AMES, Iowa - Iowa State University will host several events in celebration of Black History Month this February. Events are listed below with contact information where available.
Jan. 30
Panel discussion: Forty Years of Black Politics
7 p.m., Pioneer Room, Memorial Union
Mary Sawyer, professor in charge of ISU religious studies; Mary Ann Spicer, Sisters on Target, Des Moines; and Rep. Wayne Ford, Iowa Brown and Black Presidential Forum, will discuss the past 40 years of black politics. Dianne Bystrom, director of the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics, will moderate.
More information: (515) 294-6519.
Feb. 1
Lecture: Forty Years in the Wilderness: Martin Luther King and the Misdirection of the Negro - Jonathan Farley
8 p.m., Sun Room, Memorial Union
Jonathan Farley, University of the West Indies, Jamaica, obtained his doctorate in mathematics from Oxford University in 1995, after winning Oxford's highest mathematics awards, the Senior Mathematical Prize and Johnson University Prize, in 1994. He has taught in the department of applied mathematics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and at Vanderbilt University. In 2005, Seed Magazine named him one of "15 people who have shaped the global conversation about science."
More information: (515) 294-9934.
Feb. 2
Banquet: NAACP Freedom Fund Banquet
6 p.m., Scheman Building, Iowa State Center
This year's theme is: "The Research Debate: In 2007 is Education and Excellence the Pathway to the Elimination of Segregation and Discrimination in American Schools, Colleges and Universities?"
More information: (515) 294-5003.
Feb. 8
Silent Auction for HIV
7 p.m., Comfort Suites, 2609 Elwood Drive
The Ames alumnae chapter of the historically African-American service organization Delta Sigma Theta is helping to coordinate a silent auction to raise money to assist people living with HIV. Tickets are $10 and include dinner, entertainment and entrance to the silent auction.
More information: (515) 294-6519.
Feb. 9
Concert: Black History Month Gospel Choir Extravaganza
7 p.m., Great Hall, Memorial Union
The 2007 Black History Month Gospel Choir Extravaganza will feature the Restoration & Prayze Gospel Choir from Des Moines and the New Birth Baptist Church Children's Choir. This is sponsored by Connect and New Birth Baptist Church.
More information: (515) 294-9934.
Feb. 9, 6 - 9 p.m. and Feb. 10, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Summit: Multicultural Leadership Summit
Memorial Union
The Multicultural Leadership Summit provides students with the opportunity to increase awareness of issues of inclusion and to develop action plans that help them become agents of change on campus. Registration is free and open to all ISU students.
More information: (515) 294-6519 or www.sac.iastate.edu.
Feb. 14
Black Cultural Center Rededication
3:30 - 5 p.m., Knapp-Storms dining complex
The rededication of the BCC will be at 4 p.m. at Knapp-Storms dining complex. Shuttle buses will take groups to 517 Welch to view the newly reopened house.
More information: (515) 294-6519.
Feb. 15, 16
Movie: "Malcolm X"
8 p.m., Pioneer Room, Memorial Union
This 1992 Spike Lee bio-drama starring Denzel Washington is about activist Malcolm X. This event is sponsored by the Student Union Board. Free admission and popcorn.
More information: (515) 294-8081.
Feb. 20
Lecture: Looking for A Few Good Men - Leonard Pitts
8 p.m. Sun Room, Memorial Union
Leonard Pitts Jr. is a syndicated columnist for the Miami Herald who writes on pop culture, social issues and family life. His column runs every Monday and Friday and appears in The Des Moines Register. Pitts won the Pulitzer Prize for commentary in 2004. His other awards include the American Society of Newspaper Editors' prestigious ASNE Award for Commentary Writing, the National Society of Newspaper Columnists' Columnist of the Year award and the GLAAD Media Outstanding Newspaper Columnist award. This event is cosponsored by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication.
More information: (515) 294-9934.
Feb. 22
Lunch and educational program
Noon, Reiman Gardens, 1407 Elwood Drive
At "Botany Lunch - Foods from the Garden," diners will enjoy an elegant, three-course menu honoring the work of George Washington Carver. The menu features frisee and opal basil salad with julienned vegetables, pumpkin seed encrusted pork tenderloin topped with apple butter, sweet potato mash, grilled asparagus and peanut butter pie for $20.95 per person. RSVP by Feb. 15.
More information: (515) 294-2710.
Mar. 2
Conference: Iowa State Conference on Race and Ethnicity (ISCORE)
8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Memorial Union
The Iowa State Conference on Race and Ethnicity is a comprehensive forum on issues of race and ethnicity at Iowa State University and beyond. Registration is at 8 a.m. and is free and open to all members of the ISU and Ames communities.
More information: (515) 294-6338 or e-mail iscore@iastate.edu.