Black Student Union kicked off Black History Month on Wednesday with some educational entertainment in Westlawn dining hall. Diners watched a slideshow presentation featuring images of people and events throughout African-American history, paired with music.
Each year, BSU plans a string of festivities for the month of February to help spark awareness and provide opportunities for engaging discussion about race.
Next Friday, BSU will host a showing of the movie “The Help” at 7 p.m. in Newcomer 17, alongside Campus Activities Council and the women's studies department. There will also be a Black Heritage Happy Hour from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. on Feb. 21 in Java Junction. Student artists will display work that represents African and African-American cultures and there will be games such as double dutch.
Cora Broaddus is one of the leaders of BSU and is in charge of helping to coordinate the events for this month.
“It is important to celebrate and participate in Black History Month because it really is everyone's history, not just African American's,” said Broaddus. “It is a month of remembering those who struggled through hard times and fought for the rights that we so take advantage of today. We need to understand our past or else we will just continue to repeat the same mistakes in the future.”
