CSU-Pueblo to host activities for African American History Month
Release Date: January 24, 2017
Press Release
PUEBLO – Numerous events will be held at Colorado State University-Pueblo throughout February to commemorate important people and events in African-American history. Included in the month-long celebration will be an interactive tunnel of oppression, a film, lecture, and training session. All events are sponsored by the Office of Diversity and Inclusion (ODI).
The annual February celebration grew out of “Negro History Week,” the brainchild of noted historian Carter G. Woodson and other prominent African Americans. Since 1976, every U.S. president has officially designated the month of February as Black History Month. Woodson choose that week to honor the birthdays of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln.
Wednesday, February 1, 6-9 p.m., General Classroom Building
MLK Remembrance/Dialogue & Appetizers. In the honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the MLK Remembrance Dialogue and Appetizers will begin at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, February 1, 2017. Dr. Jaki Taggart from Pikes Peak Community College will provide the keynote for the evening. We invite you to celebrate the legacy and livelihood of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Please come and join us as we embark on this journey of our history. The event will be held in the General Classroom Building in its entirety. Pikes Peak Community College Professor of Business Taggart has served as professor of business at Pikes Peak Community College for almost 20 years. During her tenure, she has served in many leadership roles including director of the Danish/American Program, Black Student Union advisor, global village coordinator, multicultural student union advisor, and director of workforce development.
Monday, February 6, 1-3 p.m., Psychology 153
Tunnel of Oppression.
The Tunnel of Oppression is a 20-30 minute interactive theater experience that will challenge the way you think about marginalized groups. Find out what it’s like to experience biased behaviors and the perpetuation of racist stereotypes. Participants walk through different theaters designed to display oppression of marginalized groups. It started as a campus grassroots diversity program at Western Illinois University and can now be found at many colleges and universities around the nation.
Wednesday, February 15, 4-6 p.m., Psychology 153
Cultural Movie Night: The Rosa Parks Story
Food and drinks will the film, The Rosa Parks Story, a biopic that tells the story of civil rights activist Rosa Parks (Angela Bassett) from her days as a private-school student to her public battle against racism and segregation. As a secretary for the National Association for the Advancement Colorado People, Parks defends local children who have been victimized by racism. But when she is arrested after refusing to give up her bus seat for a white passenger, Parks inspires the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott.
Friday, February 24, 1-3 p.m., Psychology 153
MicroAggression Training.
The training by Director of Diversity and Inclusion Jennifer Alanis and ODI Graduate Assistant Steven Parker will focus on micro aggressions, which are “brief and commonplace daily verbal, behavioral, or environmental indignities, whether intentional or unintentional, that communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative racial slights and insults.” Participants will engage in a case study around a critical campus incident, and develop and refine ways of individually and collectively responding as allies.