Happy Black History Month!
Photo courtesy of Geneseo Multicultural Center
Black History Month is an opportunity for all of us to reflect on challenges and successes in our march for progress. Take this opportunity to learn more and get involved in the many activities available on our campus.
It’s February again and that means that a month-long celebration of Black life and history is upon us! As folks across the nation commemorate the 100th anniversary of Black History Month, we here at The Lamron would like to share some of the history of the occasion and inform readers on how to get involved in activities on campus in the spirit of community, recognition, and ceremony.
In the interest of exploring the origins of the celebration, The Lamron looked to the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH) for the story of Black History Month’s foundations. This story begins with intellectual Carter G. Woodson, one of the co-founders of ASALH, and his aims to expand and popularize the study of Black life and history. With the help of his fraternity brothers in Omega Psi Phi, Dr. Woodson would first create “Negro Achievement Week” in 1924, and soon go on to expand the call for participation in “Negro History Week” in February of 1926 with a press release.
Dr. Woodson originally structured the week to fall on the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass, which had for years been celebrated by the Black community, although he always steadfastly advocated for education on Black as a year-round endeavor. In the words of ASALH, “Well aware of the pre-existing celebrations, Woodson built Negro History Week around traditional days of commemorating the black past. He was asking the public to extend their study of black history, not to create a new tradition. In doing so, he increased his chances for success.”
The success that Dr. Woodson found speaks for itself: fully realized as a month-long celebration by the end of the 1960s, which would then be recognized by President Gerald Ford in 1976 and officially established as “National Black (Afro-American) History Month” by Congress a decade later, the practice of honoring the lives, stories, and achievements of Black Americans would blossom into one that continuously reasserts their role in driving and shaping the history of a nation.
Black History Month has played a sweeping role in transforming curriculums, bringing celebrations of Black art and creativity into the mainstream, correcting and establishing accountability with regard to narratives of American history as a whole, and, to quote United for Equity’s own staff ed on the subject, “affirming identity and pride within Black communities…fuel[ing] confidence, ambition, and connection…” Here in Geneseo, the reverberations of efforts embodied by individuals like Dr. Carter G. Woodson can be found across campus this month with a calendar full of events to honor Black history and culture.
The month kicked off with the Black Student Union (BSU)’s highly-anticipated annual Soul Food Dinner on Feb. 7. Also included in Geneseo’s programming honoring the Black History Month centennial is today’s 4th Annual Douglass Day Celebration in Milne Library, which is set to feature University of Rochester professor Dr. Jeffrey McCune’s discussion and performance of a famed Douglass speech, followed by a musical performance and an online transcription event. The official Black History Month event calendar—which can be found on the Multicultural Center’s Instagram page @multicultural_geneseo—also boasts a film series hosted in the MCC every Thursday at 6 p.m., with screenings of Judas and the Black Messiah (2021) and Sinners (2025) coming up on Feb. 19 and 26 respectively.
We also have our annual Diversity Summit, “a full day of diversity-focused sessions hosted by members of the campus community and beyond” in the words of the webpage for Diversity at Geneseo, coming up on Feb. 24, followed by a day of “Love & Joy: BHM Celebration” at the MCC on Friday, Feb. 27 at 7 p.m. to close out a dazzling milestone in Black History Month history.
We mustn’t forget, though, that Black life and history are not confined to a calendar of only 28 (sometimes 29) days; life and history are always in bloom, shaping and being shaped, and these deserve recognition and rejoicing every day of the year. Just as Dr. Woodson pushed for continuous study of Black history, we at The Lamron would like to remind readers that the opportunities to carry out that mission are boundless.
We encourage our readers to engage with and support culture clubs like BSU, which offer consistent opportunities for education and fun, as well as the work of professors like our very own Dr. Mark Broomfield, who will be presenting on his recently published book Black Queer Dance: Gay Men and the Politics of Passing for Almost Straight in the MCC on Thursday, Mar. 6.
To close with a quote from Geneseo’s Director of Multicultural Affairs, Clifton Harcum, “Black History Month is more than remembrance for me. It is a call to live with purpose and courage right now. It honors the strength and sacrifice of those who pushed forward anyway, and it reminds us that our responsibility is not just to celebrate history but to build legacy through how we lead, serve, and show up every day.”