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A Black student group at the University of Missouri said school officials forced them to change the name of its "Welcome Black BBQ" fall event.
The Legion of Black Collegians, Mizzou's Black student government, said it spent months fighting to keep the event's original name before university officials decided it had to be renamed to "Welcome Black and Gold BBQ," a nod to the school's colors.
"When presented with the idea, we initially wanted to keep the original name or not have the event at all," the Legion of Black Collegians wrote on Instagram.
The group said they decided to still put on the event to not "override the hard work our government and other black student leaders put into this nor face consequences that could lead to massive losses for our government so early into the year."
University spokesperson Christopher Ave said the name of the event, which is sponsored by the school, was changed "to reflect that our campus is open and welcoming to all."
"Achieving excellence for all is at the core of the University of Missouri’s mission," Ave said in a statement. "And clearly, in striving for an inclusive university, we must not exclude (or give impressions that we are excluding) individuals with different backgrounds, experiences and perspectives."
The Legion of Black Collegians said the barbecue will still be held on Friday (August 23) at the Gaines/Oldham Black Culture Center.
"The event itself is not changing," the group said in its Instagram post. "Although this is not the desired outcome, we still want the barbecue to remain a staple for incoming and returning Black students to make connections and find their space at Mizzou."
"We are looking into all avenues to NEVER allow this to happen again," the post continues. "If it does, rest assured the Legion will have nothing to do with it. The erasure of the names and visibility of our events will continue to erode our presence on this campus, and we plan to do everything we can to divest from that.
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