Every February, Americans dedicate one month to celebrate the many contributions the African-American community has made to U.S. history.
To commemorate Black History Month on UW-Whitewater’s campus, the Black Student Union will be hosting events around campus to celebrate their cultural backgrounds and to educate other students.
BSU, which is a multicultural organization on campus founded in 1968, has over 100 members in its organization. They have a main goal of improving retention and graduation rates.
BSU’s events will allow students to interact with fellow students who share similar cultural backgrounds. Some of these events include a movie night, a dinner and an original play.
BSU President Larry West said the organization strives to create a home environment for black students by providing social and academic activities and lectures throughout the year.
“It’s important for black students to feel at home and celebrate their culture,” West said. “Being able to share this with other students makes it that much better.”
The original play, “No One Ever Told Me: Black History Program,” is open to all students and will take place at 7 p.m. Feb. 23 in the UC Hamilton Room.
Glenn Carson, the membership liaison for BSU, said this is the second year BSU will be putting on a play about Black History Month.
“We are trying to make the play into an annual event but have it be a bit different each year,” Carson said. “Next year we hope to continue the play where we are leaving off this year.”
The play was written by West and Vice President Anthony Richardson. The content of the play will be covering the times from slavery and will end with information about Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X.
BSU will also have a movie outing at the Janesville movie theater on Feb. 24, an information board called “Celebrate My Blackness” on Feb. 25 and a celebratory soul food dinner at the First United Methodist Church on Feb. 26.
“We are hoping to have some BSU alumni show up to our events,” Carson said. “It would be great to have them come and speak at our events.”
To find out more information about BSU, visit their Facebook and Twitter accounts by searching BSU UWW.
