Black History Month Celebrated On Campus

Emilie Jenson, Public Information Office
2/1/2024

In observance of February being Black History Month, Iowa Central Community College will be hosting a variety of events and activities throughout the month.

Events kicked off Thursday in the Triton Café student chosen lunch serving up favorites such as fried chicken, sweet potatoes, macaroni and cheese, corn bread and collard greens.

The Iowa Central Diversity Team had the “I have a Dream” board set up near the café entrance where students could write down their dreams and post them to a “Wall of Dreams” alongside posters sharing the stories of black influencers throughout history such as Rosa Parks, Barack Obama, Oprah Winfrey, Martin Luther King Jr., Jackie Robinson, and George Washington Carver.

“It is important that we recognize the many valuable contributions that these individuals have had in history,” said Kris Nerem Lowery, a member of the Iowa Central Diversity Committee.

“Black history is a significant part of all history,” said Brandon Bush, student activities assistant director at Iowa Central. “We have a very diverse campus, and it is important for us to recognize all cultures on our campus. We do events like this, the Afro-Latino Festival, the Native American Walking Gallery to recognize the significance to American history that they have had.”

Other events planned throughout the month include a Friday night trivia night themed with Black History categories, A Black History Month concert presented by the Iowa Central Vocal Music Department on February 16 at 7 p.m. in the Fort Museum Opera House and a walking photo gallery on February 26 in the Student Resource Center.

 A screening of Dr. Emma Christopher’s documentary “They Are We” sponsored by the City of Fort Dodge, Iowa Central and the Blanden Memorial Art Museum will be shown at 6:30 p.m. on February 15 in the BHS Auditorium. “They Are We” tells the story of the reunion of a family more than 170 years after they were driven apart by transatlantic slave trade. The event will be presented by cultural memory specialist Dr. Negus Rudison-Imhotep, followed by a discussion featuring panelists Dr. Wilfred M. Johnson, Upward Bound TRIO director at University of Northern Iowa; Activist and Cultural Competence Consultant Renaldo Johnson; Retired Educator and Learning Coach Cynthia Hunafa; and Gerald Cornelius, CEO of Androgyne Studios.