Northwest Missouri State University’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion will celebrate Black History Month by hosting guest performers, a trivia night, and movie nights featuring an African-American horror film.
“It’s about getting an opportunity to learn about a culture that’s not like your own,” Latonya Harrison, a coordinator of diversity and inclusion at Northwest, said. “It’s an opportunity to experience a different culture in a way students can relate – and learn things that they might not have known or understood.”
Black History Month was founded as Negro History Week in 1926 by Carter G. Woodson with the goal of educating Blacks about their cultural background and instilling a sense of pride in their race. Since 1976, Black History Month has been celebrated annually in the United States.
All of the month’s activities at Northwest are free and open to the public.
Northwest begins its celebration by hosting a “Black History Month Edition” of its First Friday series from noon to 1 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 7, in the Office of Diversity and Inclusion in the Student Engagement Center at the J.W. Jones Student Union. The office hosts First Friday events during the first Friday of each month, enabling students to participate in fun activities and build a sense of community on the Northwest campus.
The Kotchegna Dance Company highlights Northwest's Black History Month activities with a performance on Feb. 12. (Submitted photo)
Northwest’s Black History Month celebration continues with a performance by the Kotchegna Dance Company, sponsored in collaboration with the Department of Fine and Performing Arts, at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 12, in the Charles Johnson Theater at the Olive DeLuce Fine Arts Building.
Performing in elaborate masks to the explosive percussion of a corps of brilliant drummers, Kotchegna Dance Company brings to life the ancient stories and legends of Africa’s Ivory Coast. Known for its masked and stilt dances, intricate footwork and explosive energy, Kotchegna Dance Company has been embraced by audiences around the United States.
The University will also host Black History Month Trivia at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 20, in the Student Union Ballroom. Participants will test their knowledge in categories including cinema and music, and prizes will be awarded.
The Office of Diversity and Inclusion concludes its Black History Month activities at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 26, in the Student Union Living Room with a showing of “Friday.” The 1995 comedy and drama starring Ice Cube, Chris Tucker and Nia Long depicts a random Friday in their Los Angeles neighborhood as the newly unemployed Craig and his pal, Smokey, try to come up with $200 to pay off a debt.
Additionally, the Office of Diversity and Inclusion is collaborating with Chase O'Gwin, an associate professor of psychology at Northwest, and his Psych of Film course to offer movie screenings of two different versions of “CandyMan,” a supernatural African American horror film. The original film released in 1992 and directed by Bernard Rose will be shown Tuesday, Feb. 18, and the 2021 version a modern interpretation of the movie directed by Nina DaCosta will be screened on Tuesday, Feb. 25. Both showings begin at 2 p.m. in Colden Hall Room 3500.
After both “CandyMan” screenings, O’Gwin will lead a discussion about how race is depicted in horror films, based on ideas presented by African-American film scholar Dr. Robin Means Coleman in her book “Horror Noire.”
Other activities hosted by the Office of Diversity and Inclusion during February include its monthly Doughnuts with D&I from 8:30 to 10 a.m. Monday, Feb. 3; H.O.T. Topics from 5 to 6 p.m. Monday, Feb. 13; and Bobby’s Barbershop will open from 9 a.m. to noon on Sunday, Feb. 9, and 4 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 19.
For more information about Black History Month activities at Northwest, contact diversity@nwmissouri.edu or 660.562.1105.