This year’s Black History is civil rights in America, and UTEP and the community will be holding special events to celebrate.
UTEP’s Department of African American Studies kicked off the university’s Black History Month celebration on Feb. 5 with “The Study of Food and the Humanities Lectures” at the Rubin Center.
The event that received plenty of recognition throughout the city was on Feb. 7, when Doctor Cornel West visited the campus and spoke to the public at Magoffin Auditorium.
“Black History Month is the celebration of the African American community’s origins and history in the U.S.,” Maceo Daily, associate professor of history said. “In examining the topic of civil rights, we get to see how reform came about here on campus, in the community and the nation.”
Coming up, the El Paso Inter Club Council will be hosting the annual Black History Month Parade and Festival on Feb. 22, beginning at 10 a.m. at Pershing Drive and Montana Avenue and ending at Mary Webb Park, where the festival will take place.
“The El Paso Inter Club Council is comprised of fraternities, sororities and other groups having their origins in the struggles and achievements of the African American community,” Daily said.
According to Daily, the parade and events in the park will consist of dancing, singing, dining and all-around merriment in the celebration.
“It is always a great joy to plan for this month. It is hard work, but the returns are enourmous,” he said.
One of UTEP’s sororities, Eta Delta, will be involved in the parade. Eta Delta is a chapter of the national sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha, which was founded by African American women. Aside from being involved in the Black History Month Parade, the sorority is also working with the community to encourage expression through art during this historical month.
The Eta Pi Omega and Eta Delta sorority chapters will be hosting an art exhibit for students throughout the region from elementary to high school. The student art exhibit features more than 100 pieces of art from students in El Paso.
“As an organization, we are connecting with our community and encouraging education and art in the region,” said Jackie Beard, UTEP nursing clinical instructor and advisor for the Eta Delta Sorority.
“Music and arts are very important and we want to make sure that sutdents always have the opportunity to learn about the arts,” Beard said.
Beard said the idea behind the art exhibit started nine years ago by the national director at the time.
“Since then, it has become a tradition that Alpha Kappa Alpha has continued to partcipate in each year,” she said.
Rocio Villalobos, Assistant of La Galeria de la Misión de Senecú, said the art exhibition will feature over 100 pieces of art from 25 different schools throughout the region.
“We really want to give students the opportunity to showcase their work and highlight their achievements,” Beard said. “It’s also a fun way to get involved with the community and to highlight all the hard work that teachers and students do.”
The art exhibit is located at La Galeria de la Misión de Senecú, 8455 Alameda. The art will be displayed throughout the month until Feb. 21. An awards ceremony for participating students will also take place from 5:30–7:30 p.m. on the final day.
Theron Smith, senior art education major appreciates the many lectures UTEP along with the African American studies program provides the students.
“I think they do a fine job in promoting lectures and speakers that come from out of town,” Theron said. “I for one am very curious to attend Will Guzman’s lecture on Thursday.”
According to Donzel Scott, senior organizational communications major, this month is very important to him and he tries to participate as much as possible and encourages students to be more involved.
“I believe its very important to come together and spread the word on such profound leaders like Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks among others,” Scott said.
Lesly Limon may be reached at [email protected].
