WVU to honor African-American accomplishments during February

February 3rd, 2005

February is Africana History Month, and West Virginia University will mark the national occasion with celebrations of music, the arts and the memories of athletes who made magiceven as the shadow of segregation loomed across the playing fields of their youth.

Africana History Month is really about family,said Dr. Katherine Bankole, who directs WVU s Center for Black Culture and Research.Thats what WVU iswere a family. Were vibrant, and were diverse, and we can learn from each other.

Also known as Black History Month, the month celebrates all things African-American, from culture and accomplishments, to art, activism and history. Its roots, Bankole said, run deeper in the Mountain State than more people might realize.

It was founded in 1926 by Dr. Carter G. Woodson, the black educator, activist and son of slaves who dug his way from the West Virginia coal mines to the Ivy League, where he earned a doctorate from Harvard.

The months events include:

  • Feb. 8, National African-American Read-In Chain, 3:30-4:30 p.m., Stansbury Library, 3 rd floor.
  • Feb. 9 and 16, PBS broadcast,Slavery and the Making of America,9-11 p.m. (the four-part series airs locally on Adelphia Channel 8).
  • Feb. 12, Jerry Wilkins Memorial Banquet, 7 p.m., Mountainlair, 2 nd floor.
  • Feb. 14, Natalie Cole in concert, 7:30 p.m., Creative Arts Center.
  • Feb. 17, Urban Film Forum,Flag Wars: African-American Neighborhood Change,7 p.m., Room 458, Business and Economics Building (a panel discussion follows, sponsored by the Division of Sociology and Anthropology and Center for Womens Studies).
  • Feb. 20, African Ensemble Concert, 7:30-9:30 p.m., Lyell B. Clay Concert Theatre, Creative Arts Center.
  • Feb. 21-22, symposium,A look at Brown v. the Board in West Virginia: Remembering the past, examining the present and preparing for the future,College of Law, Lugar Courtroom (call 304-293-2301 for more information).
  • Feb. 22, Africana Studies lecture, Dr. Kwame Boateng,U.S. Diplomacy and West Africa: The Economic Community of West African States, and the Liberian and Sierra Leonian Crisis,7-9 p.m., Room 458, Business and Economics Building.
  • Feb. 24, forum,Segregation and Integration of High School Sports in West Virginia,7-9 p.m., Mountainlair Ballrooms.
  • Feb. 28, general meeting, African Students Association, Mountainlair.

For more information on the months schedule and other Africana events this semester, contact the center online at http://www.wvu.edu/~cbcr or call 304-293-7029.