What is Black History Month?
February marks the month-long celebration of black history, where many can reminisce and educate themselves about the trials of African-American men and women. Black People United President Catherine Townsel said, “The theme for this month is activism, advocacy and agency for African and African-American alliances.”
How is Black History Month Celebrated on Campus?
Black People United, The History club, and the Student Activities Board, joined to celebrate black history month. The three clubs hosted “A Night with Marshall,” an event which celebrated the importance of Thurgood Marshall, the first African-American Supreme Court Justice.
This was the first time the History Club did an event celebrating Black History Month, according to President Ally Brusseau. The club worked in collaboration with BPU to screen the film “Marshall” and host keynote speaker Winston Grady-Willis. The event, food, and snacks were funded by SAB.
Winston Grady-Willis is the director of the newly opened school of Gender, Race, and Nations at Portland State University. Grady-Willis received his knowledge of history and African American studies from multiple institutions including Emory University where he received his doctoral degree. He started the night off by addressing
the social injustice that occurred during the Civil Rights Movement and the setting of the movie.
“If students can make time for events such as this and any opportunity to formally understand the significance of—not only black contributions to US History, but the continued significance of race and racism—at the end of the day, our society will be much stronger,” Grady-Willis stated.
In addition to this event, BPU put up a week-long “privilege board” in an attempt to recognize privilege. “We’re basically putting up a whiteboard in certain spots on campus, in front of the library, OSI, in front of the cafeteria, and it’s going to say, ‘I am privileged…’ and students are going to go up and fill it in.” said Townsel.
The main event for this month is speaker Dominique Christina. Christina holds a double master’s degree in education and English literature and is scheduled tovisitFeb.23from5to8p.m.inthe Firstenburg Student Commons. She will be speaking about empowerment in relation to this month’s theme.
Why February and who is Carter Woodson?
Grady-Willis spoke of Carter Woodson, a renowned historian, publisher, and author. Woodson is known as the “father of black history” and started the celebration of Black History Week, which later became black history month.
Dr. Grady-Willis stated, “Woodson chose February with some intentionality… the birthdays of great abolitionist Frederick Douglass, also the US president Abraham Lincoln fall in February.”
What is the 13th Amendment?
Adopted in 1965, the 13th Amendment abolished slavery and involuntary servitude except as punishment for crime. This exception of imprisonment is blamed for the continued mistreatment of African-Americans in the criminal justice system. The film “Marshall” features this injustice in many different settings.
If interested in additional reading material, Grady-Willis recommended the following:
- “Litigating Across the Color Line: Civil Cases Between Black and White Southerners from the End of Slavery to Civil Rights” by Melissa Milewski
- “Ella Baker and the Black freedom movement” by Barbara Ransby
- “Thurgood Marshall” by Juan Williams