Clipping from an interview with Dana Owens

Clipping from an interview with Dana Owens

Clipping of an interview of Dana Owens conducted by Ariauna Buckingham on November 18, 2020. Owens describes how Black students hung out in the area of the Roaden University Center they called Africa and how she eventually used the Black Cultural Center.

Clipping transcript:
Ariauna Buckingham: So, you mentioned the Black Cultural Center. Did you stay in there a lot and what was that like?

Dana Owens: We—and when I say we, collectively Black students, downstairs in the UC there were two sections. And there was one section right in front of the current or used to be SGA office that that area had these couches, modular couches. And so that was known as Africa. So that was where all Black people went and stayed. You could be there all day. There were some people that were literally there—well, seemingly, maybe not literally, seemingly were there all day. And it was a space that if you didn’t want to go to your dorms or somebody lived off campus, they’d come on, come in, you’d library, you gotta type in the library, so you go to the cafeteria, and then you’d go back. So, I started out with that because that was my first experience of coming to the UC. I was like, I like how this works. You want to know—honest, for that time it took to kind of walk past the UC front glass and you could see who was on campus. Mayme Martin was in the Cultural Center and then I think Rosa was there. And then they didn’t have anybody. And then Tammy was there. So those were the three that I remember. The three ladies that held the Director position during my tenure, my first few years in undergrad. I think Tammy came when I was in grad. But anyway, there was a little bit of transition between for me, because it took me a little bit to know that the Cultural Center was there, because when you walked into the UC, anybody that you wanted to see was just right there. Eventually I started spending more time in the Cultural Center and less time downstairs. It was a great space to have. However, it was kind of out of the way. Meaning, if you wanted to be social, like I said, your first point was to kind of walk in the UC on that main level and if you wanted to see somebody, usually they were right there. So, to go to the Cultural Center took a little bit of effort to go up. But, once I started to go, that became the place where I spent more of my time than downstairs. It slowly transitioned into a space that—it was there for the culture. It was there for--like I said, growing up, I was used to being in a community where people looked like me. Neighbors, teachers, church. Most people in my sphere looked like me, so then going there I had that opportunity in the Cultural Center. Now, it took varying forms through the years. At some points, you know, it was like a studying place at some points, it was a social space that if people wanted to be social, that’s where you needed to be. The pendulum would swing the other way and then it would become a space of if you needed a place for quiet and studying, to be studious also you could go there. But it was always good to have, from the time that I started going until leaving. Like, it was just a space, a nice space to have.

Black Cultural Center Oral History Collection

Copyright held by Tennessee Technological University. This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. In addition, no permission is required from the rights-holder(s) for educational uses. For other uses, you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-EDU/1.0/