James Loy:

Major Insight is a production of Miami University. This is where we showcase successful students, their promising new research, and its relevance in our world.

James Loy:

Jannie Kamara has become a true campus leader who advocates for creating a greater sense of connectedness and inclusion. As a senior with a double major in black world studies and diversity and leadership, Jannie was recently elected as the student body president of the Associated Student Government, also known as ASG, which is a position she's worked to secure since she was a freshmen. She is also the former president of the university's Diversity Affairs Council, also known as DAC, where she focused on peer mentorship and work with marginalized communities. On this episode, Jannie Kamara is here with Major Insight host Petter Everett to talk about how students can get more involved on campus, her research around black female leaders during the civil rights movement, and more.

Petter Everett:

So, just for everybody listening, just introduce yourself a little bit.

Jannie Kamara:

Hi, everyone. My name is Jannie Kamara. I am senior double majoring in black world studies and diversity in leadership. I'm from Columbus, Ohio, so two hours away from Oxford. I am the student body president for this year. I'm really excited for that. I would have never expected the year to start out this way, but here we are. I'm also in an acapella group, so that's just a little fun fact.

Petter Everett:

How was the election for you last year? I know you were elected student body president. How did that go, and what does that look like right now?

Jannie Kamara:

That was a wild process. That was absolutely ...

Petter Everett:

Yeah, I saw you at Armstrong everyday handing out pins.

Jannie Kamara:

It was really fun. It was hard to adjust to going from in-person to virtual. We had a good amount of time being in-person and getting to do a lot of like organization visits and tabling in Armstrong and everything along those lines, basically running around campus. We got to have that experience, so I'm very happy for. But when it came to the election day, that was the most stressful part for me, which is as it should be for everyone else. But going from a thing that I know, I'm used to being in person when it comes to elections and going and seeing people in Armstrong and saying, "Hey, have you voted today?" But luckily it came out in my way. I'm very happy about that, but I wish it was in person. But I'm still grateful for the experience

Petter Everett:

Any academic stuff, any cool leadership stuff going on this semester, or is it all just on hold?

Jannie Kamara:

ASG is still going on because we need to have a senate this year. That's my big thing this semester and trying to create change while we can in quarantine and remotely. As for now, this summer has been a roller coaster, has been a legit rollercoaster for ASG and this presidency. So, starting off in June, we have the not so favorable statement released from Miami about George Floyd, and that was very frustrating to have to interact with and talk about-

Petter Everett:

Just for people that maybe haven't seen it, could you recount that for us?

Jannie Kamara:

... The biggest thing that I got from it, that spoke more ... was the fact that the signed administrators took up more space than the actual statement. That can just tell you a lot about the statement. It was not much, and I had conversations with different administrators about this. I was like, "A lot of students expected more from this, especially with George Floyd and us seeing that such graphic murder." Such a graphic murder of a black man, you would expect the university to say more. So I'm very proud of ASG's statement because I helped a lot with getting that out there.

Petter Everett:

Obviously, you've developed at Miami as a really strong leader. You got elected body president. Is there any experiences either at Miami or otherwise that really allowed you to tap into that leadership potential or that set you on this path?

Jannie Kamara:

Yes, absolutely. In high school, I didn't do student council, but I got involved in a national and state program through the YMCA called Youth and Government. I got to do a lot of mock legislative body-type of programs. I would go to the Ohio state house for a couple of days, and we would be with other high schools across the state and talk about these different forms of legislation we brought in. So, I think my first year I was working on mandatory minimums for, I think, Schedule 2 (II) drugs, so mostly focusing on marijuana as a high schooler. I also looked at policing policies in Ohio, but I also got to have the opportunity to go to a national conference for two years that focused on legislation and advocacy.

Jannie Kamara:

So, that really prompted my love for government and governmental bodies, and I knew that from that program I was like, "I want to get involved in student government in college. I want to get involved in ASU when I get to Miami." So, when I came to Miami, I got involved in student government, obviously, loved my experience there. It taught me so much about the purpose of cooperation. We all talk about cooperation, but especially in bodies where there are contrasting ideologies and just diversity, the idea of coming together and being able to work together towards this common goal is something I learned the huge importance of in student government. I did that for two years. I took a break junior year to join the Diversity Affairs Council and be the president there, and that was a heartbreak for me because I love ASG so much.

Jannie Kamara:

It taught me so much about the importance of mentorship and peer mentorship in particular and how that can help you be a stronger leader, because in ASG, even though we all around the same ages, because of the different positions we hold and the different time, how long you've been there, there is this like respectability. Not hierarchy, because I don't like to use that word, but just this different levels of respect and different levels of experience that contributes to this peer mentorship as in these incoming first year students or incoming new senators. I've been on here for two years. I can talk to you about different bylaws and how our body functions in general.

Jannie Kamara:

So, being a part of DAC was another big experience when it came to leadership because it taught me the importance of diversifying your palette when it comes to leadership. When you're like a one-tone leader, you only know that, and whenever you step outside of that, you are confused. You shouldn't do that as a leader. You should have the ability to adapt as a leader because when you're a leader, you are leading people. You can't just be stuck on this one little tone and then expect to make change with that one little tone. It's not going to work. You have to switch it up and change it up and get different groups and audiences and different demographics to understand your message and understand who you are and what you want to change.

Jannie Kamara:

So, joining DAC taught me a lot about when it comes to the importance of working with marginalized communities. I already knew that as a person in the marginalized communities, but it brought into my mind how important it is to center marginalized communities in these different fights and different initiatives and different programs that we're in. Because at the end of the day, we, as students are going to face a lot of things, but it's mostly our marginalized communities who are going to get the bigger hit because they are oppressed.

Jannie Kamara:

They are going through these different issues in a significantly different way than the majority. So, it taught me a lot about community. It taught me a lot about why we need to like bring to the Dean of Students' attention about this particular issue it's happening or this particular incident of discrimination. That taught me about the true importance of diversity. That was a lot of different words, but I hope that made sense.

Petter Everett:

Yeah, I'm following, I think.

Jannie Kamara:

All right.

Petter Everett:

The podcast is so you can talk. I don't need to talk. This is for you and for all the listeners. We're really focused on reaching students that are trying to figure out, "Oh, how can I turn my major into a career? How can I develop as a person?" And also targeting their parents so they can understand, "Okay, here's why a college education is valuable." That's what we're really trying to talk about, and I think you're a great example of how college has really transformed somebody. That's why we brought you on.

Jannie Kamara:

I love college so much. So, I actually want to go into higher education. Just being at Miami and getting involved in... I was a student orientation leader. My sophomore year I got involved in... I was a tour guide for a hot second. I've been involved in so many different programs that have taught me about the purpose of college. College is not about getting your degree, and I know that we all talk about just getting my degree and getting my money and go. You're paying to get an education. It's about being curious. It's about always questioning things. It's about exploring. That's what college is about.

Jannie Kamara:

I'm so grateful that I learned that process while being at Miami because of the different experiences I had. That's something that I wish more people would think about, especially in the classroom, because in the classroom, it's super important to when you're there to be present and ask questions. This education is not for anyone but you. Get what you want out of it because you only have this chance to be an undergrad once. Make the most out of this. It's a great time.

Petter Everett:

There's a definite difference in the mindset you'll see in a classroom, in a college classroom of a student who they're in this with a transactional mindset where it's like, "I am paying this much money for this degree. I'm entitled to this degree. And I'm just going to walk out with this degree," versus someone who's seeing it more as an opportunity instead of a transaction.

Jannie Kamara:

That's a common thing we see, and that translates into co-curricular things. People come here, and they're like, "I'm just going to get my degree and go." They don't really get involved in a lot of things. So, people leave college and they're like, "I wish I would have done this. I wish I would've done that." So do it. That's an easy answer. Just do it, and that goes into advocacy work, too, because a lot of people I've talked to who have graduated, they're like, "I really regret not getting involved in this movement, or in this fight, or getting involved in this organization." For those who are still here, get involved with that one organization that you're too scared to get involved with because you'll never know what you're going to learn from there. You never know what's going to happen in that organization.

Petter Everett:

Any classes or professors that have really changed or transformed the way you look at the world?

Jannie Kamara:

The impact was Dr. Wilson Okello. He was my intro to black world studies course my sophomore year. He really helped me love black world studies. I was originally not a black world studies major. I was international studies with an Africa concentration. Prior to that, I was a political science major. So, sitting there in a classroom and being able to deeply analyze my identity and the history and the black theories that are connected to the ways in which I look at myself, was very interesting, and that how it also plays into how society runs and functions around black people was very interesting to me. Being in that course opened my eyes up to so many different areas that I'm so interested, too. Black feminist theory is something I'm very interested in, and looking at black women and their impact, especially in leadership, in civil rights movements, and social movements. So, that's actually my senior project.

Petter Everett:

Okay.

Jannie Kamara:

Yeah.

Petter Everett:

So, let's talk about this now.

Jannie Kamara:

Yeah. I'm hoping... So, right now at its current state, I am focusing on black female leaders during the civil rights movement and comparing that to the different social movements of today, particularly focusing on 2020 and the civil rights movements that were in the summer... Because we haven't really officially labeled it as a civil rights movement, but I'm going to call it a civil rights movement because so much is happening this summer. Seeing how black women play an impact on these different movements. And so what I'm doing is potentially going through the civil rights trail that fans across the American South. I'm going to Alabama. I'm going to Arkansas, potentially. Memphis, I'm going to. Mississippi is a big place that I'm going to. So, I'm excited to go and explore the different grave sites and different historical markers and different places down South.

Jannie Kamara:

I got to go there a year and a half, two years ago with Randi Thomas' office. He's the director of Institutional Relations for Miami. We went to the National Civil Rights Conference in Birmingham, Alabama, and one of the little places that we got to go visit was that the church was burned [inaudible 00:00:13:02]. We went to go visit because they were having, I think, a 55th memorial. Driving from Birmingham, as a city, to Oxford, Mississippi... It's the middle of nowhere in Mississippi, was a very interesting journey for me. That's also why I want to do this again because it was scary. Because being in the deep South, in the forest, that is filled with so much history, rich history of black people and black suffering, it was just ... the feeling and the dynamic out there was just so different for me. It just really held on for me.

Petter Everett:

So, it was a physical feeling for you being there. It was. Okay.

Jannie Kamara:

Yeah, it was a physical feeling driving out there. It was scary because for me knowing the history of Mississippi, but particularly the route that we took that actually went past the grave site or the marking where the three men were lynched and their grave was buried. Driving past that and feeling that dark energy that's still the evil and hatred was just a lot for me. So, it was a very much a physical feeling, and I want to go back and explore that. I really enjoy my major because I've also really come to learn I like a lot of historical analysis and things, but mostly getting artifacts and stuff and getting a feel for this was something that was actually taken from this event. And here it is in today, today's era.

Jannie Kamara:

I find that so interesting because just imagining what that situation was like back in 1964, what would that situation been like going to that church and watching it burn and going there and then getting killed after that. That's just fascinating to me because it's this is such a rich, rich history that we don't talk about or we don't focus on. I was talking to my advisor about this, and she's like, "You can bring a person down with you." So, I'm pick... And I'm talking to my friends and talking to people would be really interested in this kind of work and seeing if they'd be interested to go down with me and go on this journey. So, I'm doing a lot of personal reflection as a component of the senior project, so I can bring it back and actually write a paper about the importance of vulnerability and these very uncomfortable situations and how that helps with retention and keeping that information within you.

Jannie Kamara:

Because when you get that physical feeling and that emotional feeling from this thing that you're reading or this... For example, I went to the lynching memorial in Birmingham, and I will never forget that because being in that space and watching these different pieces of metal hang from the building was just heartbreaking. So, it will stay with you for forever. So, that's a different piece of like the educational and school-based portion of it because I want to also tie it back into education and how that also the importance of the study away courses, because it was originally going to be a study away course. But I had to change it in switched around because of COVID.

Petter Everett:

All right. So, I always ask this as the final, big question. Do you have any really advice or any... Especially now as a senior, any guidance you could give to younger students coming in of how to be involved, how to tap into that leadership ability, or how to get the most out of their college experience?

Jannie Kamara:

My biggest advice is tap into your interests and tap into those things, your passions. If you look at the world and the things that you don't like about it and how you want to be an advocate, tap into those things. If you're very interested in environmental justice and you're like, "I really hate how this government, the United States government is not helping with climate change," tap into that and get involved in an organization that focuses on environmental justice and environmental justice policies. It's hard to find that, especially as a first year and you trying to figure out your path. And for those who don't know their passion, it's okay to not know them. I mean, the biggest [inaudible 00:16:58] is explore into the different organizations that peak your interest. So, if you're a person who is like, "I kind of have a liking for education anything," joining an organization focused on education reform, if you're interested in that.

Jannie Kamara:

I have an interest in music. Getting involved in a music organization or getting involved in... If you're in the actual department getting involved in that department, the best thing you can do is getting involved in something that peaks your interest and sticking with it so it could help you figure out what your other interests are. Because ASG, I came in,. I was like, "I know that I want to be in student government, but I don't know what I want to do in student government." So, getting in ASG and sitting down and hearing this diverse array of different issues that people are facing at Miami helped me get an idea of what I am passionate about. So, academic policies I'm very about, because I think it's very important to ensure that the classroom is very student-centric.

Jannie Kamara:

Diversity inclusion is something I'm very passionate about. Student wellness and student mental health in particular is something I'm very passionate about because of ASG, but also because of my own personal things. So, mental health, I struggle with my mental health. Diversity inclusion, being a person of color, and then academic policies, being a person who's had to struggle in the classroom because of my mental health. So, those are just a bunch of little things that you can do, people can do, when it comes to getting involved. It's figuring out what you want out of it.

Petter Everett:

Absolutely. Thank you so much for coming on I really appreciate it.

Jannie Kamara:

Thank you for having me. Oh, my gosh. I'm really appreciative of this opportunity.

Petter Everett:

Absolutely.

Jannie Kamara:

I had a fun time.

James Loy:

Jannie Kamara is the president of the Associated Student Government. She's also a black world studies and diversity and leadership double major in Miami University's Western Program, and thank you for listening to this episode. If you know anyone who hopes to make a powerful impact on their world, please tell them about the Major Insight podcast. You can find many more episodes wherever podcasts are found.

SHOW NOTES:

Featured Majors: 

Black World Studies, Diversity and Leadership

Featured Organizations & Internships:

Associated Student Government, Diversity Affairs Council, Western Program

Career Clusters:

Law and Government