Black History Month Events

Multicultural Student Affairs Continues Rich Month of Programs and Events

Here are some of this week's NC State's Black History Month events. We hope you have been checking the BHM 2015 calendar throughout the month at go.ncsu.edu/bhm2015.

Note: Please check the website for updated dates of events rescheduled due to weather. Thank you!

Virtual MLK Project: 55th Anniversary of the “Fill Up the Jails” Speech, rescheduled to: Monday, February 23, 2015, Hunt Library Teaching and Visualization Lab, 7:00 p.m.

You are cordially invited to the 55th Anniversary of the “Fill Up the Jails” Speech. This event features a demonstration of vMLK website’s audio files and images created from the June 8, 2014 reenactment of the speech in Durham’s White Rock Baptist Church. The research team, including sound director and videographer, will be on hand to discuss the project. Just days after the start of the Greensboro sit-ins in February 1960, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered what would become a widely influential speech titled, “A Creative Protest.” The speech, commonly known as the “Fill Up the Jails” speech, was delivered on February 16, 1960 in Durham, NC. On June 8, 2014 NC State worked with the Durham community, the White Rock Congregation and voice actor Marvin Blanks (noted as the “Orator of the Century”) to re-create the speech. Please RSVP at go.ncsu.edu/55th.

Black Philanthropy: "A Nickel and a Prayer," Tuesday, February 24, 2015, African American Cultural Center, 6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

Because of the evolutionary nature of Black Philanthropy, it has been shaped by the economic, social and political factors that surrounded Black life. Philanthropy has been the fuel for aspirations in dealing with these factors. During slavery, the slaves that worked in the house gave clothes to and shared liberating information with the slaves that worked in the field. They taught each other to read by starlight and conducted the Underground Railroad. In times of Jim Crow, African Americans created their own institutions for the purpose of providing for their own economic, political and social needs. Come explore the concept of philanthropy and 'Giving Black' with Darryl Lester, Assistant Director of the African American Cultural Center.

Sweet Grass Basket Discussion,
Demonstration and Workshop, Friday, February 27, 2015, 3:00-5:00 p.m., NC State Crafts Center Commons, Thompson Hall

Sweetgrass basketmaking has been part of the Charleston and Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina communities for more than 300 years. Brought to the area by enslaved Africans from West Africa, basketmaking is a traditional art form which has been passed on from generation to generation. Today, it is one of the oldest art forms of African origin in the United States. This hands-on workshop will teach you about the sweetgrass tradition, while you learn about the living Gullah/Geechee culture and legacy of their enslaved ancestors. Presenters: Dr. Tracey Ray, Ms. Barbara McCormick and
Ms. Barbara McGeachy. Presented in partnership with the ARTS NC STATE Crafts Center and Triangle Basket Weavers. (Register through the African American Cultural Center.)

National Eating Disorder Awareness Week

The Movement Peer Educators will be taking part in raising awareness about eating disorders during the week of February 23, 2015. Please join them for the following events:

February 24: 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Visit the table in the Brickyard.

February 25: Southern Smash (see article at right), 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

February 26: Film showing and discussion of Miss Representation
5:30 - 9:00 p.m., Park Shops 201

Tonight: Sisterhood Dinner

The NC State University Council on the Status of Women hosts its 34th Sisterhood Dinner on Monday, February 23, 2015 in the Talley Student Union Ballroom with 480 faculty, staff and students in attendance at this annual celebration of women. The dinner program will feature a performance by Vox Accalia, the NC State women's chorus performing pieces composed by women and the traditional announcement of the recipients of the Equity for Women Awards, with one each given to a student, staff and faculty member. The recipients were chosen from among nineteen nominees by a committee of the Council on the Status of Women.

The keynote address will be given by Dr. Ruth Dial Woods, a North Carolina educator, leader and activist who was the first woman to serve on the UNC Board of Governors in a seat not designated for women. Dr. Woods has been promoting equality for women for over 50 years. In addition to her leadership on the BOG, she has served on the faculty and Board of Trustees of Fayetteville State University. Currently, she directs a non-profit soup kitchen in Pembroke, NC. A full story on Dr. Woods is on the Sisterhood Dinner website.

Another highlight of this year's Sisterhood Dinner is the bestowing of the Lifetime Achievement Award on Dean Daniel Solomon, College of Sciences, who has championed the cause of women's equity on campus throughout his career. Dean Solomon will be stepping down this summer.