Florida State University’s Black Student Union and the entire university community will come together to celebrate Black History Month during “Unlit Beauty: Illuminating the Hidden Color.”
The month-long celebration begins Saturday, Feb. 1, with an opening ceremony at Florida State’s Globe Auditorium. Doors open at 4:30 p.m. for the 5 o’clock ceremony that introduces this year’s theme of showcasing hidden or “unlit” beauty.
“We want to engage and inform the student body of aspects of our African-American culture that are not in the forefront,” said Black Student Union President Harold Scott, a media studies student. “We hope to bring background aspects of our culture to center stage.”
The month’s events include:
- “Battle of the Sitcoms” — 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 5, in Room 101 of the Student Life Cinema: This interactive discussion of the “Golden Age” of black television will focus on sitcoms from the 1980s and ’90s and on the shows’ lasting influence today.
- “An Evening with Laverne Cox” — 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 11, in the University Ballrooms: Laverne Cox from the hit Netflix series “Orange Is the New Black” will share her story on navigating the world as a transwoman of color. Her presentation, “Ain’t I a Woman: My Journey To Womanhood,” is co-sponsored by the Pride Student Union, Women Student Union and Asian-American Student Union.
- “An Evening with Melissa Harris-Perry” — 7 p.m. Monday, Feb. 24, in Ruby Diamond Concert Hall: MSNBC TV show host, writer, Tulane University professor and philanthropist Melissa Harris-Perry visits as part of the Golden Tribe Lecture Series. Doors open at 6.
The Black Student Union will also host a NAACP Founders Day Ball, a fundraiser at Skate World, a “Motown Getdown” talent show and a seminar, “Death of the N-Word.”
For more information and a complete list of Black History Month events and local community service projects visit http://www.sga.fsu.edu/blackhistorymonth/calendar.shtml.