A lot of growth comes in the college years.

If students choose to work and live elsewhere after graduating, their community may be different from the community they grew up, especially if they came from small Iowa towns.

“B.E. [Black Experience] on the Reel,” a film series organized by multicultural student organizations on campus, originated from discussions in the African American Studies Society. In the discussions, the group decided it would be important to raise awareness about the limited roles blacks have played in the movie industry and shed light on the limited images of blacks at Iowa State.

Both movies will

be shown

at 7 p.m. in Carver 205, followed by a discussion.

The groups wanted to illustrate the multifaceted experiences blacks and minorities share today, which extend beyond the few personas portrayed in the media on BET, MTV and VH1.

“Besides the recent images of an apathetic Wayne Morgan, former ISU men’s [basketball] coach, we have seen mostly mug shots of black student athletes when they have been in trouble with the law,” said Alicia McGhee, member of the Black Student Alliance and African-American Studies program. “There are limited images of African-Americans on the ISU campus.”

McGhee, senior in journalism and mass communication, initiated the idea to present the film series to promote cross-cultural awareness of diverse American culture.

“When dealing with a predominantly white population, a lot of [students] have never interacted or dealt with different cultures until they come to Iowa State,” she said. “They are lacking in experience for one, but also in information.

“For people of color, we’re thrown into white culture, but white students are not put in that position where they have to be open to other people’s cultures and actually gain an understanding of why people do the things they do or where certain expressions come from.”

Aisha Mock, member of the Black Student Alliance and the National Society of Black Engineers, said the globalization of the economy and society is causing the world to rapidly become a melting pot.

“We are no longer in an isolated society,” said Mock, employee for the African-American studies program and senior in chemical engineering. “With everything going on these days, you can’t do something without affecting someone somewhere else in the world.”

McGhee said there is too much talk about promoting multicultural understanding on the ISU campus, but not enough action.

“The Black Cultural Center is a perfect example,” she said.

She also noted the limited course offerings in African-American studies, Asian American studies and American Indian studies, which inhibits learning of American history as experienced by different cultures.

Michelle Talbott, member of the Black Student Alliance and graduate student in interdisciplinary graduate studies, said the same concerns regarding stereotypes of blacks are being voiced by students at Duke University after women claimed to have been raped at a party.

“They feel [that] going to a party as a black woman, they’re expected to be a video hoe, instead of a student,” she said.

Mock said the images portrayed in music videos and on-screen are a very small representation of the black culture, which is why they have decided to offer the films.

Eli Branch, member of the Multicultural Greek Council and National Society of Black Engineers, said the intelligence of some races is underestimated, as is the case in the film showing Thursday, “The Spook Who Sat by the Door.”

In the film, a black man gains access to CIA training, and then uses that knowledge to plot a new American Revolution. It satirizes the civil rights problems in the United States in the late ’60s and seriously examines the issue of black militancy.

Upon its release in 1973, the uncompromising adaptation of Sam Greenlee’s controversial novel was demoted to bottom-rung status, and it subsequently vanished for decades until the film was rediscovered and released on DVD in 2004.

Branch, member of the Black Student Alliance and the African-American Studies program, and Mock said they hope to continue this event in upcoming years, and possibly transition it into a film festival.

The movie series is being sponsored by the Multicultural Task Force, NSBE, the Black Student Alliance and the Multicultural Greek Council.

“The End of Uncle Tom” will be shown April 13. The movies will be shown at 7 p.m. in Carver 205 and will be followed by a brief discussion.

Mock said the ultimate goal is to encourage awareness and prepare students for the future.

“We all have to live in this world together and we should all be able to accept each other’s cultures and embrace each other as we are,” Mock said.

“I feel like if we knew more about each other, those types of instances [of clashing cultures] would happen less, and we would all be more comfortable living in this world together.”