BLACK HISTORY MONTH

YIGIT KACMAZ, TRUMPET NEWS AND CULTURE & DIVERSITY EDITOR

As the month of February arrived, Wartburg College started celebrating Black History Month. The celebration started with the remembrance of the Tulsa Massacre. To commemorate this shameful event in U.S. history, students, staff, and faculty dressed up in all black.

“Kind of supporting awareness for an event that happened hundred years ago in Tulsa,” fourth-year biology and sociology major Audrey Revier said. “I am supporting our black students on campus and following the instructions of BSU.” Revier was one of the many students who dressed in all black on Feb. 1st.

With the collaboration of Multicultural Student Services and Black Student Union (BSU), the month of February will feature a variety of events. All of the events are open for everyone. The very next event is the Sip N’ Paint in the W Classroom on Thursday, Feb. 10th at 7:00 p.m.

“It is for everyone because everyone needs to know,” Director of Multicultural Students Krystal Madlock said. “Black History is American history; it is a part of who we all are in this country. Since we were not taught it, here is an opportunity for us to know about it.”

Some of the remaining events are a trivia night, a movie night, and a Black expo. During the Black expo, Black-owned businesses in Waverly and Waterloo area will come to campus and get a chance to promote their businesses.

Importance of the Month

There are many reasons to celebrate Black History Month at Wartburg and in the U.S. Outside of its educational and recognitional purposes, the month needs to be celebrated for various other reasons.

“For Black students, it is a sense of empowerment,” Madlock said. “It is a sense to help them feel good about who they are with everything going in our society.”

“I carry black pride with me every day 24/7,” third-year engineering student Foday Sesay said.

“It is important for Wartburg students to care about Black History Month because it also focuses on supporting Black excellence within iconic figures as well as Wartburg students,” third-year music therapy major Kenzie West said. Kenzie is the communications executive of BSU. “Why would not the Wartburg community care about everyone in that community? I think it should be a communal effort to celebrate everybody at Wartburg”

“Black History Month is quite important at a place like Wartburg where there are so few students of color,” Dean of Faculty, Dr. Debora Johnson-Ross said. “It gives us an opportunity to actually celebrate the heritage. I think we have students here who have no idea of the contributions of African Americans to the United States.”

Madlock advises students to self-reflect to improve personally.

“You have to have a difficult conversation with yourself about what are some things that might have been taught to you,” Madlock said. “A lot of people say step outside of your comfort zone, I say expand your comfort zone. If you step out, you just step back in. But if you expand it then you embrace the others around you.”