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Celebrate Black History Month with NU organizations

By Cole Schnieders, Copy Editor

Black History Month is well underway. Here are some ways you can participate in the rest of the month.

SGA #BlackExcellenceNU Social Media Challenge

SGA is posting quotes by Black leaders on all its social media accounts daily during Black History Month. By reposting the quote on your own social media pages and sharing how it resonates with you or inspires you to take action with the above hashtag, you enter a raffle for three prize baskets.

The prize baskets are themed to famous Black inventors, such as an “I Scream for Ice Cream” basket for the inventor of the ice cream scoop, Alfred Cralle. Winners will be chosen at the final Jet Friday of the month, Feb. 26. You can find SGA online @NewmanSGA.

Jets Table Talk: Impeachment and Riots

The Diversity Round Table Ambassadors will be hosting an open forum for students to talk about insurrection at the United States Capitol on Jan. 6, and the Black Lives Matter movement, the right to protest, and the appropriate way to protest, Director of Multicultural Engagement and Campus Life Joseph Shepard said.

The Jets Table Talk will be at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday in the Sister Tarcisia Roths, ASC, Alumni Center.

Student Life #BlackHistoryMonthatNU Social Media Challenge

The Division of Student Affairs is hosting its own social media challenge, where students can learn more about African-American leaders by taking selfies with posters around campus. Share on social media with the above hashtag and say why you feel that leader is important to enter a drawing for a Roku, a bluetooth speaker or a new phone case.

You can find the Division of Student Affairs online @StudentLifeNU.

Strong Black Leads Film Series

SGA in partnership with the Division of Student Affairs has been hosting films with strong black leads. The final two showings of the semester are “Black Panther” on Wednesday and “Malcom X” on Feb. 24 in the Dugan-Gorges Conference Center. Both will start at 6 p.m. Popcorn and snacks will be provided.

“I hope this is really an opportunity for students, faculty and staff to really engage with the different perspectives of Black people, Black history and Black culture,” President of SGA Gabrielle Altenor said. “We tried to find an array of movies that showcase not only black trauma...but to showcase just the excellence of Black people as well.”

Newman Night at The Kansas African American Museum

The museum at 601 N. Water St. will be hosting a Newman Night at 6 p.m. on Feb. 24. Students, faculty and staff are invited to come to the museum to visit and hear from the museum curator, Denise Sherman, about how to get involved with TKAAM.

Students in attendance will be entered into a drawing for five year-long memberships to TKAAM.

“I think it's going to be an opportunity for our students to, again, recognize some of the important conversations that must take place in terms of inequity and systematic racism,” Shepard said.

Black Vendors in the De Mattias Round

Local Black vendors will be in the De Mattias round from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Feb. 26. Students are encouraged to come talk to Black leaders in the community and support local Black-owned restaurants and businesses.

Bonnets and Durags Pt. III

Wichita Urban Professionals will be joining Shepard in a conversation on being a Black professional at 6:30 p.m. on Feb. 26 via Zoom and Facebook live.

Shepard said they’ll be discussing growing up Black, code switching and “how they have learned to embrace their blackness as a point of pride.”

Premiere of “Through Their Eyes”

Newman University African-American students and community leaders will take part in a new documentary about what it’s like to grow up Black. The documentary will premiere at 5:30 p.m. on Feb. 28 on the Student Life social media accounts.

Shepard said the documentary will explore the privilege and burden of being the only person of color in the room.

“I really hope it creates an opportunity for people like me, and our colleagues and students to go back and reflect in the comfort of their own home about the Black experience from different perspectives,” Shepard said. “We are really wanting to create a safe space where people outside of the African-American community will feel comfortable and empowered to lean in and become more educated.”

PHOTO: Courtesy Photo, unsplash.com