Ticket deadline nears
for Feb. 11 Unity Luncheon
MURFREESBORO — Reflections
on the sacrifices that made America a more inclusive society form the focal
point of this year’s Black History Month celebration at MTSU.
Documentaries, speeches, sing-a-longs and other activities
are on tap under the theme of “Civil Rights in America,” said Black History
Month Committee co-chairs Vincent Windrow, interim assistant vice provost for
student success, and Jonell Hinsey, interim director of the Intercultural and
Diversity Affairs Center.
“This year we celebrate the people, places and important
occasions that created the movement for equality in America,” Hinsey said.
• The campus community is invited to sing “Lift Every
Voice and Sing,” the so-called “black national anthem” composed by James Weldon
Johnson, at 12:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 3, on the Keathley University Center knoll,
in the Student Union Courtyard and outside Peck Hall.
• “Eyes on the Prize,” the award-winning PBS
documentary about the history of the civil rights movement, will be shown in
four parts from 7 to 8 p.m. Feb. 6, 13, 20 and 27 in the Keathley University
Center Theatre.
• Students will maintain an information table from 11
a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday, Feb. 7, National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, on the
first floor of the Student Union. Free HIV/AIDS testing will be available then
and throughout the month.
• Michael McDonald, MTSU’s first African-American student
government president, will be the keynote speaker for the annual Unity Luncheon
at 11 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 11, in the Student Union ballroom. The event will pay
tribute to community leaders James L. Butler, Pearlie Mae Martin and Phyllis
Hickerson-Washington.
Tickets for the luncheon are $20 for adults and $10 for
students and may be purchased by contacting Hinsey at 615-898-5797 or jonell.hinsey@mtsu.edu. The deadline
for reserving tickets is Wednesday, Feb. 5.
• Dr. Cleveland Sellers, president of Voorhees College
in Denmark, S.C., will deliver an address titled “A Voice from the Movement” at
6 p.m. Monday, Feb. 17, in Room 116 of the Paul W. Martin Sr. Honors College
Building.
An advocate for nonviolent social change, Sellers was the
only person arrested at the “Orangeburg Massacre,” a violent clash between
students and state police on the campus of South Carolina State University on
Feb. 8, 1968. Three young men were killed and 27 other people were wounded.
Sellers spent seven months behind bars on rioting charges
while the white officers involved in the shooting were acquitted. He received
an official pardon 25 years after his release.
• A presentation based on some of the “Myths of the
Movement” is slated for 4 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 19, in the Paul W. Martin Sr.
Honors Building. This event focuses on how some written and oral history skews
the truth about the civil rights movement.
• Walks through the “Tunnel of Oppression” are
scheduled from 1 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 20, in the Tom Jackson Building. It
is designed to introduce participants to current-day concepts of oppression,
privilege and power. This event coincides with the World Day of Social Justice
as declared by the United Nations.
• The Scholars Academy, in conjunction with the
Intercultural and Diversity Affairs Center, will host “Sista and Brotha, You
Rock!,” a celebration slated for 6 to 7 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 23, in the Student
Union ballroom. MTSU students of color will receive awards honoring them for
their contributions to the community.
All events except the Unity Luncheon are free and open to
the public. For a complete list of Black History Month events, go to http://tinyurl.com/m54vmyn. For more
information, contact Hinsey at 615-898-5797 or jonell.hinsey@mtsu.edu.
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