and mechanical bulls. It was about being in a space where they could truly see people like themselves, regardless of where others are from.
“At first, I wanted to go to a historically Black college or university, so it’s really important for me to come to events like this, so I can see my people and connect with my people,” UIC freshman Ashley Phillips said. “I feel like this event is important because not many Black people know their culture and know people like them.”
McCormick junior Matthews Wondwesen took the event as an opportunity to begin sharing his Black hair care brand NOIRÈ with the community.
“I feel like, as a Black-owned business, this is the perfect event because it’s an event where all kinds of cultures and backgrounds that are all under the identity of Black come to,” Wondwesen said. “They promote the idea of being inclusive to everybody. It’s a community here that they created.”
Wondwesen said Black student events and spaces have given him perspective and community in places beyond his own school, a sentiment that he’s not alone in.
Several students at the cookout said transitioning into spaces where they’re underrepresented can be a culture shock. Events like the intercollegiate cookout offer these students a reminder of what it’s like to belong.
“It’s like, dang, I forgot we could get down like this because I haven’t really seen a large Black event in a minute,” DePaul freshman Cecelia Nyangacha said. “But you’ve got to be a villager if you want a village, so I always come outside when there’s events like this going on.”
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