Elon University will celebrate the contributions of black people throughout history during Black History Month differently this February. The Black History Month steering committee selected this year's theme, "Black History Is Everyone's History." Students, faculty and staff members from different departments and organization on campus comprise the steering committee. Senior Keyona Osborne, committee co-founder, created the committee after realizing the university hadn't promoted the celebration in the past years, she said.
"I worked with Dr. (Leo) Lambert, deans of different schools and Dr. Prudence Layne to establish the committee and figure out what we want Black History Month to look like," Osborne said.
The goal of the month-long celebration is to recognize the different contributions of black people and how they've influenced American culture, according to Kimberly Edwards, sophomore and Black History Month student coordinator. She said this year's theme focuses on the work of blacks throughout history and American culture.
"We want to do things that will be welcoming to all races," Osborne said. "We just don't want it to be just black events. We want to start off the first Black History Month with a bang, making sure people realize that blacks helped build this country."
The School of Communications, Greek Life, Athletics, Religious Life and the Multicultural Center are some of the departments or branches represented in the steering committee. This variation will ensure the committee reaches out to more than just one type of person or group of people, Osborne said.
"Black History Month steering committee is using the theme in order to increase awareness that the presence of African-Americans, Africans and people of African descent, including those in the African diaspora, have greatly influenced the development of the United States," Edwards said. "I believe that in order to tactfully face adversity, one must know his or her history and how it affects the present."
The committee is the first step in creating a permanent and tangible movement to ensure the university celebrates Black History Month and doesn't stray away from the true value of the celebration, according to Osborne.
"We've created a budget for this to happen every year and there should never be a reason for Black History Month not to be celebrated on campus," she said. "And even if Dr. Layne leaves, there's always a committee."
The steering committee hopes to engage people of diverse backgrounds and educate people on the importance of the celebration, Osborne said.