College kicks off celebration of Black History Month
By Lauren McDonald lmcdonald@thebrunswicknews.com Feb 4, 2020
College of Coastal Georgia students attend the kick off to Black History Month, sponsored by the Office of Diversity and Inclusion in the campus center lobby Monday. (Bobby Haven/Brunswick News)
Black History Month is a time to celebrate the contribution of African Americans throughout history.
College of Coastal Georgia offered an opportunity to reflect on their history Monday during a Black History Month kickoff event, where students were asked to think about their own connections to black history.
“It’s about being intentional in our celebration,” said Quinton Staples, who recently joined CCGA’s staff as director of diversity initiatives. “We know that black people are making history every day of the year. But it’s about intentionally celebrating the contributions of black and African American people to our greater history as a country.”
The college set up tables in the Campus Center and provided reflection cards for students to fill out. Some cards read, “Black history matters because…” and left a blank for participants to complete. Other cards read, “I am black, but I’m also…,” with a blank space.
“So for myself, I would say, ‘I am black, but I’m also a scholar,'” Staples said. “… It’s helping to paint with a broad stroke of what blackness can look like, not just what we stereotype blackness to look like. Black can be an entrepreneur, you can be an artist, you can be an actor, you can be an activist.”
Messages written by students are posted in the campus center lobby during the kick off of Black History Month at the College of Coastal Georgia. (Bobby Haven/Brunswick News)
The college will sponsor numerous events throughout February to celebrate the month. Events include showing the film “Queen & Slim” Friday. The Student Health Center will take part in National Black HIV/AIDs Awareness Day on the same day.
The Black History Month Committee will take students on a trip to Sapelo Island Saturday and will host an interfaith dialogue event Feb. 26.
A Black History Month play, titled “Remember When,” will be shown Feb. 12.
The theme of the month’s activities is “Know Your Roots,” an idea that aims to inspire the students to connect to black history’s leaders and make their own history, Staples said.
“You can understand where you are, who you are, who you come from, and you feel the power to be able to go and grow and do something else and make a difference,” he said.
Republished with the permission of The Brunswick News. Originally published in The Brunswick News.