Goucher Celebrates Black History Month

Release date: February 01, 2008 |

Goucher College is celebrating Black History Month with a series of events, performances, and lectures designed to honor African-American achievement.

The festivities start with an open mic night on Friday, February 1, at 8 p.m. in Pearlstone Atrium to celebrate African Americans’ continuing legacy of spoken word and performance art. Interested performers should contact Melissa Smith at melissa.smith@goucher.edu.

On Friday, February 8, Dr. Peniel Joseph, the author of the highly acclaimed Waiting ’Til the Midnight Hour: A Narrative History of Black Power in America, will discuss whether America is ready for a black president. This event, which is free and open to the public, will be held at 12 p.m. in Buchner Hall of the Alumnae/i House.

Rhonda Lynn Gross from the Baltimore County Department of Health, Bureau of Substance Abuse will have an information table about African-American health and wellbeing in the Pearlstone Atrium on Tuesday, February 12, 3-5 p.m. She will share literature and answer questions concerning substance abuse and safety on a college campus.

UMOJA: The Black Student Union and the Office of Community Living and Multicultural Affairs are hosting an evening of great jazz music and good food in the Gopher Hole on Wednesday, February 13, at 9 p.m.

On Friday, February 15, invited Goucher students, alumni, and faculty will come together at 6 p.m. in Buchner Hall of the Alumnae/i House for the Second Annual Jewell Robinson Alumni Dinner. Named for Jewell Robinson — actress, writer, producer, and the first African-American student admitted to Goucher — this event is a chance for celebration, reflection, and fellowship.

A bus will depart from Dorsey Center at 1 p.m. on Saturday, February 16, to take students to the Black Heritage Art Expo at the Baltimore Convention Center. Noted as one of Baltimore’s premier art exhibitions, the Black Heritage Art Expo features both local and national visual and performing artists in one of the biggest expositions in the country. Tickets are $5 and can be purchased at the Pearlstone Center Information Desk.

Members of both the Goucher and Greater Baltimore communities are invited to come celebrate the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. at the college’s annual MLK Tribute Dinner on Tuesday, February 19, at 6 p.m. in the Heubeck Multipurpose Room. This year’s keynote speaker will be Gwendolyn E. Boyd, executive assistant to the chief of staff for the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory and chair of the Johns Hopkins University Diversity Leadership Council. R.S.V.P. to Lamar Hylton at lamar.hylton@goucher.edu to attend.

Stomp Out AIDS, an exhibition or stepping/hip-hop performances designed to promote HIV/AIDS awareness, has been rescheduled and will be held at 8 p.m. on Saturday, April 5, in Kraushaar Auditorium. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Don Miller House, which provides transitional and permanent housing programs for individuals and families with HIV/AIDS in Baltimore. Tickets are $5 and can be purchased at the door. For more information, call 410-337-6550.

On Wednesday, February 27, join members of the Goucher community at 12 p.m. in the Geen Community Center for “Reflections on Black Poetry.” Attendees are encouraged to bring their lunch and share a favorite poem by an African-American poet. This event will conclude Goucher’s celebration of Black History Month.

Goucher’s Black History Month programming is sponsored by the Alumnae and Alumni Association, the Office of Community Living and Multicultural Affairs, Religious and Spiritual Life, the Vice President and Dean of Students, the Educational Opportunity Program, the Office of Financial Aid, and UMOJA: The Black Student Union.