Celebrating Black Heritage Month

By: Madeline Marriott ’24

In partnership with the Association of Black Collegians (ABC), the Office of Intercultural Development (OID) will commence Black Heritage Month celebrations with a kickoff event in Farinon Atrium Feb. 1, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. The festivities will include a DJ, a book giveaway, participation from local vendors, and a flag display representing the Black diaspora. 

The office will also host a bus trip for students to see Bob Marley: One Love, the new Bob Marley biopic, in theaters Feb. 15. 

Skillman Library will host two Black Heritage Month lectures: one by assistant professor of Africana studies Aaron Pride on Feb. 9, and one on the history and importance of the Juneteenth holiday on Feb. 29. Both will be hosted in Skillman’s Gendebein Room. 

Finally, ABC, which celebrated its 54th anniversary on Lafayette’s campus Jan. 31, will close the month with the Black Arts Festival. A 1990s ABC tradition revived, the festival will feature the talents of Black students from across campus. 

Shahking Gomez ’25, Paris Francis ’26, and Jermaine Grant ’25

For Shahking Gomez ’25, vice president of ABC, this month is a time to reclaim previously unavailable spaces. 

“This month is about maneuvering a space that was not created for us and ensuring that we are making it a space for us in the future,” Gomez says.

Jermaine Grant ’25, president of ABC, emphasizes that these events are open to everyone on campus.

“Hopefully through having the opportunity to inquire about another person’s culture and background, that interest can possibly spark new connections that people didn’t ever think would happen,” Grant says.

According to Rob Young ’14, director of intercultural development, the month of February is just a start. 

“We should be having these conversations 365 days a year,” he says. “You shouldn’t wait to acknowledge and celebrate somebody in a particular month, and you should immerse yourself in these communities throughout the year.”