![\"AfricaColor\"](\"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernjournal\/files\/2016\/02\/AfricaColor.jpg\")
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By: Rachael Jackson\r\nStaff Writer<\/pre>\nBlack History Month began when the Association for the Study of African American Life and History declared the second week of February, beginning in 1926, to be \u201cNegro History Week\u201d.
\nThe holiday was officially recognized by President Gerald Ford in 1976 in an attempt to \u201cseize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history.\u201d<\/p>\nIn his proclamation declaring February 2016 to once again be dedicated to African-American history, President Barack Obama called for the younger generations to exercise their freedom by voting.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur Nation’s young people still echo the call for equality, bringing attention to disparities that continue to plague our society in ways that mirror the non-violent tactics of the civil rights movement while adapting to modern times,\u201d said Obama in the proclamation.<\/p>\n
Despite having a month of dedication set aside, it isn\u2019t enough to gain a full perspective, or even a glimpse, into the history and current lives of African-Americans, including their struggles, triumphs, and ongoing issues. For many, learning about black history outside of the month of February is limited, if it exists.<\/p>\n
Andre Dickson, social science major and senior, said he has seen this in his own experience as a student, saying, \u201cTo me, it’s important because of the fact that I’m African-American; but also because black history isn’t recognize in this country throughout the year.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dickson continued, \u201cOther people may have an opinion on how much black history month means to them, but to me history is history and black history shouldn’t be minimized to recognition for only one month.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thelma Hale, senior and communications major, echoed Dickson\u2019s sentiments.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are a lot of African-American students in schools who know nothing about the history of their people because it is not taught in schools,\u201d said Hale. \u201cBecause of Black History Month you are able to gain awareness and knowledge of all the accomplishments and successes Blacks have achieved in history.\u201d<\/p>\n
There are a few events on campus you can check out around campus following up to and during the week of the Feb. 22 as part of African-American Awareness Celebration.<\/p>\n
The events hosted by the Black Student Union include:
\nJeopardy & Snacks, Feb. 22, 5:00 – 6:00 p.m. in the WUC Summit
\nAsk a Black Person panel, Feb. 23, 4:00 – 5:30 p.m. in the Willamette room
\nDear White People movie screening, Feb. 24, 7:00 p.m. in the Willamette room
\nOpen Mic & Poetry Slam, Feb. 25, 4:00 – 5:00 p.m. in Cafe Allegro
\nThe Multicultural Student Union will be hosting various events throughout the week as well. Look for posters around campus for more information.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Black History Month began when the Association for the Study of African American Life and History declared the second week of February, beginning in 1926, to be \u201cNegro History Week\u201d. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":825,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2918","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-campus-life"],"modified_by":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2918","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/825"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2918"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2918\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2918"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2918"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2918"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}