February is Black History Month: A time to reflect on the struggles, achievements and essential role of African Americans in U.S. history.

In honor of Black History Month, several College of Charleston departments, clubs, organizations and offices will host activities and events open to the campus community and the public.

Events celebrate the history and culture of African Americans, ranging from artistic — such as a fashion show – to introspective, including a talk on black men and mental health. Most of the events are free, but some do require tickets.

Events include:

1. Black History Month Family Feud

Feb. 6, 2018, at 6 p.m. in Maybank Hall Room 100. Come test your knowledge of a black history month themed-Family Feud match-up and meet fellow faculty, staff and students in sponsorship with CofC’s Black Student Union.

2. African Diaspora Fashion Show

Feb. 9, 2018, at 6 p.m. in the Stern Center Ballroom. The College of Charleson’s Black Student Union will be hosting its inaugural fashion show entitled “African Diaspora.” The event will explore various regions of the world starting with Africa, leading to Latin America and the Caribbean, and ending in the United States. Through these different scenes the fashion show will focus on how the African Diaspora has impacted other cultures. The event is free and open to all CofC students and the general public. Registration is required.

3. Afro-Caribbean Language Forum

Feb. 13, 2018, at 6 p.m. in Maybank Hall Room 100. Come learn about the rich heritage and cultures that encompass Afro-Caribbean language. Sponsored by CofC’s Black Student Union, the event is free and open to students, faculty and staff.

4. Get Free

Feb. 15, 2018, at 6 p.m. in the Sottile Theater, 41 George St. The Division of Student Affairs welcomes Bettina L. Love, associate professor of Educational Theory and Practice at the University of Georgia, as she presents the talk “Get Free: Creativity, Hip Hop Civics Ed, Intersectionality & Joy.” Inspired by the exuberance, ingenuity, political energy, resistance, love and DIY model of underground hip-hop, “Get Free” aims to push and extend ideas of democracy, citizenship, freedom, community, civic engagement and intersectional justice. The event is free and open to the public.

5. Black Men and Mental Health

Feb. 20, 2018, at 6 p.m. in Robert Scott Small Room 235. Co-sponsored by the Department of African American Studies, Office of Multicultural Student Programs and Services, and the Black Student Union, this program welcomes clinical psychologist Kendall Jasper, whose research has focused on African American children, adolescents, and adults related to ethnic identity, achievement in academic settings, and appropriate treatment for individuals who experience an array of mental health difficulties. The event is free and open to the public.

6. Black History Concert

Feb. 22, 2018, at 7:30 p.m. in the Simons Center for the Arts Recital Hall (54 St. Philip St.). Come hear the College of Charleston Gospel Choir perform moving spiritual and gospel music. The event is free for CofC students and $10 at the door for the general public.

7. Screening of Hidden Figures

Feb. 23, 2018, at 4:30 p.m. in the School of Sciences and Mathematics Building (202 Calhoun St.) Room 129. The Department of Mathematics and the Lowcountry Hall of Science and Math are hosting a panel discussion on the film Hidden Figures, which chronicles the true story of African American women working in the United States space program in the 1960s, and diversity in the STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) fields. The panel will include Chief Diversity Officer Rénard Harris, mathematics Professor Alex Kasman, Cass Runyon, associate professor of geology and director of the South Carolina Space Grant Consortium, and Jennifer Wilhelm, assistant professor of psychology. 

8. Rhapsody in Black

Feb. 24, 2018, at 6 p.m. in the TD Arena Hospitality Suite (301 Meeting St.). Sponsored by the College of Charleston’s Black Student Union, Rhapsody in Black is a live expression of African American culture through the arts of music, dance and spoken word. The event will include an elegant evening of talent and expression that provides African American students with the opportunity to tell their stories through art. The event is free and open to all CofC students and the general public. Registration is required.

9. An Engaging Conversation: Celebrating Black Veterans

Feb. 28, 2018, at 4 p.m. in Alumni Hall. The Office of Institutional Diversity and the Graduate School will host a discussion between Michael T. Owens, adjunct professor of English, and Anthony Greene, assistant professor of African American Studies, on Owens’ ongoing oral history project focused on the role of African Americans in WWII. Owens is the author of Burned: Conversations with a Black WWII Veteran and the founder of Voices Speak – a nonprofit dedicated to telling the stories of marginalized populations. The event will explore the importance of black narratives, government experimentation on black bodies, civil rights and the Double V Campaign. A post-event reception will follow. This event is free and open to the public.

10. Conseula Francis Emerging Scholars Lecture Series

March 6, 2018, at 6 p.m. in Addleston Library Room 227. Concluding Black History Month events is the Consuela Francis Emerging Scholars Series sponsored by the Department of African American Studies. The event will feature Deirdre Cooper Owens, assistant professor of history at Queens College in New York, who will deliver the lecture Medical Bondage: Race, Gender, and the Origins of American Gynecology, which explores how pioneers in the field of gynecology experimented on enslaved women and Irish immigrant women to develop a field that produced medical advances while lending legitimacy to pseudo-scientific white supremacist and misogynistic theories. The event is free and open to the public.

Featured image: The College of Charleston Gospel Choir performs during a 2015 concert.