10 Black History Month Events to Check Out

Black History Month, celebrated during the month of February, is a time to recognize the accomplishments and reflect on the struggles of African Americans. And, as we look back on history, it’s an opportunity for us all to better understand our present culture and improve upon our future as a country.

In honor of Black History Month, several College of Charleston departments, offices and programs are sponsoring events ranging from the African American Studies Film Festival to the Department of History annual Black History Month Lecture to the Office of Multicultural Student Programs and Services panel discussion about African Americans and mental health care access.

Events include:

1. African American Studies Spring 2022 Film Festival

Feb. 7 (American Street: Gentrification in Charleston), Feb. 14 (Coded Bias), Feb. 21 (Medical Racism) and Feb. 28 (Battle for Black Land). All screenings take place at 6 p.m. in room 118 of the Education Center (25 St. Philip St.). Join the College of Charleston African American Studies Program for the Spring 2022 Film Festival. Discussions of the films facilitated by a faculty member will follow each screening and refreshments will be provided.

2. Breaking the Stigma: A Panel Discussion on African Americans and Mental Health Access

Feb. 10, 2022, at 5 p.m. in the School of Education, Health, and Human Performance Alumni Center (86 Wentworth St.). Join the Office of Multicultural Student Programs and Services for a panel discussion with local licensed professional counselors Katrina Bell, Shanelle Fields and Donna White.

3. All for Liberty: The Charleston Workhouse Slave Rebellion of 1849 featuring Jeff Strickland

Feb. 10, 2022, at 6 p.m.Join the Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture and the CofC Friends of the Library for this talk featuring Jeff Strickland, historian and author of All for Liberty: The Charleston Workhouse Slave Rebellion of 1849. Learn about the powerful story of Nicholas Kelly, the enslaved craftsman who led the Charleston Workhouse Slave Rebellion, the largest slave revolt in the history of the antebellum American South. Strickland’s book will be available for purchase. Register for this event via Zoom.

4. What’s Up With Black Love?

Feb. 10, 2022, at 7 p.m. in the Stern Ballroom. Join the Black Student Union in partnership with the Gender and Sexuality Equity Center to celebrate and discuss “Black Love” for Valentine’s Day.

5. Conversation with the Authors of Where Is the Justice? Engaged Pedagogies in Schools and Communities

Feb. 11, 2022, at 1 p.m. via Zoom. Join the Women’s and Gender Studies Program and the Sustainability Literacy Institute for a virtual discussion with the authors of Where is the Justice? Engaged Pedagogies in Schools & Communities, Valerie Kinloch (University of Pittsburgh), Emily Nemeth (Denison University) Grace Player (University of Connecticut) and Tamara Butler, executive director of the Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture. Access the event through the Zoom meeting ID available on the Campus Calendar.

6. Black History Month Tailgate

Feb. 14, 2022, 6:15-7 p.m. in the TD Arena Practice Gym. Join the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and the CofC Athletics Department for fellowship and food during the Black History Month Tailgate. Refreshments will be provided.

7. Political Violence, Disfranchisement and U.S. Empire: From the Viewpoint of the Congress’ Last Black Congressman Before the Rise of Jim Crow

Feb. 15, 2022, at 6 p.m. Join the Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture for this Avery Digital Classroom Guest Lecture featuring DJ Polite, visiting assistant professor of African American studies at CofC. Register for this event via Zoom.

8. Dr. Conseula Francis Reading Circle Discussion of Promise, Featuring Author Regina E. Williams

Feb. 17, 2022, at 6:30 p.m. Join the Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture and the Dr. Conseula Francis Reading Circle for this special discussion with local novelist Regina Williams. Williams will discuss the stories in her book, Promise, which cover a span of many years, situations and locales but reveals that place matters only in our consciousness, in our memories. Each tale offers a brief reflection of some of those markers on the journey from self to self. Register for this event via Zoom.

9. Annual Black History Month Lecture: The Bonds of Racial Inequality in Postwar America

Feb. 25, 2022, 3–5 p.m. via Zoom. Join the College of Charleston Department of History for its annual Black History Month lecture, “The Bonds of Racial Inequality in Postwar America,” by Destin Jenkins, assistant professor of history at Stanford University. Jenkins is a scholar of racial inequality whose book, The Bonds of Inequality: Debt and the Making of the American City, was recently published by the University of Chicago Press. He is also the principal investigator in a digital humanities project titled The Business of Debt as well as co-editor of the volume Histories of Racial Capitalism. The event is co-sponsored by the College’s Center for Sustainable Development. Register by 5 p.m. on Feb. 24 via Eventbrite.

10. Conversation with the Authors of Trailblazers

Feb. 28, 2022, from 4 to 5:30 p.m. via Zoom. Join the College of Charleston Women’s and Gender Studies Program for this event, featuring Gabrielle David and Chandra Waring, authors of Trailblazers: Black Women Who Helped Make America Great. This event bridges Black History Month (February) and Women’s History Month (March). Registration is required.