The Office of Multicultural Affairs hosted the final celebration of Black History Month on Feb. 29. But the coordinators of the Black History Month events hope the celebrations do not end there.
Rather, that they hope students acknowledge black history as an ongoing event.
“I ask, as we close the month of February, that you open your minds and continue to reflect upon not only the past, but the present and more significantly the future,” Cheryl Chambers, association dean for the Office of Multicultural Affairs, said during the event. “Because, as I said, we live and we are writing black history every single day.”
The occasion consisted of a brief history on the origin of Black History Month, including a discussion of unsung black heroes, a performance by Essence of Praise, original poetry by published Stony Brook graduate Debra LaSassier and the presentation of scholarships and awards to students, all followed by dinner.
In regards to the future Chambers envisions, Anielisa Jones, a graduate student employed at the Office of Multicultural affairs, said that plans for next year are already underway.
“We try to keep things a year ahead,” Jones said. “We already reserved the spaces, already started the publicity for next year. We have a Black History Month committee that helps us plan starting from September all the way until now.”
There are limits on planning and participation, though. Jones said that this month alone there were over more than 150 campus wide programs, and competition for student body attendance is high.
“It’s been tough,” she said. “There are a lot of external factors that have affected student involvement. A lot of the leaders hosting programs for their organizations are the same ones that want to get involved, but they don’t always have the time.”
Junior Rochielle Corlette, who was offered extra credit for her Black Women and Social Change course in exchange for coming to the festivities, echoed Jones’ sentiments.
“I wish I had more time to go to the events, but my schedule is so busy,” Corlette said.
Regardless, Jones said that the this month’s celebrations have seen a positive response.
“We incorporate as many students as we can,” she said. “You don’t need to be from any specific background to be a part of it.”
Polina Movchan, a student athlete from Ukraine and recipient of the multicultural photo contest, said that the event was the first of the kind she had attended.
The photograph she won an award for depicted a diverse group of students at the final Seawolves football game last semester.
“I just think that Stony Brook is doing a great job representing different cultures,” Movchan said. “They have all these events for every culture. I’m very excited and I like what they’re doing.”