February is Black History Month, and Eastern Michigan University celebrates with a schedule of events that includes guest speakers, one a former Black Panther; a town meeting, music, dancing, poetry, a poster contest and an opportunity to see what you would look like if you were from another race.
Eastern Michigan's Department of African-American Studies, which sponsors Black History Month on campus, presents an event series, "The Cultural and Social Voice of African America." Events include:
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Akinyeme |
A Town Hall meeting is scheduled Tuesday, Feb. 12, 6:30-8 p.m., room 300, Halle Library. Akindele Akinyemi, CEO and co-founder of Network One, presents a lecture that addresses the social and educational challenges facing African Americans.
Akinyeme is a nationally renowned motivational speaker, researcher and educator. He is an advocate of family values and education as a means of wealth creation and believes that education, stable famlies and self-reliance are the best antidote to poverty. One Network is a non-partisan conglomerate of small businesses designed to gain economic and political power.
Former Black Panther and Nkrumah Scholar Ahmad Rahman presents the keynote address, "Parallel of Racial Injustice in the 1960s and 2000s," Monday, Feb. 18, 7-9 p.m., Student Center Auditorium. His keynote will provide students witha historical context for understanding the changes and transformations that have occurred in the realm of race relations in the United States.
Rahman, an assistant professor of history at the University of Michigan-Dearborn, was a leader in the Black Panther Party in Detroit. He was sent to prison in 1971 as a result of an FBI investigation. Rahman spent 20 years behind bars, earning his bachelor’s degree and becoming the first prisoner admitted into a graduate program at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor. Rahman is currently working on the "Kwame Nkrumah Reader" and the "History of the Black Panther Party in Detroit."
- "The Last Poets," a presentation of classic hip-hop and spoken word, will be performed Tuesday, Feb. 19, 8 p.m., Roosevelt Auditorium.
- The department's kick-off event occurred Feb. 4 with a showing of the John Singleton film, "Higher Learning", at the Student Center. The screening included a discussion of the fictional drama, which examined the personal, political and racial dilemmas facing a group of college freshmen as they begin their first semester at Columbia University.
"The importance of highlighting black history is that it is a signicant part of American history and should not be excluded from any conversation," said Charnessa K. Paige, program coordinator for the Center for Multicultural Affairs, one of the co-sponsors for EMU's Black History Month. "Black History Month is one of many venues that provides African Americans with the opportunity to continue to celebrate those who have made significant contributions, to acknowledge those are currently writing history, and to create sustainability that far exceeds the month of February."
Diversity and Community Involvement, within Campus Life, also has a number of activities planned.
During "The Human Race Machine," viewers will be able to picture themselves as if they were part of seven different races with the help of a special computer photo machine Feb. 4-8, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., Student Center dining room stage. The experience allows those on campus to move beyond appearance and contemplate a deeper human connection. For more information, please contact Campus Life, 487-3045.
Through Feb. 6, Diversity and Community Involvement sponsors Black History's Unsung Heroes Contest. This poster contest is an opportunity for the EMU student population to educate their fellow peers about individuals who often go unrecognized during Black History Month. For more information, call the Center for Multicultural Affairs, 487-2377, e-mail them at cma.dci@emich.edu.
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WHAT'S IN A WORD?: Three men of different
cultural backgrounds present "N*gger, Wetb*ck,
Ch*nk" and confront the notion that "those
words" can' be discussed during a performance
Feb. 11, 7 p.m., in the Student Center Auditorium. |
Theater, hip-hop, stand-up comedy, slam poetry, history and true-life stories are combined by three men of different cultural backgrounds during "N*gger, Wetb*ck, Ch*nk", Monday, Feb. 11, 7 p.m., Student Center Auditorium. The three confront the notion that "those words" can't be discussed. For more information, please contact Campus Life, 487-3045.
A Brown Bag luncheon and follow-up discussion to "N*ggers, Wtb*cks, Ch*nks", is scheduled Wednesday, Feb. 13, noon, room 300, Student Center. For more information, please contact Campus Life, 487-3045.
The Black Student Union presents "Ol' Skool Overload," Wednesday, Feb. 13, 8-10 p.m., Grand Ballroom B, Student Center. Come watch your friends imitate Aaliyah, Run DMC, Smokey Robinson, Queen Latifah and many more. Doors open at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $6 and are available at the Student Center, the Convocation Center and the Quirk Box Office.
Diversity and Community Involvement wraps up its celebration with "A Nite of Jazz", with Mark Pappas, an EMU professor of music, providing music Feb. 21, 9 p.m., room 300, Student Center. The Eastern Michigan University Black Alumni Association will present their book scholarship awards. MLK's "Montage" cast will perform theatrical interpretations of Langston Hughes' poetry. Food will be provided and the event is free to the public. No jeans or gym shoes allowed; dress to impress. For more information, contact The Center for Multicultural Affairs, 487-2377, or e-mail CMA.DCI@emich.edu.
A trip to the Underground Railroad Freedom Center took place Feb. 2. Students had the opportunity to visit the center in Cincinnati to learn more about the underground railroad and the concept of freedom.
A Black History Month community service project is planned at Stone School High School Saturday, Feb. 16. For more information, contact the Center for Multicultural Affairs, 487-2377, or e-mail labraham@emich.edu
A Black History Month closing ceremony is scheduled Feb. 21, 9 p.m., room 300, Student Center. For more information, contact the Center for Multicultural Affairs, 487-2377.
Black History Month at EMU is sponsored by the African-American Studies Department and co-sponsored by the office of the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, the Office of Governmental Relations, Campus Life, the EMU Student Center, the Center for Multicultural Affairs and the EMU Black Alumni Association.
