Members of the Student Programming Association, Alpha Phi Alpha and the NAACP will host several events at the University during February to celebrate Black History Month. The NAACP and Alpha Phi Alpha will pay tribute to African American inventors Feb. 8 in the Student Union. While the exhibit will feature various figures, it will focus mostly on Augustus Jackson. Jackson, who worked as a chef in the White House in the 1820s, was also a confectioner in Philadelphia, Pa. He was best known for creating numerous ice cream recipes and improving the method of manufacturing it. Free ice cream will be given out in honor of Jackson.
“I hope that all students will just be educated on the history and contributions made by African Americans, because oftentimes these contributions are overlooked,” Antoniece Hester, accounting sophomore from Syracuse, N.Y., said. “I also want students to be aware that history, in general, is a part of all of our lives.”
On Feb. 11, Alpha Phi Alpha and the NAACP will have a voter registration table open to all who are interested.
“We will be stressing the importance of voter registration to African American students,” Hester said.
The Renaissance Ball, which will feature a celebration of the achievements of African Americans in literature, art and music, will be held on Feb. 20 from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m.
Hester said these events are crucial to how students view history.
“I believe this celebration is important because there is so much more to history than what we learn in a regular government or history class,” Hester said. “People have to realize that everything that we have and do in life, we are only able to do because of those that have come before us. It is important to acknowledge the people that have created new ways of living and aspects of life.”
The Renaissance Ball will consist of a silent auction, a three-course meal, music, poetry and artwork.
The ball is open to the public, students, faculty and staff. All are welcome.
Michael Matherne, director of campus recreation, said the events offered during Black History Month have varied over the years, but all of them have given great learning opportunities.
“A student’s college experience is made more enriched through outside-of-the-classroom learning opportunities. These programs offer our campus community the chance to participate and celebrate the accomplishments of great Americans,” Matherne said.
The SPA will also present a gospel tribute to New Orleans native, Mahalia Jackson, in Talbot Theater, on Feb. 23. The time will be announced at a later date.
“The Gospel event sounds very exciting, and I salute the Student Programming Association for planning it,” Matherne said.
Feb. 24 will be a day focusing on the diseases that affect the African American community. There will be free screenings for high blood pressure given in the Student Union from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Matherne said as an educator he appreciates the pioneering work of W.E.B. DuBois. “He understood the causes of class struggle and spent his life addressing political disfranchisement,” Matherne said.
Black History Month originated from a celebration created by Carter Godwin Woodson, the son of a slave, who began high school at the age of 20. He went to study at Berea College, the University of Chicago, the Sorbonne in France and Harvard University, where he earned a Ph. D. in 1912. He later trained black historians to collect and preserve documents on Black life. Woodson’s life’s work was to educate everyone about the contributions made by the Black community.
February was selected as the month to celebrate Black History because Fredrick Douglas and Abraham Lincoln, famed abolitionists, were born during the month.
