Brock University will mark Black History Month\/African Heritage Month (BHM\/AHM) this February with a robust lineup of programming.<\/p>\n
Focusing on the theme of intersectionality, the month will celebrate the heritage and culture of Black faculty, staff and students and their communities, while also recognizing overlapping and intersecting social identities and related systems of oppression, domination and discrimination.<\/p>\n
Shaka Licorish, Anti-Racism and Inclusion Advisor in Brock\u2019s Human Rights and Equity (HRE) office, said February is a celebratory reflection of Black excellence and highlights the ongoing commitment to advancing anti-racism initiatives, human rights, equity and inclusion across campus.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a signatory of the Scarborough Charter<\/a>, the University is rallying behind a shared acknowledgement and recognition of the experiences of African scholars, students and staff,\u201d he said. \u201cThis year\u2019s programming is a strong reflection of the BHM\/AHM working group coming together to do this important work across the University, both during this month and throughout the year.\u201d<\/p>\n All are encouraged to attend the launch event, which will be held on Monday, Feb. 3 from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Rankin Family Pavilion. Live music from Niagara\u2019s PK Hummingbird Steel Orchestra will begin at 9:30 a.m. and set the tone for the day. Speeches and a preview of the month\u2019s programming will begin at 10 a.m., followed by a Black Vendor Market, featuring student and alumni-run local businesses, beginning at noon to close out the event.<\/p>\n Aishah Sonekan, Research Assistant in Anti-Racism and Inclusion with HRE, said working alongside a passionate and dedicated group of individuals from across campus has been a \u201cfulfilling experience.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a chance to rethink the ways in which we highlight Black\/African experiences and to renew our commitment to learning about Black and African heritage in Canada,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m particularly excited to reconnect Brock University with the Niagara community through the Black Vendor Market, which encourages everyone to support Black-owned businesses and shows that being Black is more than being resilient, but also about being creative, innovative and entrepreneurial.\u201d<\/p>\n More than 40 events<\/a> are planned throughout the month, including film screenings; workshops that unpack race, intersectionality and relationships; personal and professional development opportunities; and social gatherings and culinary experiences that celebrate the rich culture and triumphs of those who identify as Black, African and\/or Caribbean. Students can also participate in experiential learning opportunities to engage with guest speakers of Black or African descent during several course integrations planned during the month.<\/p>\n Justin\u00a0Mafie \u2014 a Computer Science student, Peer Assistant at the Black Student Success Centre, and Research Assistant in Equity, Diversity and Inclusion within HRE \u2014 was tasked with designing imagery that is reflective of the themes and significance of the month.<\/p>\n He was inspired by the work of civil rights activist Audre Lorde, who discusses the interconnected nature of struggles such as sexism, racism and other systematic forms of oppression, as well as the Sankofa symbol, which underscores the importance of understanding the complexities of those interconnected relationships.<\/p>\n \u201cThese symbols embody the importance of returning to the past to retrieve valuable knowledge and traditions for building a better future, which also aligns seamlessly with The Scarborough Charter\u2019s commitments to addressing systematic barriers by acknowledging historical justice and fostering accountability from institutions,\u201d said Mafie, who transferred to Brock in 2020 from Taylor\u2019s University in Malaysia to study Computer Sciences. \u201cI hope that in doing this work, I’m contributing to building a community within Brock that appreciates, learns and understands what Black History Month and African Heritage Month really means.\u201d<\/p>\n A list of events can be found on the BHM\/AHM\u00a0ExperienceBU page<\/a> and schedule at a glance<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Brock University will mark Black History Month\/African Heritage Month (BHM\/AHM) this February with a robust lineup of programming.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":55,"featured_media":98943,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7484,3319,4052,1],"tags":[777,10856,806,13216,12953,13268,567,348,8166,2582,14186,10967,12376],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98939"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/55"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=98939"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98939\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":98952,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98939\/revisions\/98952"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/98943"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=98939"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=98939"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=98939"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}