Black History Month celebrated with new attitude

Black History Month is being celebrated with a new air this year, due in part to the appointment of the nation's first African-American President, Barack Obama.

Black Student Union treasurer, Tamika Becton, feels that this month will be more about celebration.

"Since the inauguration of our first black president, I just think about how far we've come as African-Americans, and I can't help but want to celebrate and feel motivated to do anything," said Becton.

The campus activitiesfor Black History Month definitely reflect this celebratory mood.

As a part of Black Student Union Week, BSU will have a movie night in Mendenhall on Feb. 17. The movie showing will be "The Family that Preys", which is produced and directed by Tyler Perry, an African-American filmmaker.

On Feb. 21, at Koinonia Christian Center, there will be a "Greenville Community Celebration of Black History." This program will start at 11 a.m. The setup will be similar to a festival, offering a number of activities, musical performances, health screenings and art exhibits. There will also be a storyteller present.

On Feb. 23 at 7 p.m., there will be "Prayers for Peace and Justice." For more information on this event, stop by the Ledonia Wright Cultural Center.

There will still be activities going on throughout the month that focus more on black history and issues related to African-Americans.

On Feb. 11, at 5 p.m., there will be a showing and panel discussion on the film "Legacy of Torture." For more information on this event, contact the Ledonia Wright Cultural Center.

On Feb. 19, in Bate 1028 BSU and Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. are hosting "Black Issues 101." Beginning at 7 p.m., there will be a discussion on problems still occurring in the black community.

Black History Month, known first as "Negro History Week," was first established in 1926 to teach about the contributions of African-Americans because of the lack of exposure in American history books.

"The recognition of the accomplishments of African Americans has a little more prominence [now]," said Rod Bradley, director of Ledonia Wright Cultural Center. "[However], African-Americans should be celebrated for more than just February and should be a part of the mainstream history."

For more information on any of the events going on this month, stop by the Ledonia Wright Cultural Center, located next to Greene Hall.

This writer can be contacted at features@theeastcarolinian.com.