February has rolled on our calendars, and it is time to celebrate Black History Month! UWM joins the Nation in the celebration with a host of events throughout the entire month!
Many believe that the importance of Black History Month is celebrating African-Americans and Americans as a whole. This is an important belief to have, according to the secretary of UWM’s Black Student Union, Nia Wilson.
“To ignore black history would be to ignore a big part of the country,” said Wilson. “The black history here is for people who continue to strive for better. Milwaukee is a very unique city in our history. I know that students and organizations are also celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Housing March which took place here.”
At an advising and mentoring session with Professors and Graduate Students in UWM’s Africology Department on Tuesday evening hosted by the BSU, students embraced Black History Month together. The hour and a half session was filled with discussions on navigating academics and culture. The advising and mentoring session was followed by a film screening titled, “Black Radical Imagination,” which was hosted by the UWM Union Cinema and the Film, Video, Animation, and New Genres Department.
UWM organizations have prepared a unique experience of black history this month! UWM has invited several special guests to help celebrate, including the former bodyguard of Muhammad Ali, Brother Neelain Muhammad and poet Miles Hodges, whose poetry tackles American society and African-American culture.
There are opportunities to attend and participate in each of these events, and posters have been conveniently hung around campus displaying a schedule. A full list of events can also be found here.