The Black Student Union (BSU) and B.L.A.C.K. (Blacks, Latinos, Asians and Caucasians Keeping Unity) have teamed up to organize events honoring Black History Month.
Bernard Desilus, president of B.L.A.C.K. and a junior majoring in biology, said the student groups didn’t want overlapping programs.
“Instead of having conflicting events, we join in,” Desilus said.
This year’s theme is “History Still in the Making,” according to Gilbert Arias, BSU vice president and a senior majoring in sociology.
“We chose this theme because we want this month to be as memorable, educational, inspiring and entertaining as possible for not only students of color on campus but for the student body at large,” Arias said.
Arias hopes that the celebratory events for Black History Month will bring people together to celebrate racial unity.
“We want to show people that Black History Month is still relevant to the African American community, but most importantly that this shouldn’t be a month of celebration for only students of color on campus but for everyone to learn something new [and] meet new faces,” Arias wrote in an email.
On Thursday, Feb. 2, BSU hosted the Kickoff Celebration, the first event of the month, in the Dickinson Dining Hall, which included student performers, speakers, food and music.
Their next major event, according to BSU President Desiree Yeboah, will be a poetry jam this Friday at the Undergrounds Café in the Old University Union. The jam will feature a performance by Philly Youth Poetry Movement, followed by an open mic session.
“They are a group of teenage kids from Philly with an amazing gift for spoken word,” said Yeboah, a senior majoring in integrative neuroscience.
Yeboah said BSU’s main event is set for the end of the month to wrap up the celebrations and hone in on the meaning of Black History Month.
Hill Harper, a film, television and stage actor who stars in the CBS drama series “CSI: NY,” was invited to be the keynote speaker at this month’s final event on Wednesday, Feb. 29 in Lecture Hall 1.
Past keynote speakers include Cornell West, Angela Davis, Elaine Brown and Boyce Watkins, according to Yeboah.
“I feel that these events are important because they help us as students of color reflect on the achievements of one another and how far we have come,” Yeboah wrote in an email to Pipe Dream. “They are important because other Binghamton University students get to see how hard student leaders on campus, like BSU, work to ensure that Binghamton University remains diverse and rich in culture.”