As we move into the second week of Black History Month, I wanted to highlight some ways that we can all engage in celebration events and learning.
Participate in CSU programming
The Black/African American Cultural Center is offering several keynotes, films, and activities open to CSU and the larger Fort Collins community. Below are some highlights:
- Feb. 2, 4 p.m.: Movie screening: Black Art: In the Absence of Light
- Feb. 10, 6 p.m.: Sybrina Fulton keynote, Fulton is the mother of Trayvon Martin and a leader in the national movement critiquing guns and policing in America.
- Feb. 17, 7 p.m.: Movie screening: Respect at The Lyric
- Feb. 21, noon: Nicole Lynn Lewis keynote, author and social entrepreneur
- Feb. 23, noon: A Conversation Around Haiti with Dr. Ernesto Sagas, in partnership with El Centro, at the Lory Student Center, Grey Rock Room
- Feb. 26, 8 a.m.: From Denver to Dearfield: Colorado Black History Tour
Watch Black-centered films/shows
There are many Black documentaries and films, as well as Afrofuturistic series that artfully blend historic events with the Black imaginary to create brilliant Black depictions. Consider watching any of these shows:
- 13th
- Judas and the Black Messiah
- When They See Us
- Watchmen
- Lovecraft Country
Talk with kids about Black history
For those of us with children in our lives, Black History Month is an opportunity to engage them in conversation about Black history, including those about race and racism. You can engage any number of books about Black history, but pairing this with a discussion about race and racism allows for developing social justice in our next generation. Relatedly, you can read an article I wrote on talking to white children about race/racism.
Read about Black history in the U.S.
Unfortunately, many of us do not have a comprehensive understanding of Black history in the U.S. Below are just a few books that can are rooted in Black history and the Black experience:
- The 1619 Project by Nikole Hannah Jones
- Medical Apartheid by Harriet A. Washington
- The Sum of Us by Heather McGhee
- The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
Certainly, there’s probably more here than you might be able to get to in a month, but you don’t need to stop at the end of the February. Let’s keep educating ourselves year round about Black history!
