When American University (AU) revealed the venue for its Annual Founder’s Day Ball, students at the predominately White institution in Washington, D.C., had mixed reactions. The dance party is scheduled at the National Museum of African American History & Culture on the evening of Mar. 3.

Founder’s Day Ball is an annual party that celebrates the founding of AU. The Student Government takes the lead on hosting the dance party every year. Both the president and vice president of Student Government for this year are African Americans.

The National Museum of African American History & Culture, which was recently featured on a stamp, will host an American University party. The school has had a number of troubling racial incidents. (Courtesy photo)

In recent years, the event has been held at museums such as the Newseum, the National Portrait Gallery and National Air and Space Museum. But this year’s venue has faced some criticism from both faculty and students alike.

Merdie Nzanga, a former African American AU student who now attends Howard University, told the AFRO she had “mixed feelings.”

“I think it could be an opportunity for the African American community to really educate people,” Nzanga said, “while at the same time I see a bunch of spoiled, rich racist White liberal AU kids not really understanding the meaning of Emmett Till’s casket.”

Nzanga acknowledges the different sides of the situation.

“On one side, I think it’s bad because … I don’t really think people understand or take African American history and culture seriously at AU due to the racial tension, and the other part of me … I genuinely think it could be an opportunity for people to learn from their ignorance,” Nzanga told the AFRO.

AU has had a number of racial-bias incidents on its campus. In May 2017, multiple bananas were hung from nooses on the first day the first African American woman took office as Student Government President. In September 2017, 10 Confederate flag fliers were found across AU with cotton stuck to them.

For these reasons, Nzanga said having “closeted racists” at the museum is not appropriate. “I don’t appreciate people using solely for entertainment… having these kids there is really not appropriate.”

Nzanga added it would be a different scenario if an HBCU had its parties at the museums. “Because … African Americans at HBUC’s understand the history of our culture.”

But Tamara Young, an African American student at AU, didn’t expect the negative reaction from people when the venue was announced.

“I love the location…It’s a really hard museum to get into, and so it’s the opportunity for people who haven’t been to the museum to visit,” Young told the AFRO.  “The museum has events all the time so I didn’t really see an issue about the location.”

Young added that even if some students at AU don’t respect the culture, their attendance to the dance couldn’t be regulated. “It’s a slippery slope, and it’s hard to navigate that,” Young said.

Like Nzanga, Young said she hopes it’ll be an educational experience for some people who are not aware about Black culture.

Thery Sanon, an African American student at AU, shares Young’s sentiments on the location for the dance.

“I feel like we’re spending too much time worrying about our white peers being problematic and forgetting the fact that we are still going to have fun,” Sanon told the {AFRO} in a statement.

Sanon added that he knows students from all races who don’t feel comfortable going to the dance because of the venue, fearing something will go wrong. “Everyone going knows that this is a possibility, but this should not detract from how lit this year’s Founders is going to be,” Sanon said.