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Roadrunners celebrate Black History Month to honor heritage, promote inclusion

Roadrunners celebrate Black History Month to honor heritage, promote inclusion

FEBRUARY 3, 2020 — Throughout February, UTSA will celebrate Black History Month with speeches, discussions and film screenings that honor African American heritage; thoughtfully remember the civil rights leaders who paved the way for racial equality; and encourage diversity and inclusion in the present and future.

Roadrunners are invited to join student organizations, colleges and departments at all events.

Black History Month Kickoff

Monday, Feb. 3, 11 a.m.
Student Union, Window Lounge, Main Campus
 
The event will include tabling and a mobile library as a prelude to the 2020 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. lecture.

2020 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Lecture: Peniel E. Joseph

Monday, Feb. 3, 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Student Union, Denman Room (SU 2.01.28), Main Campus
 
Peniel E. Joseph, founding director of the Center for the Study of Race and Democracy at the University of Texas at Austin, will give UTSA’s 2020 Dr. Martin Luther Jr. Lecture related to his 2019 book, The Sword and The Shield, about the lives of Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X and how they transformed the aesthetics of American democracy. Joseph has appeared on programs such as PBS NewsHour, MSNBC’s Morning Joe and The Colbert Report. 
 

⇒ Explore UTSA Libraries' resources and archival collections for Black History Month.


Speaker: Danté D. Bryant

Wednesday, Feb. 5, 3:30 p.m.
H-E-B Student Union, Bexar Room (HSU 1.102), Main Campus
 
University of North Carolina at Charlotte social work professor Danté D. Bryant will explore the historical dehumanization of African American bodies and its impact on current health care outcomes. His research focuses on racial institutional inequity and black and white body politics in the United States. In this speech Bryant will discuss the socialized nature of vulnerability, particularly in regard to medicine. 

Film screening: Walk on the River: A Black History of the Alamo City

Monday, Feb. 10, 1–3 p.m.
Main Building (MB 1.120), Main Campus
 
 
This film documents both the history and the contributions that African Americans have made to the fabric of San Antonio from emancipation to the present. Walk on the River chronicles the path of freed blacks establishing communities, churches and schools in the 1800s to thriving black-owned businesses that flourished during the Jim Crow era. 

UTSA's NAACP chapter events

  • Get to Know NAACP: Monday, Feb. 10, 7 p.m., Location to be announced
  • NAACP Black Business Expo: Tuesday, Feb. 11, 7 p.m., Location to be announced
  • Silent Library: Wednesday, Feb. 12, 10:30 a.m. in Sombrilla Plaza
The UTSA chapter of the NAACP encourages the public to learn more about the organization and its duty to ensure political, educational, social and economic equality for all citizens. Follow @UTSA_NAACP on Twitter for announcements on the locations of these events. 

Speaker: Shomari Wills

Wednesday, Feb. 12, 5 p.m.
Igo Library, 13330 Kyle Seale Parkway, San Antonio
 
Sponsored by UTSA’s African American Studies Program, author and former CNN and ABC journalist Shomari Wills will discuss his 2018 book, Black Fortunes, which captures the little-known stories of the first six African Americans who escaped slavery and became millionaire entrepreneurs. 

Discussion: Raising an African American Male

Thursday, Feb. 13, noon to 2 p.m.
Main Building (MB 2.01.06), Main Campus
 
This panel discussion focuses on the struggles parents face raising young black boys in American society. Panelists for the event include African American Network creator Laura Thompson and Tracei Hervey.

Discussion: Integrating African American Studies in Texas High Schools

Tuesday, Feb. 18, 5:30 p.m.
John Peace Library, Assembly Room (JPL 4.04.22), Main Campus
 
This panel discussion focuses on the recently passed legislation for African American curriculum in Texas public schools. Panelists for the event include UTSA professor Ann Marie Ryan, UTSA lecturer Mario Marcel Salas, Texas A&M–San Antonio professor Lawrence Scott, and attorney and Texas NAACP President Gary Bledsoe. 

Black History Worship Experience

Friday, Feb. 21, 7:30 p.m.
Student Union, Mesquite Room (SU 2.01.24), Main Campus
 
Worship alongside Voices in Praise, a student organization dedicated to enriching the UTSA community through gospel music. 

Film screening: I Am Not Your Negro

Tuesday, Feb. 25 4–7 p.m.
John Peace Library, Assembly Room (JPL 4.04.22), Main Campus
 

This Academy Award–nominated documentary explores race in the U.S. from the civil rights era to the present-day #BlackLivesMatter movement. Narrated by Samuel L. Jackson, the film uses an unpublished manuscript by American author and activist James Baldwin and a flood of rich archival material to look critically at the history of racism in the country. The screening will be followed by a faculty-led discussion. 

Discussion: Celebrating Activism

Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2 p.m.
Student Union, Retama Auditorium (SU 2.02.02), Main Campus
 
This panel discussion is sponsored by UTSA African American Studies. 

Speaker: Bree Newsome

Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2 p.m.
Student Union, Denman Room (SU 2.01.28), Main Campus
 
Bree Newsome is an artist, musician, producer, writer, consultant, activist and NAACP Image Award winner who drew national attention in 2015 when she climbed the flagpole in front of South Carolina’s capitol and lowered the Confederate battle flag in the aftermath of the Charleston church shooting. 

Movie premiere: Walk on the River 2.0: The African Influence in San Antonio

Saturday, Feb. 29, 6–9 p.m.
Buena Vista Theater (BVB 1.326), Downtown Campus
 

This follow-up to the original Walk on the River documentary focuses on the presence and influence that people of African descent had in the San Antonio area before and during enslavement, including African Americans who fought in the Battle of the Alamo. A Q&A session with the director and producer of the film will be held after the film’s showing.
 

— Shea Conner

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