February is only half over yet the University has already held a number of events celebrating Black History Month and honoring historical and contemporary African Americans.
Since October, Victor Davis '05 and Ayana Harry '05 — co-chairs of the Black History Month 2004 organizing committee — have been working with other students on the committee to put together a varied calendar of events.
University's theme
The committee chose Celebrating the Diaspora Through the Arts as the celebration's theme this year.
"We've sought to celebrate some of the various cultures of the African diaspora through a lunchtime music series in Frist [Campus Center], a weekly film series, hosting a play 'The Meeting,' an awards dinner and a talent showcase amongst several other events," Harry said.
Aside from the diaspora theme on campus, this year also marks the 50th anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education.
However, campus celebrations for Black History Month have gone beyond the court case.
"We are excited to bring to the campus speakers and guests who represent a wide range of ethnicities and viewpoints within the African diaspora," Harry said.
The Black History Month Film Series continues on Fridays at 9 p.m. with music at Frist and discussions of current issues.
While the official celebration continues only for the month of February, Davis said he believes the the month's message extends to the rest of the year.
"Every month is African-American heritage month, because every month and every day we live in an America that has permanently been affected by the customs, culture and contribution of African-Americans," Davis said.
While Black History Month's founders originally intended to make the celebration inclusive of all racial backgrounds, this year's committee feels that the month may have taken on narrower significance.
Davis said he fears that "students who are not of African descent may feel that they can't celebrate the month, and therefore tend not to participate in the planned events."
The Princeton Black History Month 2004 homepage at www.princeton.edu/~bhm features brief biographies.
Major figures in black cultural history include W.E.B. DuBois and Paul Robeson, and current notable black Princetonians like professors Cornel West GS '80 and Toni Morrison.
History
Dr. Carter Woodson — only the second African-American to earn a doctorate at Harvard University — founded Black History Month in 1926.
Originally only a week long, it was initially called Negro History Week and celebrated the second week of February to mark the birthdays of both Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass.
After its bicentennial in 1976, the celebration was expanded to a full month.
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