Wofford’s annual Black History Month celebration begins

As Wofford’s annual Black History Month celebration kicks off, it comes just weeks removed from a weeklong celebration of the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. just weeks prior. The theme of this year’s Black History Month is, “Celebrating Black History: Mind, Body and Soul,” a theme intended to highlight and celebrate the contributions and accomplishments of African American and Black people throughout American history while providing opportunities to connect and grow in modern fights for racial justice.

Beginning  Feb. 1 with a “Solidarity Day” that asked members of the Wofford community to wear black as a representation of unity in the fight for social justice and in remembrance of the lives lost due to COVID-19, the festivities this month also include events like an exercise class, a Black History game night and a workshop to discuss the significance of protest along with information on how to organize as well as tips combating battle fatigue.

The Office of Diversity and Inclusion (ODI) also includes service projects for each heritage month celebration. For Black History Month, donations will be collected for Safe Homes Rape Crisis Coalition, followed by a guest speaker to speak about their mission and how people can support their cause.

As ODI programming has become more dynamic and has certainly had to become creative amidst the pandemic, student input and contribution has become paramount. Following the MLK Day celebration that featured some student-led ideas, Black History Month is sure to be no different.

“One of my primary desires in my role with the Office is to create space for students to not only learn together but grow together,” faculty and committee member Nadia Glover said. “This year the planning committee was comprised of all students: Arnise Wright ‘24, Ashley Manigault ‘24, Brandy Barnes ‘21, Breana Dogan ‘21, Jeanae Escobar ‘24, Marlen Ramirez-Alvarado ‘24, Parke Faison ’21, Taylor Lawson ‘21 and Solana Rostick ‘23.”

Taylor Lawson ’21, another member of the planning committee, added that “From freshman year to now, there’s a lot more student input. I feel as if the events now are created by students.”

With students taking more of a lead in event planning on committees around campus, Lawson said she felt that Glover has done a great job of asking questions to guide students’ thinking in the process.

“With this committee,” she said, “it definitely has been student-led and Nadia has done a wonderful job of asking us certain questions to help further our interests. Everything, I would say, is definitely heavily student-based, but also (includes) other ideas from other outside networks.”

Also, as has become the norm with ODI, a raffle will  be in place that students can participate in. More information about Black History Month Programming can be found on the Instagram and facebook pages @wocodiversity as well as the Daily Announcements.