The First Annual Black History Month kickoff celebration was held at the Faculty Club on Feb. 1, marking the start of a month’s worth of activities and events to commemorate the contributions blacks have made to society and culture.
Guardian
“”If you know where you came from, there’s no limit to where you can go,”” said African American Student Union President Ral Ndubatku during his address, quoting author James Baldwin.
The kickoff event featured a keynote address by economist and syndicated columnist Julianne Malveaux, and included a catered brunch, an awards presentation and performances by local gospel choirs.
Malveaux, who pens a weekly column that appears in over 20 newspapers and has authored several books on economics, spoke about how she feels black history and culture should not go unrecognized the other 11 months of the year.
“”I want a whole year for black history,”” Malveaux said. “”We need to celebrate black history every day.””
During her address, Malveaux stressed the need to promote diversity in higher education, drawing upon a statistic showing that the percentage of blacks with a college degree by age 28 is half the rate for whites.
“”The education gap must be closed,”” Malveaux said. “”A classroom should have a wide range of participants to contribute to the learning experience. Who wants a class full of only valedictorians, anyway?””
Higher education was a theme emphasized in the days’ speeches. Brief biographical anecdotes of black academics, such as sociologist and author W.E.B. Dubois; Ernest Everett Just, a Howard University biologist and first recipient of the Spingarn Medal; and Phyllis Wallace, the first black woman to earn a doctorate at Yale University.
Renee Barnett-Terry, a co-chair of the event, noted that this year’s national theme of the celebration, “”The Souls of Black Folk: Centennial Reflections,”” is a reference to the DuBois’ landmark book on black society published in 1903. In “”The Souls of Black Folk,”” DuBois claimed that “”the problem of the 20th century was the problem of the color line.”” Barnett-Terry said that “”the efforts of black Americans to reconcile their African heritage with their pride of being U.S. citizens”” is still a relevant issue today.
Also during the event, Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Joseph W. Watson was presented the first Award for Outstanding Contributions to Higher Education by Chancellor Robert C. Dynes. A misty-eyed Watson appeared overwhelmed with emotion as he accepted the award.
A schedule of Black History Month on-campus events can be found on the World Wide Web at http://blackhistorymonth.ucsd.edu.
