University of Lynchburg will observe Black History Month 2018 with several events.
The events kick off with a Black History Month Showcase on Saturday, February 10, from 7 to 9 p.m., in the Memorial Ballroom of Hall Campus Center. The showcase will feature spoken word poetry, a gospel choir selection, and other performances leading up to a keynote speech with Deray McKesson, a civil rights activist and host of the Crooked Media podcast “Pod Save the People.”
“This event will display black history in our college’s various art forms,” said Davion Washington ’21, a student who is helping organize the event. “We will discuss how black history in the past is still a reflection of current black history and how to continue to move forward.”
On Monday, February 12, at 7 p.m., an official from the Iziko Museum in Cape Town, South Africa, will give a talk in Hopwood Auditorium. Wandile Kasibe will present “Museums and the Construction of Race: Investigating the Colonial Crime Scene” and explain how museums helped ingrain racism in South African institutions and practices.
An original theatre production, “By Any Means Necessary: An Evening with Malcolm X,” will be presented in Memorial Ballroom at 7 p.m. Friday, February 23. Written and directed by University of Lynchburg security dispatcher Teresa Harris, the vignette portrays a fictional interview of Malcolm X during the last weeks of his life. The dramatization gives a condensed, yet comprehensive, view of Malcolm X’s philosophical evolution from ardent Black Nationalist to someone who believed there was much more to be gained by garnering the resources of all races and cultures. Desmond Mosby ’09, student employment coordinator, portrays Malcolm X while Jemon Haskins ’93 portrays Quincy Armstrong, the interviewer. The event is free and open to the public, and a reception will follow.
