By Sɨℓνεя Sɦɨɳε (Flickr)
Susan Cole held a flag-raising ceremony last week to commemorate Black History Month 2017 on campus. Attendees cheered and took photos during Cole’s speech and officers from the University Police Department (UPD) were also present to honor both the American and Black History Month flags. Students are being offered events all month such as Black Lives Matter discussions, black women’s events and others that represent black culture.
February has been the month to appreciate and remember all of the African-Americans that have helped and changed our society for the better. Students are encouraged to attend these events and use their voices to speak out about black social issues and to listen to discussions.
“Black History Month is a reminder about all the great African-Americans, and reminding us about great women in history like Harriet Tubman, who was a hero,” said senior political science major Elle Robinson.
An event that helped women feel more empowered was “My Black Is.” It’s a discussion that aims to help black women on campus succeed socially and academically. It teaches them self-worth. This event was held for two days; all students were welcomed to join a discussion and share their stories. If students missed this one, another similar upcoming event is the Black Women Movement (Feb. 20 – 22).
“I love that [Montclair State] has events like this. As a black woman, this empowers me, and I am inspired by other women who share their experiences and advice,” said Robinson.
“Black Entrepreneurs– Thinking of a Master Plan: Building a Business from Scratch” hosted a panel of successful black entrepreneurs, including Nathan Meeks, CEO and founder of Gizolo, Simone Sloan, business and leadership coach, and Kobina Ansah, CEO of Credit Without Borders. The panel talked about how students can build a successful business, spend their money and choose the right business partners. At the end of the event, students had the chance to ask the panel any additional questions.
“It was fantastic—better than I had hoped,” said Devin Johnson, a marketing professor at Montclair State who organized this event.
There are many more upcoming events like these that students can attend. For more information, students can look through their Red Hawk News emails or OrgSync to find out exactly when and where they will be held, such as a Black Lives Matter poetry night, Black Lives Matter panel and racial micro-aggressions discussions.
“I am a huge advocate of the Black Lives Matter movement. I try to go to as many Black Lives Matter events at [Montclair State], I will definitely be attending the ones coming up,” said junior communications major Nooron Eewshah.
