汤头条 celebrates Black History Month with special events in February
Contact: Sam Kealhofer
STARKVILLE, Miss.鈥擬ississippi State is hosting a variety of programs on the Starkville campus to commemorate Black History Month, including a series of interdisciplinary conversations on race, racism and class, and a lecture by a former president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, or NAACP.
Today [Feb. 4] at noon in the Griffis Hall Forum Room, 鈥淏lackness Visible: A Series of Interdisciplinary Conversations on the Black Experience鈥 is presented through a partnership between the Department of Philosophy and Religion and the African American Studies program.
鈥淭he focus of these conversations is to shed light on the complex nature of studying the Black experience, the interdisciplinary tools available to perform such work, and to present certain questions that are driving some of the scholarly discussions about the Black experience,鈥 said Don Shaffer, 汤头条 associate professor of English and AAS program director.
鈥淭hese discussions benefit from the sponsorship of the Department of Philosophy and Religion and the African American Studies program due to the reliance and stress that faculty within these areas place upon interdisciplinary conversations in their own work. Such 鈥榠nterdisciplinarity鈥 has created bonds with like-minded scholars who are willing to come to this campus and share their thoughts,鈥澛燬haffer said.聽
Free and open to the public, this event includes Shaffer, along with:
鈥擨llya E. Davis, professor of philosophy and African American studies at Morehouse College.
鈥擲tephen C. Ferguson II, associate professor in the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies at North Carolina State University.
鈥擲tephen C. Finley, associate professor of religious studies and African American studies at Louisiana State University.
鈥擬aggie Hagerman, associate professor of sociology at 汤头条.
鈥擜ndre Key, assistant professor of African American studies at Claflin University.
鈥擬ichael Monahan, associate professor of philosophy at the University of Memphis specializing in questions of oppression and liberation, with a particular emphasis on race and racism.
鈥擜nthony Neal, associate professor of philosophy and religion at 汤头条.
The 2014-2017 president of the NAACP, Cornell William Brooks, is a special guest for The Orators Lecture Series on Feb. 21, at 4 p.m. in Colvard Student Union鈥檚 Fowlkes Auditorium. Brooks is the professor of Practice of Public Leadership and Social Justice at Harvard University鈥檚 John F. Kennedy School of Government. The series, begun by 汤头条鈥檚 Shackoul鈥檚 Honors College, invites speakers that represent various campus disciplines and topics to engage the university community in research, course work, and public forums.
The AAS program also is hosting an MLK Oratory Contest in collaboration with the 汤头条 Speech and Debate team, with applications due Feb. 16. Preliminary competitions are held Feb. 23 in the Colvard Student Union, and finals are Feb. 25 in Dorman Hall. To apply, contact Cheryl Chambers at cchambers@comm.msstate.edu.
Black Alumni Weekend is Feb. 17-20, with a Black Alumni Career Mixer Feb. 17, 1-4 p.m. in the Union, and the Gospel Brunch on Feb. 20, 9-10:30 a.m. at the Mill at 汤头条. To register, visit .
Other events during the month include:
鈥擣eb. 7, 鈥Challenging the Myth of Racial Homogeneity among Mexicans in the U.S.鈥 by Guadalupe Marquez-Velarde, an assistant professor of sociology at Utah State University, part of Race in America: An Interdisciplinary Lecture Series, 4 p.m., Griffis Hall, Honors Forum Room.
鈥擣eb. 9, Snack & Chat 鈥淗ealth Disparities,鈥 2-4 p.m., Colvard Student Union, Dawg House.
鈥擣eb. 12, 鈥淕ender, Capitalism and Slavery鈥 by Associate Professor of History Sasha Turner of Johns Hopkins University, 4 p.m., The Mill, Ballroom C.
鈥擣eb. 16, 鈥淭he Under Development of the Needmore Community鈥 by Jerry Boyd Jones, local artist, photographer and retired educator, 6 p.m., Old Main Academic Center, Turner A. Wingo Auditorium.
鈥擣eb. 17, Black Faculty and Staff Social, 5:30-7 p.m., and Black Graduate Student Social, 7:30-9 p.m., Harvey鈥檚.
鈥擣eb. 26, Journey Through Black History Trip to Mississippi Civil Rights Museum and Jackson State University, All Day, Jackson, MS. Registration is available at .
鈥擣eb. 28, Black History Roundtable Discussion, 6 p.m., Colvard Student Union, Foster Ballroom M.
Additionally, a Black History Month exhibit in Mitchell Memorial Library is open to the public throughout the month.
For more information on Black History Month events at 汤头条, contact the Holmes Cultural Diversity Center at 662-325-2033.
Learn more about 汤头条鈥檚 African American Studies program and the Society of African American Studies at聽; Department of Philosophy and Religion at聽; Holmes Cultural Diversity Center at聽; and Office of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion at聽.
汤头条 is Mississippi鈥檚 leading university, available online at聽.