Bethany Schram
Assistant News Editor
In celebration of the upcoming Black History Month, the Student Life and Cultural center will be hosting several different events throughout the month of February. Beginning with the Martin Luther King Day of service, the center has an ongoing list of planned celebrations.
“This is just one of the many things we do to promote diversity on campus,” Director of the Life and Cultural Center Brenda Lewis said. “Martin Luther King wasn’t just about one particular race, he was for everybody. For Black History Month, we have a lineup of several events in celebration.”
On Feb. 7 in the Charles T. Thrift Alumni Room, there will be a soul food dinner at 7 p.m. featuring the Sankofa: the African-American Museum on Wheels.
“The soul food dinner is an annual event we do every year,” Lewis said. “We do this so everyone can get a taste of the foods that were prepared in the early years of African Americans.”
Curator Angela Jennings will accompany the dinner for a guided tour of her collection. She began this ongoing project in 1995 as a way to teach her nephew and others about African-American heritage. Jennings will be speaking about historical figures and her personal travels. Tickets for the night are free and are available at the Life and Cultural Center.
On Feb. 9 at 7 p.m., Dr. Evelyn Bethune, CEO of the Mary McLeod Bethune Legacy Preservation Institute, will be speaking in the President’s Dining Room. She will discuss her mother’s experiences in founding Bethune-Cookman University, Florida Southern College’s sister school in Daytona Beach, Fla.
Another event to look forward to will take place Feb. 16 at 4 p.m. in the Annie Pfeiffer Chapel. Alumna Evett L. Simmons will be honored for funding a new student multicultural center on campus. Sponsored by the FSC Alumni Association, the event will commemorate the opening of the new center with poetry readings and speakers. Because of Simmons, the current Life and Cultural center will be finding a new home from its current location on Callahan St. The name will be changed to the Evett L. Simmons Cultural Center as well.
Open microphone night will conclude Black History Month at FSC on Feb. 20 at 8 p.m. in the Eleanor Searle Room. The Multicultural Student Council will hold its second open mic. night and all wishing to perform or watch are welcome to join. According to Joshua Winfield, sophomore and creator of the event, the night and party will be a way to celebrate both the arts and culture. Students will lead readings of personal poetry, songs and other mediums.
“The open mic night is a way to gather many different people, and have more outlets and opportunities for different things,” Winfield said.
More events are scheduled to continue into the month of March.
