Every February, individuals across the country celebrate National Black History Month. At AU, students celebrate Black History Month through events put on by the Black Student Association and Cultural Resource Center.
Senior Alana Moore spoke to the importance of Black History Month.
“Black History Month is really special because it’s a time where the U.S. gets to recognize what black people have done in history,” she said. “I truly believe that Black history is American history because we have contributed a lot to America. It’s a time that we get to recognize that, and I don’t think we get to do that enough, quite frankly.”
Moore, a Psychology and Spanish major, is also the president of the Black Student Association.
“I grew up in a predominantly caucasian-Latino community,” she said. “I’m originally from the suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio. So, growing up there, I feel like I didn’t know that much about my culture. My family all lived in the city and I lived in the suburbs with white people and Latinos. So I’ve been recently reading books and things about my culture. I found out that there’s so much to know. Sometimes it’s just overwhelming.
“I didn’t know these things, and I didn’t learn them in school, so I’ve been encouraging my friends to read. I’ve been encouraging people to do their own research, which I’ve been doing outside of Black History Month. I think it’s important to share the things that I’m reading and learning about.”
Moore explained the various ways that people can get involved in Black History Month through her club.
“Next week we have a soul food night,” she said. “We’re going to have a spread of things, we’re going to have games, we’re going to have music. It’ll be up on the second floor of Decker and it’ll start at 5:30 p.m.”
The celebration will continue with more festivities along with the opportunity to participate in a Tri-S trip.
“We have a Neo-Soul night that will include black artists from the community and other schools on Feb. 23 at 5:30 p.m. in the Wilson Gallery,” stated Moore. “We also have our Washington D.C. trip. There are some spots that are still available. Plus, we have skate night on Feb. 21 from midnight to 2 a.m during Lil’ Sibs Weekend. It’s a good time.”
Moore spoke to the topic of racial inclusion.
“There will be times when we will be talking about black culture, and you may not know what we’re talking about, you may not understand, but it’s so important to ask questions,” she said. “I think, especially this semester, we’ll be having more discussion about culture and what we’re seeing in it, media and things like that.”
Moore articulated her wish to get more people involved in talking about race here on campus and noted the feelings of awkwardness it can create.
“I would say come to our meetings because I think a lot of people of color who come on our campus don’t feel welcomed because there’s not a lot of people that look like them, or that there’s a lot of stereotypes and biases because we’re not getting to know each other,” she said. “Don’t be afraid to get to know people of color, people who don’t look like you. Get involved with the CRC because there’s a lot of growth that happens, there’s a lot of discussions and conversations and there’s a lot of relationships that are built.”