The UMass Boston Black Student Center and Black Faculty & Staff Association are celebrating Black History Month this February with events including fairs, luncheons, book talks and panels open to students from all backgrounds.
The group has organized all of them under the theme “Black Joy: Celebrating Culture, Creativity, and Collective Care,” drawing inspiration from the Association for the Study of African American Life and History’s yearly Black History Month themes.
“We don’t want to just always focus Black History Month on the negative…. We want to use this opportunity to uplift our community,” said Chanel Fields, one of the coordinators of this month’s events and president of the BFSA. She said the month’s theme is meant to spark important conversations about Black art, mental health, and wellness.
The month will start with a kickoff day and resource fair Feb. 9 from 4-7 p.m. in the Campus Center Ballroom and feature the theme “Boston Black Arts: 21st Century Renaissance.” It will honor Black culture with an arts exhibit and a panel of creative Black artists, organized by the William Monroe Trotter Institute.
The group will celebrate Black love with a luncheon Feb. 10 from 12-1:30 p.m. in the University Dining Club. Fields said she hopes the event will encourage the UMass Boston community to come together and reconnect after a long time off of campus.
There will also be book talks Feb. 12 and Feb. 23. Stefan Bradley will be talking about his book “If We Don’t Get It” Feb. 12 at 12 p.m., and Kelly Carter Jackson will be discussing her book “We Refuse” Feb. 23 at 1 p.m. Both will take place in Campus Center Room 3545.
“We feel like Jackson really touches on what our actual theme is and what we want to focus on,” Fields said. The author will be on campus “to have a conversation with the UMB community about her book and answer any questions about what inspired her to write it,” she said.
A viewing of “Candida: The Story of Candida Rose Baptista’s Cape Verdean Identity,” will occur Feb. 18 from 2-3:30 p.m. Similarly, Feb. 20 will feature a screening of “A Peculiar Freedom” from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., which is a documentary reel about five influential Black people from New England from the past few centuries. Attendees will be able to discuss the documentary with its producers.
The panel “Celebration of Students and Alumni” will take place Feb. 26 from 5-7 p.m. on the third floor of the ISC. Students can hear advice from UMass Boston alumni and learn about “creating a network of support within the UMass Boston Black community,” according to the event page.
The events will culminate in the African American Ball hosted by the Edward & Earlean Blakely Creative Arts Center Feb. 28, with the theme “Hold On, Change Is Coming.” This will be the first time since 2010 that the event will be held on UMass Boston campus, and attendees can expect a fashion show, food, and dancing. It will honor multiple special guests as well as the works of Judge Leslie E. Harris.
“This is a great opportunity for students to get engaged,” Fields said. “We’re excited for all these great events that will be happening.”
