Celebrate Black History Month at Iowa State

AMES, Iowa – Iowa State University is celebrating Black History Month with a variety of events throughout February.

For more than four decades, the United States has observed Black History Month to recognize the achievements of African Americans and honor their contributions to the nation’s history.

Events are free and open to the public, unless otherwise indicated. Event sponsors are listed in parentheses.

Schedule of events

Jan. 29, “Race and Justice in America,” Bryan Stevenson, founder of the Equal Justice Initiative, will discuss race and justice in America, 8 p.m., Memorial Union Great Hall (Lectures Program/Martin Luther King Jr. Legacy Series keynote address)

Jan. 30, “All We Do is Step, Stroll, Hop + Salute?!,” Rasheed Ali Cromwell, leading authority on fraternity and sorority life, will share information on black and multicultural Greek-letter fraternities and sororities and their contributions to society, 8 p.m., Memorial Union Sun Room (Lectures Program)

Throughout February, Parks Library will have a display featuring African American authors that will be split between the Fireplace Reading Room and a mobile unit that circulates through the building.

Feb. 1, Ames NAACP 2018 Freedom Fund Banquet: "Leading a Culture of Change," keynote speaker Aiddy Phomvisay, director of Central Campus for Des Moines Public Schools, 5:30 p.m., Gateway Hotel and Conference Center, 2100 Green Hills Drive, Ames, tickets required.

Feb. 3, Meet George Washington Carver, portrayed by Paxton Williams, 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., Alumni Center Reiman Ballroom, $5. The program will include gospel music performed by the Corinthian Baptist Church Praise and Worship Team, Des Moines. (Ames Children’s Theater, Ames Public Library, Iowa State University)

Feb. 3, Operation Pipeline, panels, workshops and resource fair designed to expose multicultural students to the resources and knowledge needed to successfully navigate the graduate and professional school admission process, 8:30 a.m., Memorial Union Great Hall (Multicultural Student Affairs)

Feb. 8, Soul food lunch, a themed menu for Black History Month at all campus dining centers (ISU Dining)

Feb. 9, Interactive living history event, "The Flying Hobos," 10 a.m., Alliant Energy - Lee Liu Auditorium, 1140 Howe Hall. Broadway actors will take the stage to portray former ISU student James Herman Banning (1899-1933), the first African American to fly across the United States; and his mechanic, Thomas Cox Allen. This free theatrical event will share the duo's adventures as they flew from Los Angeles to Valley Stream, New York, in 1932. Q&A session follows. (NASA, Iowa Space Grant Consortium, ISU aerospace engineering)

Feb. 13, African Diaspora and Black Experience — faculty and staff panel discussion, stories from those who recently migrated from other countries and those who are here multi-generationally, often as descendants of ancestors in slavery, 7 p.m., 2256 Multicultural Center, Memorial Union (Black Faculty & Staff Association)

Feb. 15-16, “The Vagina Monologues,” award-winning play featuring women’s stories of sexuality and strength, 6 p.m. and 9 p.m., Feb. 15; 7 p.m., Feb. 16; Memorial Union Sun Room, $10 students, $13 non-students (Margaret Sloss Women’s Center, Student Union Board, Society for the Advancement of Gender Equity) 

Feb. 17, “Black Panther” free movie screening, showtime 11 a.m., doors open at 10:30 a.m., Cinemark Movies 12, 1317 Buckeye Ave., Ames. Seats are limited. To sign up, contact Keesha Ward at kwormely@iastate.edu or Shaina Destine at sdestine@iastate.edu. Each guest will receive a junior popcorn and a small drink.

Feb. 19-March 9, “A Negro from The South,” exhibition by Cameron Gray, graduate student in integrated visual arts. From Gray: "...The viewer is attempting to understand; compliant to walk through other minorities' shoes, and mine, giving voice to the people that are voiceless." Octagon Center for the Arts, 427 Douglas Ave., Ames (The Octagon, College of Design Multicultural Liaison Office)

Feb. 22, Artist panel discussion of people of color in the arts. Panelists will include Brenda Jones, University professor of art and visual culture, Mitchell Squire, professor of architecture; Eulanda Sanders, professor of apparel, events and hospitality management; and Cameron Gray, graduate student in integrated visual arts. Facilitated by Dr. Reginald Stewart, vice president for diversity and inclusion. 6 p.m., Octagon Center for the Arts, 427 Douglas Ave., Ames (The Octagon, College of Design Multicultural Liaison Office)

Feb. 22, “Blaxicans and the Future of Identity in the United States,” Walter Thompson-Hernandez, a Los Angeles-based multimedia journalist and doctoral student in UCLA’s Chicana and Chicano studies department, will discuss multiracial identity, 7 p.m., Memorial Union Sun Room (Lectures Program)

Feb. 28, An evening with Ralph Ellison and Chinua Achebe, screening of two film clips recently discovered and sent for digitization: 10-minute interviews of writers Ralph Ellison (March 1970) and Chinua Achebe (no date) conducted by local talk show host Dorcas Speer, 4-5:30 p.m., 212 Ross Hall (English department, Library Special Collections and University Archives)

March 2, Iowa State Conference on Race and Ethnicity (ISCORE), comprehensive forum on issues of race and ethnicity at Iowa State and beyond, 8:15 a.m.-5 p.m., Memorial Union, register here.

March 2, ISU AfterDark, Free comedy performance by Damon Wayans Jr., star of “Happy Endings” and “New Girl,” 11 p.m., Memorial Union Great Hall, for ISU students and their guests. Also featuring mentalist Brian Imbus. (Student Union Board)