Black History Month

February 1st - February 28th  

This celebration, which began in 1926, has been celebrated as a month-long event since 1976. This month embodies a discussion that is meant to educate our campus community about Black culture, history and progression. Each year this month reminds us of the past, but it also encourages diverse and continuous conversation to continue 365 days a year. Join TAMU-CC for a month of history, food, fun, prizes and more!

February 1 – Black History Month Kickoff 2023: The Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging (DEIB) at TAMU-CC welcomes Islander students, faculty, and staff to kick off Black History Month black-owned businesses around the Coastal Bend, FREE Food, entertainment, and a keynote address on February 1^st from 5:00PM to 7:00PM in UC Anchor Ballrom. FMI: DEIB@tamucc.edu

Feb. 1-28 – Black History Month resources @ your library: In an ongoing effort to provide resources that celebrate and bring awareness to diverse communities represented on this campus and in our world, the Mary and Jeff Bell Library has created a Social Justice Resources: Black Lives Matter Online Guide. The guide offers access to books, journals, databases, teaching resources, and much more. Also, be sure to stop by the library for our book display where you’ll find more academic and popular reads about or by Black authors. For more information, contact Trisha Hernandez at patricia.hernandez@tamucc.edu.

Feb. 1-28 – Lost Voices: Collecting histories in the Coastal Bend: Visit Special Collections, located in the Mary and Jeff Bell Library at Texas A&M University, throughout the month of February to donate or learn more about donating records (letters, photos, journals, postcards, and other such documents) to expand our collections regarding Black history in the Coastal Bend. Chat with Archives Staff, donate records, or schedule an oral history. For more information, contact Amanda Kowalski at amanda.kowalski@tamucc.edu.

Feb. 1-28 – Black History Month on social media: The Mary and Jeff Bell Library at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi will join the campus wide celebration of Black History Month via our social media channels, @TAMUCCLibrary. Join us for trivia, fun facts, celebrations, local history, and more. For more information, contact Emma Drumright at emma.drumright@tamucc.edu.

February 3 – Black Panther (2018): Join us in the UC Rotunda at 6:30 for Marvel’s 2018 hit, Black Panther: After the death of his father T’Challa returns home to the African nation of Wakanda to take his rightful place as king. When a powerful enemy suddenly reappears, T’Challa’s mettle as king—and as Black Panther—gets tested when he’s drawn into a conflict that puts the fate of Wakanda and the entire world at risk. Faced with treachery and danger, the young kind must rally his allies and release the full power of Black Panther to defeat his foes and secure the safety of his people. FMI: DEIB@tamucc.edu

February 3 – House of Rock History Harvest: Expanding Our Collections: Join Mary and Jeff Bell Library’s Special Collections at a House of Rock’s History Harvest during Art Walk on Feb 4th from 5pm-9pm. This event will showcase pictures of Corpus Christi through the years while Archives Staff host a table to intake vital records (letters, photos, journals, postcards, and other such documents) to expand our collections regarding Black history in the Coastal Bend. This rich history needs to be documented and preserved. Chat with Archives Staff, donate records, or schedule an oral history while enjoying Art Walk! This event is open to TAMUCC students, faculty, and staff as well as community members. For more information, contact Amanda Kowalski at amanda.kowalski@tamucc.edu.

February 7 – Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022): Join us in the PAC at 7:00PM for Marvel’s 2022 hit, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Queen Ramonda, Shuri, M'Baku, Okoye and the Dora Milaje fight to protect their nation from intervening world powers in the wake of King T'Challa's death. As the Wakandans strive to embrace their next chapter, the heroes must band together with Nakia and Everett Ross to forge a new path for their beloved kingdom. FMI: DEIB@tamucc.edu

February 7 – Lost Voices: Collecting histories in the Coastal Bend Kick off: Visit Special Collections, located in the Mary and Jeff Bell Library at Texas A&M University, on Tuesday, February 7 at 3:30 pm as we host a History Harvest/Brainstorming session in an effort expand our collections for black voices and their community impacts through history records. Current collections will be on display and an intake area for physical and digital donations (this can be items that are already digital, or we can digitize your original items like photos, letters, journal entries, etc.) will be available. Come talk with archival staff about the scarcity of Black representation in the archives and ways to change it. Information on recording your oral history will be available. This event is open to TAMUCC students, faculty, and staff as well as community members.  For more information, contact Amanda Kowalski at amanda.kowalski@tamucc.edu.

February 9 – Skin Deep: Discussing the Impact of Colorism on Identity Development and Mental Health: Focusing on the modern and historical issues of colorism, or discrimination based on the color of one’s skin, join us from 10:00 am - 11:00am in UC Lone Star for an in-depth panel discussion, as we take a deep dive in to a much-needed conversation about the impacts of this issue within African American and Latinx communities. Panelists will share information related to their personal identity development and how colorism has affected their mental health.

February 9 – Film Showing: Concerning Violence: Nine Scenes from the Anti-Imperialistic Self Defense: Join us for this film at 7:00pm in UC Bayview. From the director of The Black Power Mixtape comes a bold and fresh visual narrative on Africa, based on newly discovered archive material covering the struggle for liberation from colonial rule in the late '60s and '70s, accompanied by text from Frantz Fanon's "The Wretched of the Earth". Director Göran Hugo Olsson gathers footage of anti-imperialist liberation movements from the 1970s onward, drawn from the Swedish Television archives, and crafts a powerful document that brings us face-to-face with the people for whom Fanon's writings were not just rhetoric, but a reality. Nominated for the Grand Jury World Cinema - Documentary Prize at the Sundance Film Festival. Winner of the Cinema Fairbindet Prize at the Berlin International Film Festival. FMI: timothy.johnson@tamucc.edu

February 13 – Why We Can’t Quit Frederick Douglass: Hybrid Panel Presentation: Before you celebrate Douglass Day (Bell Lib, 2/14), join a campus conversation on February 13 from 3:30PM to 4:45PM in UC Lonestar Ballroom, about the enduring appeal of Frederick Douglass and learn more about long traditions of Black activism! Local and virtual speakers will explore histories of Douglass and his contemporaries. With Dr. Le'Trice Donaldson (TAMUCC), Dr. Sherita Johnson (Univ of Southern Misissippi), and Dr. Benjamin Fagan (Auburn Univ). Moderator and respondent, Professor Amanda Marquez (TAMU-CC). FMI: Sarah.Salter@tamucc.edu

February 13 – African Soul International: Join the Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging for an uplifting performance like no other this February 13 at 7:00 PM in the Performing Arts Center! African Soul International empowers, educates, and brings joy of the African culture, history, and music through their troupe of award-winning, internationally touring performers. Live drumming, dance, storytelling and song tells a powerful message of love, culture, and unity. FMI: DEIB@tamucc.edu

February 14 – Douglass Day: Celebration and Transcribe-A-Thon: Every year, we gather virtually and in person on the chosen birthday of Frederick Douglass, Feb 14. We will celebrate this date as a moment for creating Black history together from 11:00AM to 2:00PM at the Mary & Jeff Bell Library’s 2^nd floor. There will be birthday cake! This year, we will be transcribing and enriching the papers of Mary Ann Shadd Cary (1823-1893). She was one of the earliest Black women to edit a newspaper, serve as a Civil War recruiter, attend law school, and so much more. We are pleased to be partnering with the Archives of Ontario, Libraries and Archives Canada, and many others. Together we are presenting newly digitized and fascinating collections from Shadd Cary’s long and fascinating life. Find out more about Douglass Day at douglassday.org or email Sarah.Salter@tamucc

February 16- DEIB Speaker Series: Dr. Charisse Burden-Stelly: Join us at 6:30pm on the 2nd Floor of the Mary and Jeff Bell Library this Black History Month as Dr. Charisse Burden-Stelly takes the stage. Dr. Burden-Stelly is a critical Black Studies scholar of political theory, political economy, intellectual history, and historical sociology. Her research informs the transnational entanglements of U.S. racial capitalism, anticommunism, and antiblack structural racism and examines twentieth-century Black anticapitalist thought with a particular focus on W.E.B. Du Bois and scholar activists in his intellectual community. She is also a co-author, co-editor, and has published many works that appear in journals including Small Axe, Monthly Review, Souls, Du Bois Review, Socialism & Democracy, International Journal of Africana Studies, and the CLR James Journal. FMI: DEIB@tamucc.edu

February 16- Circle of Solidarity: Counselors will be holding space for students and faculty/staff of color to process thoughts and feelings associated with the recent death of Tyre Nichols and similar events of violence against the Black and African American community in the United States. Attendees will be allowed to come and go, leave notes with encouraging words or messages of strength and unity, and counselors will be there to offer support and assist with processing the difficult emotions that may arise. Thursday, February 16th, 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM in Classroom East 115. FMI: Stephanie.Majors@tamucc.edu

February 17 – Michelle Mayne-Graves Lifeline Quartet: Michelle Mayne-Graves and her Lifeline Quartet perform spirituals from the Civil War era and before, celebrating code songs written as reminders and guides for the Underground Railroad.  These spirituals include hidden messages about maps, navigational strategies and timing as Black people sought to liberate themselves from slavery toward freedom in the northern states and Canada. Join us for this performance at 7:30 PM in the Performing Arts Center! *Tickets for veterans will be $10. Must show ID and may only be picked up at PAC Box Office. * FMI: https://www.tamucc.edu/performing-arts-center/event-information/index.php

February 27 - Screening Event - Talking Black in America: Come join us from noon to 1:30pm in UC Bayview 320 and watch "Talking Black in America" in celebration of Black History Month in 2023 at TAMUCC. Talking Black in America follows the unique circumstances of the descendants of American slaves and their incredible impact on American language. Speech varieties in African American communities reflect the imprint of African language systems, the influences of regional British and Southern American dialects, and the creativity and resilience of people living through oppression, segregation and the fight for equality. Filmed across the United States, Talking Black in America is a startling revelation of language as legacy, identity and triumph over adversity. After the documentary, there will be a 15-minute discussion session where everyone is welcome to share their thoughts. There will be free pizza. FMI: sinae.lee@tamucc.edu

February 27 – 2023 Spirit of MLK Exemplary Awards: The campus community is invited to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Awards Reception on Monday, Feb. 27, at 11:00AM in the UC Anchor C. Join the office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) and the Islander Cultural Alliance (ICA) as it honors students, faculty, staff, and community members who have demonstrated the spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in its annual award celebration. RSVP at tiny.cc/RSVPMLK23 . To nominate individuals, visit our I-Engage page at tinyurl.com/MLK23AWARD FMI: DEIB@tamucc.edu

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