Arcadia Celebrates Black History Month with Events Throughout February

By Dan DiPrinzio | January 26, 2023

Arcadia University will be celebrating Black History Month with several events throughout the month of February. Several organizations on campus, including the Office of Access, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (AEDI), the Black Awareness Society (BAS), the Center for Antiracist Scholarship, Advocacy, and Action (CASAA), Campus Life, Student Health Services (SHS) and Athletics, will be hosting events. This list will be updated with more events as they are announced and dates and times that have yet to be determined.

Feb. 1: CASAA Read-in; Noon – 2 p.m. Laura Minerva Korman Mirror Room

  • CASAA, in partnership with the Department of English and the Pan African Studies Program, will host a read-in on campus. The theme will be “Elevating Black Women’s Voices.”

Feb. 7:  Black History Month Trivia; 7 p.m. Commons Meeting Rooms 1-3

Feb. 8: Wakanda Wednesday: Black Panther Movie Night; 7 p.m.

Feb. 17: Epic Rap Battles of Black History; 7 p.m., Commons Great Room

Feb. 23: Black Philadelphia Mini Lessons; 7 p.m. CASAA House

  • Arcadia will host Bernyce Mills DeVaughn, an Emmy Award Winner and Freedom Fighter, who will share her experience as a young person who participated in the protest to integrate Girard College in North Philadelphia. RSVP at aedi@arcadia.edu

Feb. 24: CASAA Race Matters Forum: Antiracist Immigration Law and Advocacy; Noon, Join Zoom Here

  • In this CASAA Race Matters Forum, Dr. Hilary Parsons Dick, associate professor of International Studies and 2022-2023 CASAA Scholar-Advocate will share a curriculum she is creating that has two core aims. First is to provide students a critical understanding of the relationship between white supremacy and U.S. immigration law in a global perspective. Second is working with students to cultivate an antiracist practice of the law that resists the racialization of displaced peoples.

Feb. 25: My Black is Beautiful Paint Night; 7 p.m., Commons Great Room

Feb. 28: Spring 2023 Community OASIS; 5 p.m., Steinbrucker Room in Landman Library (Open to students)

Athletics will be spotlighting student-athletes and staff on social media and will be playing Lift Every Voice and Sing at all home events in February.

BAS will be hosting a “Know Your Rights” Forum in collaboration with the Social Justice Society and other offices on campus. Date and Location TBD.

BAS will also host “Young Men Meet,” a space for BIPOC men on campus to meet, gather, and talk to Dr. Donavan McCargo, Vice President for Campus Life and Dean of Students, on an unfiltered level. Date and location TBD.

Student Health Services will be highlighting and promoting National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day at the Wellness Wednesday event in the Chat on February 8.  It is a day to acknowledge progress in HIV prevention and care among Black/African American people, while recognizing the work still needed. SHS will address HIV stigma and barriers and promote HIV screening.

Counseling Services will be hosting three initiatives:

  1. Conversations for The Culture: A video campaign in collaboration with the Black Awareness Society to highlight Black people across campus (staff, faculty, students) who have an interest in sharing their commentary on issues related to mental health (stigma, access, and personal experiences, etc.). There will be 4 videos released on Instagram (@auwellnessservices) for each week of Black History Month.  This initiative is intended to de-stigmatize mental health, normalize help-seeking behavior, and illustrate that everyone has mental health regardless of age, status, or title. If you are interested in participating, please contact Nyla Russell @nrussell_01@arcadia.edu as soon as possible to sign up for a time slot.
  2. Black Pioneers in Mental Health: This initiative is a social media awareness campaign. There will be prominent Black people who have contributed to the advancement of mental health in various ways highlighted on the Counseling Services Instagram (@auwellnessservices) weekly.
  3. Return of For the Culture: This is a weekly group intended to de-stigmatize mental health issues and break down barriers related to mental health and wellness. The meetings will be held at 5 p.m. on Mondays in the Heinz Conference Room starting February 20.