AAPI Heritage Month events will occur from Saturday, April 1st through Saturday, May 6th (more information can be found here).
Black History Month
Every year, the Wesleyan community comes together to celebrate Black History Month in February with a variety of events, initatives, performances, and celebrations. Please come out and support as many of the great events listed below as you are able!
2023 Black History Month Committee: Kyla Danquah '25, Kiarah Young '23, Joanne Rafferty (Office of Student Involvement), Jen Cheng (Office of Student Involvement), Demetrius Colvin (The Resource Center), Kiara Ruesta-Cayetano (The Resource Center), Cecilia McCall '91 (Office of Advancement), Anastasia Daniels (Communications and Public Relations)
Ilana Harris-Babou—Liquid Gold Exhibition (Event Link)
- Event Time and Date: The exhibition runs Monday, January 30th, 2023 at 4:30pm– Sunday, March 5th at 5:00pm. Zilkha Gallery hours are Tuesday through Sunday from 12noon to 5:00pm
- Event Location/Zoom Information: Ezra and Cecile Zilkha Gallery, 283 Washington Terrace
- Event Organizers: Rosemary Lennox and Ben Chaffee (Center for the Arts).
- Event Description: Ilana Harris-Babou's (Assistant Professor of Art in Art & Art History) exhibition 'Liquid Gold' presents video installation and a sculpture that examines the history of breastfeeding for Black mothers in America, bringing attention to the racialized social structures that create parameters for an individual’s agency in making personal health decisions.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (in 3D!) Film Screening (Event Link)
- Event Time and Date: Friday, January 27th at 8:00pm ET
- Event Location/Zoom Information: Goldsmith Family Cinema at the Jeanine Basinger Center for Film Studies (aka CFS100)
- Event Organizers: Wesleyan Film Board and the College of Film and the Moving Image (CFILM)
- Event Description: The BHM Film Series kicks off with Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (in 3D!) made in 2022. USA. Dir: Ryan Coogler. With Lupita Nyong’o, Angela Bassett. 161 min. ($5 admission)
Coming to America Film Screening (Event Link)
- Event Time and Date: Saturday, January 28th at 8:00pm ET
- Event Location/Zoom Information: Goldsmith Family Cinema at the Jeanine Basinger Center for Film Studies (aka CFS100)
- Event Organizers: Wesleyan Film Board and the College of Film and the Moving Image (CFILM)
- Event Description: The BHM Film Series continues with Coming to America made in 1988. USA. Dir: John Landis. With Eddie Murphy, Arsenio Hall. 116 min. (Free)
Hot Cocoa Night | Ujamaa Black History Month Kick-Off (Event Link)
- Event Time and Date: Wednesday, February 1st from 5:00pm-6:30pm
- Event Location/Zoom Information: Malcolm-X House Basement
- Event Organizers: Wesleyan’s Black Student Union - Ujamaa
- Event Description: Join Ujamaa BSU for a Hot Cocoa Bar and a briefing on our 2023 BHM events!
Black History Month Bingo (Event Link)
- Event Time and Date: Thursday, February 2, 2023 from 12noon-1:00pm
- Event Location/Zoom Information: The Resource Center
- Event Organizers: Counseling and Psychological Services and The Resource Center
- Event Description: Black History Month Bingo with Soul Food provided and the opportunity to connect with other BIPOC students.
2023 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Commemoration Ceremony (Event Link)
- Event Time and Date: Friday, February 3rd from 12:15pm-1:15pm
- Event Location/Zoom Information: Crowell Concert Hall
- Event Organizers: The Resource Center
- Event Description: At the start of every Spring semester we come together as a community to honor the civil rights legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The 2023 MLK Commemoration keynote speaker will be Minneapolis City Council President, Andrea Jenkins (Wikipedia page link). There will be a reception following this ceremony in Usdan 108, all are invited. This event is sponsored by The Resource Center, Office for Equity and Inclusion, Department of African American Studies and the Center for African American Studies, Department of Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, and the Olin Library.
Bruiser Film Screening (Event Link)
- Event Time and Date: Friday, February 3rd at 8:00pm ET
- Event Location/Zoom Information: Goldsmith Family Cinema at the Jeanine Basinger Center for Film Studies (aka CFS100)
- Event Organizers: Wesleyan Film Board and the College of Film and the Moving Image (CFILM)
- Event Description: The BHM Film Series continues with Bruiser made in 2022. USA. Dir Miles Warren. With Trevante Rhodes, Jalyn Hall. 97 min. (Free) *Post-screening Q&A with writer/director Miles Warren ’19 and collaborators.
Black History Month Party (Event Link)
- Event Time and Date: February 4th from 10:00pm to 1:00am
- Event Location/Zoom Information: Malcolm X House Basement
- Event Organizers: Wesleyan’s Black Student Union - Ujamaa
- Event Description: Ujamaa BSU is kicking off BHM with a party of all Black Music
The Wayland Rudd Collection Exhibition (Event Link)
- Event Time and Date: Running February 7th through February 28th, Tuesday through Sunday, Noon to 5:00pm.
- Event Location/Zoom Information: South Gallery in the Ezra and Cecile Zilkha Gallery, 283 Washington Terrace
- Event Organizers: Rosemary Lennox and Ben Chaffee (Center for the Arts)
- Event Description: The Wayland Rudd Collection focuses on the representation of Africans and African Americans in Soviet graphic production and propaganda. The exhibition is part of a collaborative project conceived by the artist Yevgeniy Fiks that accesses the legacy of Wayland Rudd, the Collection’s namesake. Rudd was born in 1900 in Lincoln, Nebraska and died in 1952 in Moscow.
From the Mouthpiece on Back: Music in post-Katrina New Orleans Film Screening (Event Link)
- Event Time and Date: Wednesday, February 8th from 7:00pm-9:00pm
- Event Location/Zoom Information: Music Seminar Room (Olin 327B) and via Zoom webinar https://wesleyan.zoom.us/j/99006454147 - RSVP to attend in person
- Event Organizers: Aaron Bittel and Jennifer Hadley (WMA/Music Library)
- Event Description: Documentary screening and discussion of music in post-Katrina New Orleans
Love in Context (Event Link)
- Event Time and Date: Thursday, February 9th from 5:00pm to 6:30pm
- Event Location/Zoom Information: The Resource Center (167 High St)
- Event Organizers: The Resource Center
- Event Description: Join the RC’s Race, Ethnicity, and Nationality interns and create Valentine Cards for your friends and loved ones, while discussing love and relationships
Mic Check VII (Event Link)
- Event Time and Date: Saturday, February 11th from 9pm-11:30pm
- Event Location/Zoom Information: Daniel Family Commons (DFC)
- Event Organizers: Mic Check
- Event Description: Mic Check is a student-led organization at Wesleyan dedicated to providing Wesleyan's Hip-Hop and R&B artists a platform to express themselves creatively. This series also hopes to uplift Wesleyan by providing its students with increased opportunities to collaborate across artistic genres. In all, numerous musical artists(vocalists, producers, DJ's, etc,) will perform their music live.
Black Hair Care Event (Event Link)
- Event Time and Date: Saturday, February 11th from 7:00pm-9:00pm
- Event Location/Zoom Information: Malcolm X House Basement
- Event Organizers: Wesleyan’s Black Student Union - Ujamaa
- Event Description: This workshop will help students learn about maintaining black hair from other black students while getting free products and haircare demonstrations
Ilana Harris-Babou—Liquid Gold Exhibition Artist Talk
- Event Time and Date: Wednesday, February 15th at 4:30pm
- Event Location/Zoom Information: Ezra and Cecile Zilkha Gallery, 283 Washington Terrace
- Event Organizers: Rosemary Lennox and Ben Chaffee (Center for the Arts).
- Event Description: Ilana Harris-Babou's (Assistant Professor of Art in Art & Art History) will host an artist talk about her exhibition 'Liquid Gold' which presents a video installation and a sculpture that examines the history of breastfeeding for Black mothers in America, bringing attention to the racialized social structures that create parameters for an individual’s agency in making personal health decisions.
2nd Annual Gospel Night (Event Link)
- Event Time and Date: Thursday, February 16th from 5:00pm-6:30pm
- Event Location/Zoom Information: Memorial Chapel
- Event Organizers: The Resource Center
- Event Description: This event will showcase live performances and YouTube submissions of live performances of Christian music coming from the African and African-American experience.
Zora Neale Hurston: Claiming a Space Film Screening (Event Link)
- Event Time and Date: Thursday, February 16th at 8:00pm ET
- Event Location/Zoom Information: Goldsmith Family Cinema at the Jeanine Basinger Center for Film Studies (aka CFS100)
- Event Organizers: Wesleyan Film Board and the College of Film and the Moving Image (CFILM)
- Event Description: The BHM Film Series continues with Zora Neale Hurston: Claiming a Space made in 2023. USA. Dir: Tracy Heather Strain. Documentary. 120 min. (Free) *Post-screening Q&A with writer/director Tracy Heather Strain and producer/editor Randall MacLowery, CFILM professors.
Candid Campus (Event Link)
- Event Time and Date: Saturday, February 18th at 6:00pm to 8:00pm ET
- Event Location/Zoom Information: Memorial Chapel
- Event Organizers: Wesleyan’s Black Student Union - Ujamaa
- Event Description: Candid conference for black students on black issues
Mandabi Film Screening (Event Link)
- Event Time and Date: Saturday, February 18th at 8:00pm ET
- Event Location/Zoom Information: Goldsmith Family Cinema at the Jeanine Basinger Center for Film Studies (aka CFS100)
- Event Organizers: Wesleyan Film Board and the College of Film and the Moving Image (CFILM)
- Event Description: The BHM Film Series continues with Mandabi made in 1968. Senegal. Dir: Ousmane Sembène With Makhouredia Gueye. 90 min. (Free)
Marlon Riggs Film Screening (Event Link)
- Event Time and Date: Thursday, February 23rd at 8:00pm ET
- Event Location/Zoom Information: Goldsmith Family Cinema at the Jeanine Basinger Center for Film Studies (aka CFS100)
- Event Organizers: Wesleyan Film Board and the College of Film and the Moving Image (CFILM)
- Event Description: The BHM Film Series continues with Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien (No Regret) and Tongues Untied. 100 min. (Free)
Panel Discussion on Filmmaking, Biography, & History in Making Zora Neale Hurston - Claiming a Space (Event Link)
- Event Time and Date: Wednesday, February 22nd at 4.30 pm
- Event Location/Zoom Information: Daniels Family Commons (Usdan),
- Event Organizers: History Department
- Event Description: Panel discussion with filmmakers and co-directors Tracy Heather Strain and Randall MacLowry '86 and Daphne Lamothe (Professor and Chair of Africana Studies, Smith College) who is interviewed in the film, in conversation with filmmaker and scholar Thomas Allen Harris, Professor in African American studies and Film & Media Studies (Yale); and Assoc. Professor of African American Studies, History and American Studies, Crystal Feimster (Yale). Refreshments will be provided. Made possible with support from African American Studies, AMST, Anthro, CHUM, CSS, English, FGSS, Religion, & SISP.
Jubilee (Event Link)
- Event Time and Date: Saturday, February 25th, 7:00pm-9:00pm
- Event Location/Zoom Information: Crowell Concert Hall
- Event Organizers: Wesleyan’s Black Student Union - Ujamaa
- Event Description: A Student Concert for Black Performers at Wesleyan.
3rd Annual Ankhsgiving Celebration (Event Link)
- Event Time and Date: Saturday, March 4th from 7:00pm - 9:30pm
- Event Location/Zoom Information: Beckham Hall
- Event Organizers: The Resource Center
- Event Description: This event was created to bring all students of color of different backgrounds together under one roof to eat together, network, and show each other their individual talents and skills.
Daughters of the Dust Film Screening (Event Link)
- Event Time and Date: Saturday, March 4th at 8:00pm ET
- Event Location/Zoom Information: Goldsmith Family Cinema at the Jeanine Basinger Center for Film Studies (aka CFS100)
- Event Organizers: Wesleyan Film Board and the College of Film and the Moving Image (CFILM)
- Event Description: The BHM Film Series continues with Daughters of the Dust made in 1991. USA. Dir: Julie Dash. With: Cora Lee Day, Alva Rogers. 113 min. (Free)