NW Missouri Times

Northwest Missouri State University is set to celebrate Black History Month with a series of events, including guest performances, trivia nights, and movie screenings. The celebration aims to provide students an opportunity to learn about and experience African-American culture.

Latonya Harrison, a coordinator of diversity and inclusion at Northwest, emphasized the importance of the event. “It’s about getting an opportunity to learn about a culture that’s not like your own,” she said. “It’s an opportunity to experience a different culture in a way students can relate – and learn things that they might not have known or understood.”

Black History Month was initially founded as Negro History Week in 1926 by Carter G. Woodson. It became an annual month-long celebration in the United States starting in 1976.

The university's activities are free and open to the public. The festivities begin with a "Black History Month Edition" of the First Friday series on February 7 at the Student Engagement Center in J.W. Jones Student Union.

A highlight of the month will be a performance by the Kotchegna Dance Company on February 12 at the Charles Johnson Theater. Known for its energetic dances from Africa’s Ivory Coast, Kotchegna Dance Company will perform using masks and percussion instruments.

The university will also host Black History Month Trivia on February 20 at the Student Union Ballroom, offering participants a chance to win prizes while testing their knowledge in various categories such as cinema and music.

Concluding the month's events is a screening of “Friday” on February 26 in the Student Union Living Room. This film features Ice Cube, Chris Tucker, and Nia Long as they navigate challenges in their Los Angeles neighborhood.

Additionally, Chase O'Gwin, an associate professor of psychology at Northwest, will collaborate with the Office of Diversity and Inclusion for movie screenings related to his Psych of Film course. They will show two versions of “CandyMan,” first released in 1992 and then reimagined in 2021 by director Nina DaCosta. These screenings are scheduled for February 18 and February 25 respectively.

O’Gwin will lead discussions after each screening about racial representation in horror films, drawing on insights from Dr. Robin Means Coleman's book “Horror Noire.”

Other planned activities include Doughnuts with D&I on February 3, H.O.T Topics on February 13, and Bobby’s Barbershop sessions on February 9 and February 19.

For further details about these events, contact Northwest Missouri State University at 660-562-1105.