Actress and social activist Gabrielle Union came to the University not as a character, but as her genuine self on Wednesday.
A Q&A-style speech was hosted in the PMAC by the Gamma Zeta chapter of Delta Gamma Fraternity with Union as the key speaker. This served as part of their Lectureship in Values and Ethics national program.
The lectureship was the fourth done by Delta Gamma at the University, with others in 2008, 2011 and 2013. The Delta Gamma Foundation gives grants to 19 campuses around the country to fund the program, which was established by Dr. Paul Martin and Dorothy “Dotty” Garrett Martin to encourage the discussion of values and ethics in an open forum.
Chad Sabadie, a University alumnus and anchor for WVLA Local 33 News in Baton Rouge moderated the presentation.
“Gabrielle Union is well-known for having overcome adversity and is seen as a role model to young women everywhere,” Delta Gamma director of public relations Marissa Torres said. “As a campus community, we had some very serious conversations recently regarding sexual assault, and we saw this as a way to bring national recognition to a conversation already happening on our campus and within the Greek community.”
Union shared her story of sexual assault, explaining that she was raped at 19 years old during a robbery at her part-time summer job. She said she became an activist for sexual assault survivors and women’s health after her experience.
“If you have information you know could potentially change, or alter or inspire … if I have a rope that I could toss out and save somebody, and I choose not to, I’m a bad person,” Union said. “My journey is now part of my DNA, and I just want to share that with you guys.”
She said she was very aware of her victimhood following the incident and still is. Union said every day she gets closer to taking back her voice and her power. She encouraged community support of sexual assault survivors.
“Give a damn before it happens to you,” Union said. “You don’t need to be the victim or have it happen to someone in your family or one of your friends for you to care about sexual assault.”
She discussed the necessity of self-love and staying true to oneself.
Union said her parents told her as a child that she had to be bigger, badder and better just to be considered equal. This led to intense insecurities and lack of confidence throughout her life, but now, she no longer feels the need for validation from anyone.
“I can say now, at 43, after doing a lot of work on myself, I am finally embracing my authentic, genuine self, and that self is a decent human being,” Union said.
With a bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of California at Los Angeles, Union said she never envisioned the path her career would take post graduation.
After Sabadie and Union’s interview, the floor was opened to the crowd for questions, and many attendees asked questions pertaining to Union’s success as an African-American woman and how the attitude toward sexual assault should change.
Union is also an ambassador for the Young Survival Coalition and Susan G. Komen, as well as a host for sexual violence awareness discussions at the Rape Treatment Center at UCLA.
“Lectureship is a great way of making a scary subject like sexual assault less intimidating by opening a dialogue that pushes to break the stigma and empower community members,” Torres said. “One of the many values Delta Gamma was founded on was hope and hope is what I want people to get.”

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Greta Jines

Actress and advocate Gabrielle Union speaks Tuesday, April 26, 2016 during the Delta Gamma Lectureship in Values and Ethics in the PMAC.