Athens, Ga. – The University of Georgia will celebrate Black History Month 2016-“Hallowed Grounds: Sites of African American Memories”-with a wide variety of programs and activities across campus, including a keynote address by scholar and journalist Marc Lamont Hill and a gala celebration of the Harlem Renaissance.
The monthlong series of lectures, performances, movies and discussions will celebrate diversity and inclusion on campus, with particular focus given to significant milestones in African-American history and culture.
Hill will speak on “Building Community in an Hour of Chaos: Progress in the Age of Obama” on Feb. 18 at 7 p.m. in the Tate Student Center Grand Hall. The host of HuffPost Live and BET News, Hill also serves as a political contributor for CNN. He is a Distinguished Professor of African-American Studies at Morehouse College in Atlanta.
The lecture is free and open to the entire university community. Hill’s visit is co-sponsored by the University Union Student Programming Board within the Tate Student Center and Multicultural Services and Programs.
Other events associated with Black History Month include:
Black History Month Kick-off
Feb. 1, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., Tate Student Center Concourse
Multicultural Services and Programs offers music, tabling by student organizations and information about opportunities to get involved in Black History Month programming.
“Hate: A Journey to the Dark Heart of Racism”
Feb. 2, 7-9 p.m., Richard B. Russell Building Special Collections Libraries
Performance: “Fires In the Mirror”
Feb. 2-7, 8 p.m. and Feb. 7 at 2:30 p.m., Seney-Stovall Chapel
A screening of Nadav Eyal’s film and a discussion of hatred toward ethnic and minority groups, and how to respond. Panelists will include Cas Mudde, international affairs; and Dawn Bennett-Alexander, employment law and legal studies.
$12; $7 for students
Lecture: Patricia Bell-Scott
Feb. 4, 5:30 p.m., Russell Special Collections Building
Patricia Bell-Scott, UGA professor emerita of women’s studies and human development and family science, will discuss her new book, “The Firebrand and the First Lady,” which is a portrait of the friendship between civil rights activist Pauli Murray and Eleanor Roosevelt. Co-sponsored by the Institute for African American Studies.
“Honoring Ancestors” Community Service
Feb. 6 from 9:30 a.m.-1 p.m. and Feb. 17 from 2:30-5 p.m., Brooklyn Cemetery
Volunteers assist in the cleaning and maintenance of Athens’ historic cemetery. Sponsored by Service Ambassadors within the Center for Leadership and Service.
FaceOff 2016 Step Show
Feb. 6, 7 p.m., UGA Performing Arts Center
The National Pan-Hellenic Council’s annual dance competition features performances by fraternities and sororities. Tickets are $20 in advance at the Tate Student Center Cashier Window and $25 at the door; group rate tickets are $15 for 15 or more people.
Week of Soul: Harlem Renaissance Celebration
Feb. 9, 6-9 p.m., Georgia Museum of Art
An evening of art, music and culture to celebrate the artistic, social and cultural explosion in Harlem, New York, from the end of World War I through the middle of the 1930s. Event is $5, free for students with valid UGACards who pay activity fees on the Athens campus. Sponsored by the Socially Conscious Committee of the University Union Student Programming Board.
Art Showcase
Feb. 9, 7 p.m., Building 1516 Multipurpose Room
Students will share their talents in dancing, spoken word, poetry, music and visual arts. Sponsored by the Black Educational Support Team.
Poetry Slam
Feb. 9, Time TBA, Miller Learning Center
A night of culture as UGA students come and perform their original poems and spoken word pieces in a safe space. Sponsored by the registered student organization ELITE.
“I Decided: HBCU vs. PWI”
Feb. 11, 5 p.m., Russell Building
A panel discussion on how students make the decision to attend a historically black college or university or a predominantly white institution. Sponsored by the Terry College of Business.
Week of Soul Film: “To Kill a Mockingbird” (1962)
Feb. 11, 8 p.m., Tate Student Center Theatre
Tickets are $3, free for students with valid UGACards who pay activity fees on the Athens campus.
Week of Soul Film: “Straight Outta Compton” (2015)
Feb. 12-14, 6 and 9 p.m. nightly, Tate Student Center Theatre
Tickets are $3, free for students with valid UGACards who pay activity fees on the Athens campus.
Unity Ball: “Unity in the Emerald City”
Feb. 13, 6:30 p.m., Tate Student Center Grand Hall
This annual formal event celebrates and promotes diversity and the unity of the campus community. Tickets are $3 and available at the Tate Student Center Cashier’s Window. Sponsored by the Black Affairs Council.
“Two Views: A Conversation with Photographer Billy Weeks”
Feb. 16, 2:30 p.m., Russell Building, Room 271
Billy Weeks, a two-time winner of the Gordon Parks International Photography award, will speak on the influential photographer Gordon Parks. The talk complements an exhibit of photographs from a 1956 Life magazine photo essay on segregation in the South that will be on view in the Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library Gallery until March 31.
“Black Pearls: Influential African American Women in Our Community”
Feb. 17, 6 p.m., Building 1516 Multipurpose Room
A historical look at the influence of black women in the U.S. along with a panel of influential black women from UGA and Athens-Clarke County discussing their pathways to success. Sponsored by University Housing.
Holmes-Hunter Lecture
Feb. 18, 2 p.m., UGA Chapel
Sanford Bishop, a 12-term congressman in the U.S. House of Representatives, will be the featured speaker. Sponsored by the Office of the President.
“Little Known Black History: The Freeing of Haitian Slaves and its Effect on Slaves in the United States”
Feb. 18, Time TBA, Miller Learning Center
A forum about the Haitian Revolution, a battle to end French dominion over the Haitians, with a focus on how the slave revolt led to the Emancipation Proclamation in America. Sponsored by the registered student organization Hands on Haiti.
Africa Night
Feb. 19-20, 7 p.m., Fine Arts Theatre
The African Student Union will host its annual celebration of the continent of Africa with song, dance and poetry.
Documentary: “American Denial” (2015)
Feb. 25, 6:30 p.m., Miller Learning Center
The story of Swedish researcher Gunnar Myrdal, whose landmark 1944 study, An American Dilemma, probed deep into the U.S. racial psyche. A panel discussion will follow. Sponsored by the Black Male Leadership Society.
Art Museum Black History Month Dinner: “Hallowed Ground: Sites of African American Memory”
Feb. 26, 6 p.m., Georgia Museum of Art
The Larry D. and Brenda A. Thompson Award and the Lillian C. Lynch Citation will be presented. Tickets are $55-$75. RSVP to gmoarsvp@uga.edu or 706-542-4199.
Multicultural Services and Programs, the Greek Life Office, Tate Student Center, the Center for Leadership and Service and University Housing are departments within UGA Student Affairs.
UGA Student Affairs
The Division of Student Affairs comprises 19 campus departments that enhance the learning environment for students at the University of Georgia by stimulating the learning process, integrating the in-class and out-of-class experiences, promoting an environment conducive to growth and discovery and facilitating intellectual, spiritual, social, occupational, physical, cultural and emotional development. For more information, see http://studentaffairs.uga.edu.