CR students host Black History Month activities

This year for Black History Month, the Black Student Union at College of the Redwoods will be putting on 5 events. They will host a workshop, open mic, and show 3 films followed by a brief discussion. All these activities are planned and carried out by students in the Black Student Union. The students have planned these events on top of their school and work schedules to make sure that Black History Month is honored on campus. All events are free.

2/13    Black History Workshop              12pm-1pm                            Multicultural Center Room LRC 103

This workshop will introduce a few forgotten historical figures in the standard Black history narrative such as Claudette Colvin, Bayard Rustin, Marsha P. Johnson and many more. They will also be expanding mainstream historical figures such as Rosa Parks, Harriet Tubman and Martin Luther King Jr.

2/15    Open Mic                                          6:00pm-8pm                         Room HU129

This is an evening for all students to come and express themselves whether it be through poetry, music, comedy, etc. There will be a sign-up sheet and students will be facilitating the event.

2/20    Film: Black Girl                               6:00pm-8pm                        Room HU110

Black Girl was the 1966 breakout film of Senegalese director Ousmane Sembene and it is also considered by many the first African film to receive attention internationally. The film follows a young Senegalese woman who moves from Dakar to France to work for a wealthy couple as a nanny. When she arrives, her expectations are shattered when she is forced to work as a servant under harsh treatment of her employers.

2/21    Film: The Black Panthers            6:00pm-8pm                        Room HU110

The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution is a documentary that aims to debunk a lot of misconceptions about the Black Panther Party. It provides more context for their existence and the efforts made against the Black Panther Party by the FBI to force them to disband.

2/22    Film: Moonlight                             6:00pm-8pm                        Room HU129

This showing will be co-hosted with the Queer Student Union at College of the Redwoods. Academy Award winning film for Best Picture in 2017, this film (directed by Barry Jenkins) is a beautiful coming-of-age tale about a young man, Chiron, growing up in Miami. His story is told in three chapters (childhood, adolescence, and adulthood). Moonlight explores childhood trauma, sexuality and toxic masculinity.