Martin Luther King Day and President Obama’s inauguration heralded the start of Black History Month, which includes the anniversary of the founding of the NAACP on Feb. 12. Programming at Furman for 2013 includes events focusing on the history of African-Americans and the struggle for civil rights and how these issues are being dealt with today.
The Student League for Black Culture (SLBC) kicked off the discussion on Jan. 23 with a CLP entitled “SLBC in the Gauntlet,” where the history of the role of whites in the civil rights movement was outlined. Students were encouraged to discuss how whites can be included today in the fight against racism. Students packed the Gauntlet and brought up a variety of issues and questions that are often overlooked in discussions about race, such as how to approach someone who has made a racist comment. SLBC is considering holding a similar session later in the year due to the positive response and large attendance and participation.
On Jan. 29, Diane Nash, a founding member of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, spoke at Younts in a CLP entitled “Freedom Riders: A Journey for Justice.” Nash was a student at Fisk University when she became involved in the civil rights movement. She helped organize the Freedom Rides, which brought members of the SNCC throughout the South to stage sit-ins at lunch counters and businesses that continued to illegally enforce segregation.
“It’s important to remember that Diane Nash was in college. It seems like college students today aren’t as active in civil rights,” said Dr. Idella Glenn, Director of Multicultural Affairs.
SLBC’s next CLP brings Daryl Davis, author of Klan-destine Relationships: A Black Man’s Odyssey in the Ku Klux Klan, to the Watkins Room to present his experiences as a black man talking to members of the Klan and trying to discover the roots of their racism and hatred. He created a dialogue that changed the mindset of several members, who gave up their robes and left the Klan.
Gospelfest will bring together gospel choirs from several universities on Feb. 16, including Furman’s own choir, and review the history of gospel music and its role in black culture.
SANKOFA: the African-American Museum on Wheels will be displayed in the Watkins Room all day Feb. 21. The curator of the exhibit, Angela Jennings, has assembled art, collectibles, and memorabilia that illustrate moments of black history from slavery to the civil rights movement. Jennings and Dr. Marian Stroebel of the History Department will give a lecture on the exhibit and explain the historical significance of certain artifacts.
“Some people question the relevance of ethnically-based groups, but it is important for students to continue to celebrate their history,” said Glenn. “It is important to consider how things that happened in the past have an impact on the now.”