In the well-known and widely acclaimed “The Miseducation of the Negro,” Carter G. Woodson, founder of Negro History Week, which later became Black History Month, states, “Real education means to inspire people to live more abundantly, to learn to begin with life as they find it and make it better.”
It is this spirit that drives Rutgers–Camden’s commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion and community engagement and what we hope that others will take away from our Black History Month events and activities during the month of February at Rutgers–Camden. Our theme this year is “The Influence of Black Media in American Culture.”
Join us as we engage in wide-ranging conversations about the sacrifices, resilience, innovations, and fortitude of Black Americans and their enduring impact on society. It is our hope that each event sparks dialogue, understanding, and community.
Ida B. Wells Lecture
Speaker: Susan L. Taylor
Monday, February 5, 4:30–6:30 p.m.
Campus Center Multipurpose Room
REGISTER FOR THIS EVENT
Join the Division of Diversity, Inclusion and Community Engagement and the Department of Africana Studies for the annual Black History Month Ida B. Wells lecture and kickoff event. This year we welcome Susan L. Taylor, a bestselling author of four books, and editor-in-chief emeritus of Essence. Taylor is a recipient of more than a dozen honorary doctorates and hundreds of awards, including the Phoenix Award and the Henry Johnson Fisher Award, the highest honors given by the Congressional Black Caucus and the magazine-publishing industry, respectively. Her lecture will explore the significance and evolution of Black American influence in media.
Black Liberation Philology: Shaykh Musa Kamara and the Fate of the Humanities
Speaker: Professor Wendell Marsh
Tuesday, February 6, 12:45–1:45 p.m.
Campus Center Executive Meeting Room
Professor Wendell Marsh’s work concerns the entanglement of Islam, Blackness, and modernity in the wake of the Atlantic slave trade and European colonization of Africa. He uses the work of Muslim intellectual Shaykh Musa Kamara to engage questions of historicity and humanity, the religious and the political, as well as theory and method.
Alpha Phi Alpha: Our History is Black History
Wednesday February 7, 7 p.m.
Campus Center Raptor Roost
Student Academic Success, in partnership with the Nu Gamma Lambda Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporation, will be hosting a talk titled: Alpha Phi Alpha: Our History is Black History. The event will be held in the Raptor Roost and dinner will be served.
Master Class: Hollywood Royalty–The Impact of Black Actress on Hollywood in the 1930s
Speaker: Dr. Carrie Teresa Isard, Niagra University
Monday, February 19, 11:20 a.m.–12:20 p.m.
Campus Center West AB
REGISTER FOR THIS EVENT
Join the Division of Diversity, Inclusion and Community Engagement (DICE) for a master class led by Carrie Teresa Isard, associate professor and chair of communication and media studies at Niagara University. Isard will discuss the impact of actresses Hattie McDaniel, Fredi Washington, and Eslanda Robeson who were all considered Hollywood royalty in the 1930s. They confronted issues of misogyny, colorism, and fatphobia while fighting for racial integration in the film industry and labor rights for Black actors. The experiences of McDaniel, Washington, and Robeson juxtaposed with modern examples of racism, sexism, and labor inequity in the contemporary film industry offer an opportunity to examine the accomplishments of these extraordinary women as lessons for modern Hollywood.
Black and Hispanic/Latino: Challenges to Embracing a Pluralistic, Multi-Ethnic, Multi-Racial, Multi-Cultural Consciousness in the US
Speaker: Chancellor Antonio D. Tillis
Thursday, February 22, 12:45–1:45 p.m.
Campus Center Multipurpose Room
REGISTER FOR THIS EVENT
Chancellor Antonio D. Tillis will discuss a growing demographic in the United States, the Afro-Latino/Hispanic American. Expanding understanding about some of the systemic challenges that have rendered this group marginally invisible, this conversation will focus on highlighting this group’s advocacy efforts to challenge U.S. identity politics in terms of identity and representation.
Joy…and Pain
February 22-24, 2024
Virtual Event
REGISTER FOR THIS EVENT
The Black German Heritage & Research Association in Africana Studies at Rutgers University-Camden and the Rutgers Institute for the Study of Global Racial Justice, are pleased to invite you celebrate the Seventh International Conference.
This year’s three-day, virtual event, JOY… and PAIN, will be held on February 22 to 24 and will be free and open to the public. “Frankie Beverly and Maze have never lied,” comments Keith Green, professor of English and BGHRA executive director of events and publications. This moment, this life, in which the pairing of two simple words, joy and pain, succinctly articulates the human condition. This year’s annual BGHRA Conference: Joy…and Pain, invites us to consider what means to hold space for both, to understand that at the core, exists love.
Representation and Respectability: Navigating Blackness Across the Media Landscape
Moderator: Anika "Niki" Hawkins, 6ABC Philadelphia
Thursday, February 29, 5:30–7:30 p.m.
Campus Center South ABC
REGISTER FOR THIS EVENT
Join us for a panel conversation moderated by Anika “Niki” Hawkins, vice president of community engagement and strategic partnerships for 6ABC/WPVI-TV Philadelphia, focused on the influence and impact of Black Americans on local and national television and how they have navigated a changing media landscape.