Since 1976, Black History Month has been a nationally recognized holiday dedicated to celebrating Black stories and achievements.
So how can you celebrate on campus?
Belmont University is set to host several WELL Core events throughout the month of February to help students gain a deeper understanding of the history and future of the Black community.
“With everything that's been going on in the country right now with talks about critical race theory and the AP African American courses being blocked, I feel like it's more important than ever to have black voices, black culture and black leaders weaved through our stories that we tell every single day,” said Black Students Association social media coordinator Marcus Knight.
The month started with a “blackout” where students and staff were encouraged to wear the color black “in solidarity with supporting and celebrating Black History Month,” according to the Belmont website.
Due to inclement weather, Wednesday morning’s event hosted by Grammy Award winning gospel singer CeCe Winans was postponed.
But that is not the only event planned for the holiday.
“Belmont has Black history programs all throughout the month of February, so get plugged in with BSA on social media and go to Belmont's website,” said Knight.
On Monday, Ecclesia Houston pastor Sean Palmer will speak during convo hour in the chapel and a “Black Table Talk” will be hosted by the Black Student Association on Instagram live.
After that, the remainder of February will have at least two programs each week for students on campus.
The month’s festivities end on Feb. 27 with two WELL Core events in the morning and a workshop in the evening. At the events, attendees will learn about African music and poetry and its importance in telling stories.
In addition to attending events, Knight said that Black allies can participate in Black History Month in two major ways.
“Number one, check up on your Black friends. This is not a ‘Hey, it’s Black History Month so this is the only time I’m going to check up on you this year’, but especially with things going on in the news it’s good to see how their mental health is,” Knight said. “Number two, invest in the Black dollar.”
Knight means buying merch from a Black creator or buying clothing from a Black owned business.
Knight even suggested skipping Jeni’s ice cream for an ice cream shop that is Black owned and operated such as Rolled4Ever.
“We just want to have things so that people around Belmont can be involved,” Knight said.
“But also have stuff that’s frankly just for Black people where we can really live in our truth and be authentically ourselves and be able to enjoy this month as well.”
For more information on Belmont’s Office of Multicultural Learning & Experience and their schedule for the month, visit here. For more information on BSA, visit here.
This article was written by Gracie Anderson