Eastern Michigan University Celebrates Black History Month
In honor of Black History Month, Eastern Michigan
University is offering a number of virtual
open-to-the-public events that will help to celebrate and
reflect upon Black history. The theme for EMU’s 2021 Black
History Month celebration is “A Tribute to our Blackness.”
A round up of the February Black History Month events and
how to attend them virtually is below:
Thursday, February 11:
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6 p.m. “Black Excellence in the Workplace: Financial
Literacy”: CORE
will virtually host presenter Tasha Danielle for its “Black
Excellence in the Workplace: Financial Literacy” event.
Danielle is a CPA. She founded Financial Garden during her
journey of eliminating $80k of debt before the age of 30.
Tasha's grandmother taught her about the importance of
finances at an early age which influenced her to become a
financially responsible millennial.
After working with youth for several years, she realized
that there was a lack of financial literacy in the
community. As a result, Tasha decided to plant seeds of
financial literacy at every age by formally founding
Financial Garden In 2014. Financial Garden recently received
national recognition from Essence and Pine-Sol for all the
impact being made with students in Detroit and surrounding
areas.
To attend the event, contact Allacia Gibson, CORE graduate
assistant, at agibso20@emich.edu for
the ZOOM link.
Thursday, February 18:
-
6 p.m. Black History Month Jeopardy: The
EMU Queer & Trans People of Color Collective (QTPOCC) is
hosting Black History Month Jeopardy with the chance to
win prizes.
The event will be hosted via ZOOM. Those interested can
contact Nakia Lemon atnlemon1@emich.edu for
the link.
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6-8 p.m. "The State of Civil Rights in America: What
Does the Future Portend?": The
EMU Africology and African American Studies department
will host an event titled, "The State of Civil Rights in
America: What Does the Future Portend?" The event will
feature speaker Mark Fancher, staff attorney for the
ACLU’s Racial Justice Project, a program that aims to
preserve and extend the constitutional rights of people
of color.
Fancher has lectured across the country and written
extensively on issues that include racially disproportionate
rates of incarceration; racial discrimination against public
school students of color, racial profiling, attacks on the
democratic rights of communities of color and abusive police
practices, the U.S. military presence in Africa, political
repression in the U.S., and the land and resource rights of
traditional indigenous communities.
The event will be hosted via ZOOM. The link to the virtual
event and passcode can be found on the
Africology and African American Studies homepage.
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6:30-8:30 p.m. Star Lecture Series: The
EMU Honors College will host the second event in its
Winter 2021 Star Lecture Series, titled "An Ordinary
Black Woman's Journey toward Social Justice and
Empowerment."
Presented by Peggy Trewn, an EMU nursing professor, the
event will focus on social justice and empowerment. Her
discussion is framed by the influence of real-life
experiences, specifically through her work with Black women
in advocacy for survivors of domestic violence, mentoring,
raising cultural awareness, and more, which shaped and
enhanced her own personal journey.
Trewn will also explore the politics of everyday life using
the lenses of race, gender, and class. She will share how
understanding the politics of ordinary experiences can
orient us toward struggles for justice and equity.
For more information on the series, visit the Honors
College Star Lecture Series homepage, where
the ZOOM
link for
the event can also be found.
Wednesday, February 24:
-
7 p.m. “Who Will Save American Democracy? The Role of
Women, Young Voters and People of Color in American
Politics.”:
EMU Campus Life, CORE and the VISION Volunteer Center
will host a ZOOM event titled, “Who Will Save American
Democracy? The Role of Women, Young Voters and People
of Color in American Politics.”
As America becomes younger and more diverse, we can predict
that an inevitable political shift will occur. What will
that shift look like and what will be the long-term impact
on democracy? Will identity politics play a role in unifying
and/or widening the political divide in America? How will
the new majority save and/or expand American Democracy?
LaTosha Brown, a contributor to The New York Times op ed
page and a fellow at the Institute of Politics at Harvard’s
Kennedy School of Government, will serve as the speaker,
exploring these questions and more. As co-founder of the
Black Voters Matter Fund organization, LaTosha is dedicated
to increasing the political power of Black people.
To attend the virtual event, please pre-register
on the webinar registration page.
Eastern Michigan University's social channels will also be
featuring individuals throughout the month within the EMU
community who have paved the way for our students, faculty,
staff, and overall EMU community. Features will include
conversations about Black History, Black History on
Eastern's campus, and more with Regent Jeffries, Regents
Simpson, Regent Dr. Kimbrough Marshall, Regent Ford, Greg
Peoples, Dr. Rema Reynolds, and more! All interviews will
air via the EMU Facebook page and Youtube channel.
Thursday, February 25:
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4-5:30 p.m. "Lost Opportunity: Willis Ward, the Strike
at Willow Run, and the Rise of Civil Rights Unionism in
Detroit.": The
EMU History Section will host "Lost Opportunity: Willis
Ward, the Strike at Willow Run, and the Rise of Civil
Rights Unionism in Detroit," a talk that explores the
fraught relationship between African Americans in
Detroit who pushed for economic inclusion and racial
equality and Willis Ward, a former racial pioneer in
sport, during his controversial tenure directing hiring
practices at the Ford Motor Company in the late 1930s
and early 1940s. Dr. Tyran Steward, Assistant Professor
of History at Williams College and EMU History Alumnus,
will be the speaker.
Specifically, it scrutinizes Ward's brand of conformist
politics to reveal a long history in which pioneering black
athletes struggled to reconcile their burgeoning sense of
individuality and success with their membership in a
subordinated group, thereby slowing the very push for racial
equality that their perceived activism within the athletic
arena purportedly secured. The talk also demonstrates how
his marshalling of the FMC's discriminatory practices,
especially his efforts to rebuff black women seeking wartime
employment, became a crucial turning point in shaping
labor-civil rights unionism inside Detroit.
The event can be watched via ZOOM.
Please contact Ashley Bavery with any questions at abavery@emich.edu.
The series is part of the departments Speaker Series.
Details about the series and future events can be found on
the History
Speaker Series homepage.
For more information on EMU events, visit the EMU
Today calendar.
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