Black History Month is an annual celebration that acknowledges the accomplishments of Black people  as well as their contributions to U.S. history. At Chico State, we have programs and events dedicated to celebrating Black culture and achievements.   

Monday, Feb. 12 

The Cross-Cultural Leadership Center will be hosting Movie Monday at noon in Meriam Library 172. The first film in the Black History Movie Series will be “Just Mercy,” and popcorn and drinks will be available.

Thursday, Feb. 15 

Join the CCLC from 5 to 8 p.m. for a Block Party in the Student Services Center Plaza. Enjoy free food, music and culture with CCLC and the Black Student Union.

Monday, Feb. 19 

This week’s Movie Monday, the CCLC will be playing “Roll Bounce,” at noon in MLIB 172. Popcorn and drinks will be served.  

Sunday, Feb. 25  

Join the Black Student Union for a Victory in Unity celebration at the Wildcat Plaza with a rally kicking off the event from 1 to 2:30 p.m. featuring cultural performances. A resource fair is also happening at the Bell Memorial Union 203 from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m.  

Lastly, from 3 to 4 p.m. in the BMU auditorium, Minister Charles Larry Coleman, second Vice President of the National Association of the Advancement of Colored People Butte County will be speaking. There will be food afterward. 

Monday, Feb. 26 

The CCLC will be playing “The Princess and the Frog,” at noon in MLIB 172. Popcorn and drinks will be served. 

Tuesday, February 27 

The CCLC will host their annual Black Unity Brunch at the Janet Turner Museum from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m, where they will celebrate outstanding faculty, staff and students within the Black community.  

A brief history:  

Black History Month has been celebrated since 1926, almost 100 hundred years. Carter G. Woodson, a Harvard scholar, founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, leading to the creation of Negro History Week. Woodson chose the second week of February coinciding with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass.  

Through the following years, mayors of cities across the U.S. began acknowledging this celebration creating an awareness and acknowledgement of Black identity.   

It wasn’t until 1976 that President Gerald Ford officially recognized February as Black History Month. Ford urged the public to “seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history.” 

Today, the month of February is the time to honor Black Americans and their importance in U.S. history and society.  

Itzel Saucedo can be reached at [email protected].