It’s Black History Month, and several events are scheduled across campus to celebrate African-American heritage.
Ignacio Andrade, community outreach and student liaison for the Office for Inclusion and Intercultural Initiatives, said students are beginning to appreciate the history and story of black Americans.
“That’s really what is most promising to me, because people are sometimes not from the black community and (are) learning to have a genuine appreciation for cultures that are not their own,” Andrade said. “People want to be a part of that community that welcomes others, welcomes people that are different, and also (people) who want to learn more about them.”
Events
—*Slavery to Freedom*, which was started 13 years ago by the College of Osteopathic Medicine, brings notable icons from the American civil rights movement to MSU’s campus for intimate Q&A sessions every Thursday in February.
“This is essentially a host of notable … icons in the American civil rights and social justice movement,” Andrade said. “Individuals that were participating in that movement themselves or scholars and have written about the movement or are connected in some capacity that way.”
—On Feb. 12, the Distinguished Dons of Phi Iota Alpha Fraternity and the Distinguished Men of Alpha Phi Alpha are hosting “The Browning of America,” a program that will look at the growing African-American and Latino populations in America and how it affects America as a whole.
“It’s a program to uplift the minorities as well, because there’s so much stuff that’s negative about both of our communities, politically or academically,” said Paris Wilson, president of National Association of Black Men United MSU Chapter.
—On Feb. 13th, students can meet an African-American quiltmaker from The City College of New York, Dr. Myrah Brown-Green in “My Underground Railroad through Family, Community, the Academy, and How to Make it Through.”
“This is going to be a wonderful display of African-American culture, fashion, quilt making, community and family,” Edozie said.
—On Feb. 16, MSU is partnering with the Charles H. Wright Museum in Detroit to host a free screening of the film “W.E.B. DuBois: A Biography in Four Voices.” A panel discussion will follow.
—On Feb. 27th, Khalil Muhammad, director of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in New York City, will present, “Race, Crime: Modern Urban America.”
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