In 1926 Carter G. Woodson, the "father of Black history”, set out to designate a week to celebrate and educate people about Black history and culture. Woodson chose February because it encompasses the birthdays of two Americans who played a significant role in Black American history, Abraham Lincoln, and Frederick Douglass. The goal for Woodson was to encourage the teaching of history of the Black American experience and the history of the African diaspora in public schools. It was an effort to make it a serious area of study within history. Fifty years after the first celebrations, President Gerald R. Ford officially recognized Black History Month during the country's 1976 bicentennial.
Step Afrika! tours to 50 colleges each year, practicing dance styles rooted in African American fraternities and sororities, along with performing traditional African dances. The company headlined former President Barack Obama’s Black History Month Reception and performed at the White House’s first-ever Juneteenth celebration.
Northwest’s Black History Month celebration continues with a movie night, featuring “Do the Right Thing,” at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 6, in the J.W. Jones Student Union Boardroom. Featuring actors Spike Lee and Samuel L. Jackson, the movie is a comedy-drama that depicts racial tension in a Brooklyn neighborhood.
The Safe Zone program is designed to create a network of visible allies for people who identify as part of the LGBTQ+ campus community. The training session provides information and resources related to sexual orientation and identity, gender identity, and gender expression.
Safe Zone training develops:
The University also will host Black History Month Trivia at 6 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 22, in the Student Union Ballroom.
The Office of Diversity and Inclusion will conclude the month’s events by hosting country music artist Rissi Palmer on Thursday, Feb. 29. Palmer will host a songwriting workshop at 10 a.m. in the Student Union Living Room and a workshop covering her radio show at 1 p.m. in the Charles Johnson Theater at the Olive DeLuce Fine Arts Building. She will perform an acoustic concert at 7:30 p.m. in the Charles Johnson Theater. Palmer is one of five African American women to appear on the Billboard charts in the history of country music. In 2007, she became the first Black woman to have a record on the country music charts in 20 years. Palmer, a two-time Grammy nominee, has performed at the White House and the Apollo Theater.
For more information about Black History Month activities at Northwest, contact diversity@nwmissouri.edu or 660.562.1105.
