With Black History Month right around the corner, the Black/African American Cultural Center at Colorado State University has put together 32 events to bring the community together this February.
Events including discussions, lunches and performances will take place all across campus and will encompass the theme for the month.
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The theme will be Ubuntu, which is a Nguni Bantu term that means “I am because we are.”
While there are many different events taking place all across campus, there are five that members of the BAACC highlighted. While members said that every event is important, these are five the BAACC says you can’t miss.
Black History Month Kickoff, 102.9 Launch Party
Black History Month Kickoff will launch the month’s theme and will present Ubuntu to the community, said Dejuan Chapa, health and human sciences major and BAACC member.
The event will take place on Friday, Jan. 31 at the Lory Student Center Theatre from 4-7 p.m.
The event will include spoken words, dances, singing and other performances. It will present live statues, played by students, that represent iconic people of the past who will tell the stories of those they are dressed as.
More than just a fun celebration, the first event of Ubuntu will be about coming together as a community to share and reflect on the past and future, said Aderonke Adebayo, a health and human sciences major and BAACC member.
“(It will be a) time to reflect on our past, our present and try to see what the future holds for us,” Adebayo said.
Black Student Activist Conference
The Black Student Activist Conference will take place on Saturday, Feb. 1 at the Eddy Building from noon to 6 p.m.
It will be an opportunity for those attending to learn a little bit more about activism and what it means to be an activist.
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“(This event) addresses issues on campus and how we can be proactive to overcome those issues in our community,” Chapa said.
Events like the blackface incident and many more will be discussed, Chapa said.
Yusef Salaam: Keynote Speaker
Yusef Salaam will be a keynote speaker at CSU on Tuesday, Feb. 4 at the LSC Theatre at 6 p.m.
Salaam is one of the Central Park five: a group of men who were convicted for a crime they were exonerated of after spending between six and 13 years in prison.
According to Chapa, this event will take on topics regarding identities and try to make sense of them.
“It’s about intersectionality and how we hold space in those identities,” Chapa said.
The event will discuss how one can hold multiple identities and the ways one coexists with the different facets of said identities.
Being Black & Series: Generation – Baby Boomers
Being Black & Series will be an event in which attendees will be “celebrating history,” Chapa said.
It will feature people from all different age groups, followed by discussions on the effects past generations have on the new generations.
The event will be about “being Black and the generations,” Adebayo said.
The event will be “taking those past generations and showing how they’ve affected us today,” Adebayo said.
This event will take place in LSC room 300 on Thursday, Feb. 6 from 4-5:30 p.m.
Real Talk
Real Talk, taking place every Tuesday at 4 p.m. in the BAACC office, is an opportunity for discussion and community to come forth. It gives students a chance to express their opinions and their emotions, Chapa said.
“It’s a space for all individuals to come and have conversations,” Chapa said.
Real Talk aims to be a place for anyone who is willing to share a conversation or just listen to what their fellow CSU Rams have to share, Chapa said.
February will present four different Real Talk discussions. The first theme on Feb. 4 will be “When They See Us.” On Feb. 11, the theme will be “Relationships in the Black Community.” On Feb. 18, the theme will be “Ubuntu Today in Partnership with Africans United.” The last Real Talk of February will be on the 25th and will discuss “The Validity of the N-Word?” in partnership with El Centro.
The events in the article are not a complete list of all the events occurring next month; there is a vast array that did not make the list. For a full and complete list of events, you can visit the Black/African American Cultural Center‘s website.
Gerson Flores Rojas can be reached at news@collegian.com or on Twitter @GersonFloresRo1.
