A number of UND student groups and local organizations have organized a panel Friday to discuss Ebola’s impact on racial divisions.
The panel, which will be held from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Memorial Union Loading Dock at UND, will feature local pastors, doctors and UND Police Chief Eric Plummer.
“Certainly there are a lot of feelings that this Ebola thing has turned into another reason for racial division,” said Zachariah Oluwa Bankole, UND law student and attorney general of the Midwestern Black Law Students Association. He said the outbreak has become the butt of jokes and has the potential to cause more negative attitudes toward people of West African or of African descent.
After the panel there will be a fundraiser and dance party from 10:30 p.m. until 2 a.m. at the same location. Clothing donated by Neff Headwear and other companies will be raffled off as well. Money raised will be used to send food and supplies to hospitals in Liberia.
“We certainly want to do our part to support and effectuate a change,” Bankole said.
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The groups responsible for organizing the panel are the Black Law Students Association, the Black Student Association, the African Student Union and the United African Communities.
