Celebrating Black History Month 2021

It was in 1964 when the author James Baldwin reflected on the shortcomings of his education. “When I was going to school,” he said, “I began to be bugged by the teaching of American history because it seemed that that history had been taught without cognizance of my presence.”

Baldwin’s thoughts echoed those of many before and after him. Half a century earlier, when Carter G. Woodson had the same frustration, he set the foundation for what would become today’s national Black History Month, observed each February.

“If a race has no history, it has no worthwhile tradition, it becomes a negligible factor in the thought of the world, and it stands in danger of being exterminated,” Woodson said of the need for such study.

In 1926, Woodson and others launched a “Negro History Week” to bring attention to his mission and help school systems coordinate their focus on the topic. Woodson chose the second week in February, as it encompassed both Frederick Douglass’ birthday on February 14 and Abraham Lincoln’s birthday on February 12.

The celebrations spread quickly, but the idea of expanding the week to a month did not come until several decades later. During the Civil Rights Movement, Freedom Schools in the South embraced the week and its curriculum message as a way to contribute to the mission. By the mid-1960s, the most popular textbook for eighth-grade U.S. history classes mentioned only two black people in the entire century of history that had transpired since the Civil War. It was in that decade that colleges and universities across the country transformed the week into a Black History Month.

President Gerald Ford decreed Black History Month a national observance in 1976, on both the fiftieth anniversary of the first iteration and America’s bicentennial year. Kalamazoo Valley Community College seeks to empower and engage all people in actions that productively contribute to accomplishing the goals of our institution.

The college’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion collaborates with student groups, faculty, our own Committee for Cultural Understanding as well as the community to provide support, resources, and leadership as we strive for inclusive excellence. The college’s observance of Black History Month includes the activities included below. However, the recognition of the contributions of African American’s continues throughout the year as Kalamazoo Valley Community College seeks to empower and engage all people in actions that productively contribute to accomplishing the goals of our institution.

All Black History Month activities are free and open to the public.

Filling In The Gaps: The Art of Murphy Darden
The Kalamazoo artist and historian explores Black cowboys, his personal experiences in Mississippi, civil rights heroes and Kalamazoo’s African American community.
View the exhibit online at https://www.kvmexhibits.org/murphy-darden.

February 5, 2021
Kalamazoo Valley Community College’s Exhibition of Works By Local Black Artists
In collaboration with the Black Arts and Cultural Center, The Metropolitan Branch of the NAACP and the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, Kalamazoo Valley Community College’s Center for New Media will host a virtual exhibition of works by local black artists. Artwork will be exhibited online throughout the month of February. The exhibit’s opening will coincide with the city of Kalamazoo’s Feb. 5 Art Hop.

February 23, 2021
Kalamazoo Valley’s office of Diversity and Inclusion welcomes Dr. Tonya Bailey for “The Dismantling of Othering,” a Black History month workshop on Feb. 23 from 12:30 – 1:45 p.m.
This workshop will explore the legacy of Dr. King's legacy, connecting it to our inter-relatedness and what it means in 2021 to "Do"! The interactive keynote is designed to engage participants in the Tonya Bailey Experience and emphasize Dr. King's words and theme of this year's community-wide celebration "None of us is free until all of us are free."

Attendees will walk away with tools on how to dismantle othering and achieve educational equity, racial healing, and celebrate oneness.

Dr. Bailey is a graduate of the University of Evansville, Indiana where she received her Bachelor of Science degree in mass communication, and a Master’s degree in public administration from the University of Michigan Rackham Graduate School. She has completed her Ph.D. studies in educational leadership from Central Michigan University.

The focus of her research is measuring sense of belonging among first-generation African American students at predominately white institutions and the role high impact practices play in their belongingness and retention. She is also a KCP Future Faculty Fellow and has taught in higher education for over 10 years including within the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Michigan-Flint wherein she has served on numerous faculty committees, administrative task force groups and higher education initiatives. Currently, Bailey serves as the Chief Diversity Officer at Lansing Community College.

With over 20 years of experience in higher education administering student success initiatives, providing instruction and inspiring audiences and organizations, Tonya’s lives by the motto, “You don’t become great, until you make someone else greater!” Her passion is to assist individuals from diverse backgrounds so that they excel beyond their potential. In a recent television interview, she stated, “I see myself as a “lid-lifter” wherein I help uncap the true value, skills and dreams within others,” In addition to her career in postsecondary education, she is the co-founder of Pick a Place and Start (P.A.P.A.S.) 501 C3 Community Development Corporation dedicated to youth development, cultural awareness and community economic revitalization. She is also the Lead Advisor for a nonprofit organization that aims to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS and she serves on numerous boards and committees in her community and across the nation including the in Higher Education, National Association of Diversity Officers (NADOHE), Michigan’s Governor’s Coronavirus Taskforce on Racial Disparities and Community Action Team, Michigan’s Centering Equity Work Group, Michigan Health Council (MHC) and the Community Based Organization Partners - Community Ethics Review Board.

Contact Diversity and Inclusion Director Trice Batson, tbatson@kvcc.edu for the link to participate.

February 25, 2021
The Society for History and Racial Equity presents Black History Game Night,
6 p.m. Feb. 25 via Zoom. Ashley Davis will receive the Young Adult Service Award for her contributions to local non-profits. The event will also feature Black History Bingo. Individual winners will receive a free SHARE t-shirt. The first 50 to register will receive a free soul food dinner courtesy of Davis Delectables. Pick up is required, Feb. 25, 4 - 5:30 p.m., 471 W. South St., Kalamazoo. To register go to: https://forms.gle/oVHy1JaqHcsfc5vcA

For more information about Diversity and Inclusion at Kalamazoo Valley Community College, contact Trice Batson, Diversity and Inclusion Director at tbatson@kvcc.edu.