YSU CELEBRATION Black History Month

The Africana Studies Program at Youngstown State University has announced the program dates for the 2010 Black History Month celebration on campus. Event parking is available at the Lincoln Deck and lot M24, next to McDonald’s on Fifth Avenue.

Next Saturday: Noon to 6 p.m., the African Marketplace in the Chestnut Room of Kilcawley Center offers a wide range of sights, sounds and objects, including art, jewelry, Afrocentric writings and literature. Dance and musical entertainment will be presented by the Harambee Youth Group.

Feb. 9: 8 p.m., Diversity Roundtable in the Ohio Room of Kilcawley Center, offering a discussion and evaluation of diversity initiatives and progress at the university. Deans, department chairs and other administrators will be on the panel.

Feb. 11: 7 p.m., panel discussion on African-American Contemporary Art: “Truth and Fear,” McDonough Museum, featuring Ronald D. Clayton and Julius Lyles. The program will focus on social reconstruction and a new approach to cultural diversity.

Feb. 12: 7:30 p.m., lecture by Daryl Davis on “Klandestine Relationships” in the Presidential Suites of Kilcawley Center. Davis will discuss the activities and inner workings of the Ku Klux Klan and how best to disable it, based on his book on the subject.

Feb. 18: 7:30 p.m., lecture by Greg Mills on “Miracle Inventions by Miracle People” in the Ohio Room. Mills discusses known and not-so-well-known black inventors and scientists through the history of the United States.

Feb. 20: 7:30 p.m., movie, Contradictions of the Heart” by Walter Allen Bennett Jr. in the Chestnut Room. Bennett will present his film on subtle and least-understood aspects of loving relationships in the black community.

Feb. 24: 7:30 p.m., Black History student essay contest finals and community poetry competition in The Gallery of Kilcawley Center. Black students at YSU are asked to submit essays by Feb. 19 on the black experience, and faculty, staff and the public are invited to submit original poems by the same deadline on subjects related to black life. For information, contact the Africana Studies Department at (330) 941-3097.

Feb. 26: 6 to 9 p.m., finals of the Black Academic Challenge in the Chestnut Room, testing students’ knowledge of black history. Teams will compete throughout the month in preparation for this final event.

Feb. 27: Noon to 3 p.m., community outreach: clothing and food assistance drive in the Chestnut Room. Throughout the month, citizens in the black community and the community at large are invited to bring gently worn clothes and canned goods to designated locations in each of YSU’s colleges to assist those in need. The donations will be brought together in the Chestnut Room for distribution to community organizations.

Source: Africana Studies Program, YSU