A Beautiful Struggle
Oberlin College's 2008 observance of Black History Month features a lineup of speakers, student and alumni performances, film screenings, and a variety of social events. The theme of this year's celebration is “A Beautiful Struggle” and programs during the month will attempt to examine how people of African descent are able to find a balance between struggle and triumph while reinvigorating their hope in humanity.
Highlights of the celebration include the Wednesday, February 13 convocation address by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, Suzan Lori-Parks and the Friday, February 22 lecture, “A Beautiful Struggle,” by poet and acclaimed journalist Michael Datcher, a visiting assistant professor at Loyola Marymount University who has written for the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post, and the Baltimore Sun.
The Blind Boys of Alabama will present a blend of traditional and contemporary Gospel music on Tuesday, February 12, while the artist-activist group the Welfare Poets will unveil their message of inspiration through sharp-edged performances of music that incorporates Hip Hop, Bomba-y-Plena, Latin Jazz, and other rhythms on Friday, February 15.
Mignon Moore, assistant professor of sociology at the University of California, Los Angeles, will present “The Politics of Respectability: Sexuality and Inclusion in Black Community Life” on Thursday, February 28. A family sociologist who is finishing a manuscript based on her intensive ethnographic survey and interview study of racial minority same-sex couples. Her forthcoming work, Invisible Families: Gay Relationships and Motherhood Among Black and Latina Women, ( American Sociological Review vol 73 (2), April 2008) will highlight the intersections of sexuality, race and ethnic identity for African Americans, Latinas, and women of Caribbean descent, showing how issues of independence and belonging play out in unique ways for lesbians of color.
The celebration concludes with a ceremony on Friday, February 29, when event committee members will pay special tribute to the Oberlin community.
Oberlin College Black History Celebration 2008 is cosponsored by African American Studies and The Multicultural Resource Center. Support is also provided by the Office of the President, the Finney Lecture Committee, Office of the Dean of Arts and Sciences, the Student Union, and the Assemblies Committee. Please contact Courtney Patterson, Faculty-in-Residence of Afrikan Heritage House and Ramaesh Bhagirat, Africana Community Coordinator if you have any inquiries. |
RECOGNIZING OBERLIN'S AFRICAN AMERICAN ALUMNI
Oberlin College initiated an open door policy in 1835, two years after is founding, to become the first institution of higher education in American to admit students without respect to race. Since that time, hundreds of students of color have graduated from Oberlin, advancing to graduate studies or venturing directly to the workforce.
Many African American alumni have accomplished firsts in the fields of study; others have contributed to the growth and success of organizations, businesses, industry, schools and secondary educational institutions, the fine and dramatic, arts, media, politics, and other professions.
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A Miraculous Journey
