An opening ceremony, guest speakers and gospel singers are among the programs that will be a part of the University of Memphis celebration of Black History Month.
The Black History Month committee, a group within the Black Scholars Association, will sponsor major events, as well as partner with other minority organizations’ events during the month of February.
In addition, the Black Student Association (BSA) will upload posts with a social media hashtag dedicated to Black History facts — #28ShadesofBlack.
“We will post different facts every day in hopes of educating our followers, campus and community,” BSA Vice President Railyn Lamb said.
BSA’s mass meeting “Know Your History” on Feb. 27 will feature a game of “Jeopardy!” which will consist of questions about the facts posted on social media.
Some U of M students, like marketing management junior Austin Dean, said that the BSA hosting these events on a predominantly white campus will be effective because it will bring together students of different races and educate them on the culture of African Americans.
“The presence of these types of campus events can develop friendships and allow people to come together, which is always a positive BSA will host an opening ceremony on Wednesday that will honor Dr. L. LaSimba M. Gray Jr., the pastor of New Sardis Baptist Church. The event will take place in the Rose Theatre at 7 p.m.
BSA’s vice president hopes that the presence of these events has an effective impact on students’ perspective of what the month really means.
“There are so many beautiful things that have happened within our community that most people don’t know about,” Lamb said. “I hope that by the end of the month, students will have learned at least one new thing about their history, other races included, because black history is history.”
