Mizzou student group says forced rebranding of 'Welcome Black BBQ' was 'completely disheartening'

The Legion of Black Collegians, a University of Missouri group that says it is “the only Black Student Government in the Nation,” has spoken out after being made to change the name of a welcome party, describing the situation as “completely disheartening.”

The student group initially intended to host its annual “Welcome Black BBQ” party for returning students this fall semester. The university allowed the event to go ahead but made the group change the name to “Welcome Black and Gold BBQ,” in reference to the university’s colors. 

Officials within the Legion of Black Collegians student group have continued to express their opposition to the decision. 

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“It was completely disheartening,” said the vice president of the group, Madison Ward. “It was something we felt like we were not going to have to worry about this year.”

“This is something we’ve created for ourselves that we’ve made to celebrate our Black culture,” a Legion of Black Collegians spokesperson told KOMU 8 News. “It feels like that’s being taken away from us, and not encouraging for us to celebrate who we are on campus.”

Ward expressed hopes that the event would still be well-attended despite the name change: “I’m hoping I don’t see a lack of numbers because of the name change, because we’re still here.” The event went ahead as planned on Aug. 23. 

The Legion of Black Collegians also criticized the decision in an Aug. 16 Instagram post, vowing it will fight against potential future changes to “our fundamental programming.” 

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“We are looking into all avenues to NEVER allow this to happen again. 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,” the students wrote. 

A university spokesperson previously told Campus Reform that the school asked for the event name to be changed so that it would be more welcoming to attendees “with different backgrounds.”

Campus Reform has contacted the University of Missouri for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.