{"id":213960,"date":"2024-01-17T17:58:57","date_gmt":"2024-01-17T22:58:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/?p=213960"},"modified":"2024-02-15T09:38:12","modified_gmt":"2024-02-15T14:38:12","slug":"celebrating-black-heritage-at-montclair-state-university","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/2024\/01\/17\/celebrating-black-heritage-at-montclair-state-university\/","title":{"rendered":"Celebrating Black Heritage at ÌÇÐÄvlog"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">As Black History Month approaches, the African American Studies program, the African American Caucus, the Black Alumni Advisory Council and a coalition of campus partners have put together a series of programs and activities to honor Black heritage and foster solution-focused dialogues about a range of social justice topics. The theme for the month is \u201cWalking in the Footsteps of Greatness\u201d and programming includes art and museum exhibits, a film screening, a panel discussion and more.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Events kick off on Thursday, February 1, with the Black History Month Opening Day Program, which includes a procession for a flag raising ceremony. All are welcome to attend. Afterward, members of the campus community will give a brief presentation of their favorite or most influential Black historical figures. A full listing of events and programs scheduled to date are as follows:<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><strong>FEBRUARY 1-28, 2024 \u2013 Black History Month Exhibit in Sprague Library<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><strong>FEBRUARY 1, 2024 \u2013 Black History Month Opening Program<\/strong>, 11:50 a.m. <span style=\"font-weight: 400\">President Koppell will lead a procession, along with campus police color guard escort, from the Kasser Theatre to the flagpole by the Student Center. Campus members join the procession along the way. Following the ceremony, including the reading of a proclamation, singing of the Black national anthem and flag raising, all will proceed to the Student Center Ballrooms to continue the opening day program. Key faculty and staff will discuss influential Black historical figures:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Ashante Connor \u2013 Benjamin Banneker<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Marcheta Evans \u2013 Maya Angelou<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Daniel Gurskis \u2013 Oscar Micheaux<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Reginia Judge \u2013 Charlotte Ray, Esq.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">David Vernon \u2013 Lewis Latimer<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Rita Walters \u2013 Lorraine Hansberry<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>FEBRUARY 6, 2024 \u2013 History of Step<\/strong>, <span style=\"font-weight: 400\">2:00 p.m.- 3:00 p.m., Bloomfield Campus &#8211; Talbott Hall (Student Center). This event will give an explanation of why Greek Fraternities and Sororities step \/stroll. There will be a brief demonstration of stepping and strolling by some of the organizations on campus.\u00a0 It will showcase the history of stepping\/strolling from past years to present times.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>FEBRUARY 7, 2024 \u2013 Black History Month Luncheon<\/strong>, 11:30 a.m. \u2013 2:00 p.m., in the Student Center Dining Room prepared by Dining Services.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>FEBRUARY 7, 2024 \u2013 Black History Museum and Film Screening<\/strong>, 10:30 a.m.- 4:30 p.m., Student Center Ballrooms A &amp; B. Join us for a journey of Black American History featured on posters and a screening of 1619.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>FEBRUARY 16, 2024 \u2013 Conversations with the Chancellor<\/strong>, 11:00 a.m. \u2013 11:45 a.m., Virtual event live streamed from the Bloomfield Campus <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/bcmsu_csle\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">HERE<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. This monthly event features Dr. Marcheta Evans and two special guests. They sit and talk about various subjects such as relationships, hobbies, music, failures, celebrities, future goals, etc.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>FEBRUARY 19, 2024 \u2013 Black Alumni Success Panel<\/strong>, 4:00 p.m. \u2013 6:00 p.m., at the Feliciano School of Business Room 140. Celebrate Black History Month with the Black Alumni Advisory Council as we \u201cstand on the shoulders of greatness\u201d with our accomplished black alumni in a special Career Panel. Learn about their professional journey and network with other BAAC successful professionals in the Black Alumni Advisory Network.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>FEBRUARY 21, 2024 \u2013 African Dance<\/strong>, <span style=\"font-weight: 400\">6:00 p.m. -7:30 p.m., <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Bloomfield Campus &#8211; Deacon&#8217;s Den in Talbott Hall.<\/span>\u00a0<span style=\"font-weight: 400\">This event is a dance showcase which has instructors and live drummers. People who attend will learn the history and terminologies of African Dance culture. Attendees will have a chance to get up and learn a routine with the instructors and have a chance to freestyle as well. This program is definitely one that will give you a great workout and have you smiling throughout the entire time.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>FEBRUARY 21, 2024 \u2013 Discussion with Jennifer Jones, the <a href=\"https:\/\/rockettejenn.com\/about\/\">First Black Rockette<\/a><\/strong>,\u00a01:30 p.m. -2:30 p.m., <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Studio 1200 in Life Hall.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>FEBRUARY 23, 2024 \u2013 DIASPORA: A Collection of Black Art! Presents \u201cCookout\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0 Performance 8:00 p.m. -9:30 p.m., in Leshowitz Recital Hall, adjacent to the atrium. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">A student-organized and produced space for self-expression through music, movement, art, and spoken word. Through this event, the struggles, emotions, and cultures of students of color are celebrated and appreciated. Produced by student Vincent Means for the second year in a row.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>FEBRUARY 27, 2024 \u2013 Documentary Screening: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lowndescountyblackpower.com\/about\">Lowndes County and the Road to Black Power<\/a><\/strong>,\u00a02:30 p.m. \u2013 5:00 p.m., University Hall 1040.<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Through first-person accounts and searing archival footage, LOWNDES COUNTY AND THE ROAD TO BLACK POWER tells the story of the local movement and young Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) organizers who fought not just for voting rights, but for Black Power in Lowndes County, Alabama.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span class=\"prpl-button\"><a href=\"https:\/\/montclair.co1.qualtrics.com\/jfe\/form\/SV_6FPQ1nxC3NcxnM2\">Register Today<\/a><\/span><br \/>\nFOR ANY OF THESE PROGRAMS<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Throughout the month, highlights of Black Historical Figures will be distributed daily via the campus-wide email list.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Program Collaborators and Co-sponsors are: African American Studies; Center of Pedagogy NER; Black Alumni Advisory Council; Office of Social Justice and Diversity; African American Caucus; African American Museum of Southern New Jersey; Sprague Library; Campus Police; Black Student Union; MSU Dining Services; Office of Civic and Voter Engagement.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>Join the Black Alumni Advisory Council<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Black Alumni Advisory Council brings together ÌÇÐÄvlog graduates who are of African descent in the Diaspora, connecting them to their alma mater and engaging them in preparing today\u2019s students for academic and career success. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/baac\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Click here to learn more about the BAAC<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>Make an Impact!<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Also, as we take this month to honor Black Heritage, we invite you to<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400\">join the<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/crowdfund.montclair.edu\/project\/40141\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Black Alumni Advisory Council\u2019s Join Me with $83 Campaign<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> in support of the BAAC Initiatives Fund. This fund supports scholarship, book funds, and areas needed to support the success of our students as well as enable the BAAC to develop programmatic opportunities to build a vibrant and supportive alumni network.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span class=\"prpl-button\"><a href=\"https:\/\/crowdfund.montclair.edu\/project\/40141\">Make a Gift<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<h3>Origins of ÌÇÐÄvlog\u2019s Annual Black Heritage Month Program<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In 1986, Dr. Saundra Collins, then Director of African American Studies, established the first flag-raising and coordinated the first reading of an African American Heritage Month proclamation with Barbara Milton, then Director of the Equal Employment and Affirmative Action Office.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The event was called African American Heritage Month Celebration to acknowledge, recognize and honor our roots as African descendants. Beginning in 1986, Dr. Collins designed and posted the first in a series of Black History Month bulletin boards in the main corridor of College Hall.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">For the past 35 years, African American Studies program faculty have chosen a theme to guide our annual event. Themes are created to address the origins of Black History Month, provide education about the accomplishments and contributions of African peoples around the world, advance social change and build community around a shared commitment to diversity, inclusion, justice and equity.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Over the years, the annual program continued to expand. Dr. Leslie Wilson provided lectures on the national origins of Black History Month. Dr. Collins added pouring libation to honor ancestors of African descent. Around 2001, Dr. Sandra Lewis joined this part of the ceremony, offering a portion of the libation in the Yoruba language.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">African American Studies, the African American Caucus, academic and administrative units, and student organizations collaborated to create cultural programs that raise awareness about Black heritage, as well as foster solution-focused dialogues about a range of social justice topics including racial microaggressions, the Black Lives Matter movement, common experiences with racial injustice and cultural unity among people of African descent around the world, structural issues that sustain an achievement gap between Black students and other groups in K-12 settings, and much more.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In 2004, the first processional was held, starting from the front gate to the flagpole with drumming and a color guard escort by the MSU police. The theme that year was \u201cWe are Africans Wherever We Are: Shared History, Shared Destiny\u201d. The processional and color guard escort became a new dimension of the annual program.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Join the African American Studies program, the African American Caucus, the Black Alumni Advisory Council and a coalition of campus partners for a series of programs and activities during Black History Month<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":353,"featured_media":212184,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-213960","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-76_alumni-news-and-events"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/213960","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/353"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=213960"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/213960\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":214027,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/213960\/revisions\/214027"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/212184"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=213960"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=213960"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=213960"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}