Syracuse University’s Student Association has partnered with the Office of Multicultural Affairs to plan this year’s Black History Month celebrations.

This year’s celebrations at SU will be “explosive,” said Kennedy Hagens, co-chair of SA’s Diversity Affairs Committee. Events celebrating Black heritage and culture will take place throughout February, she said.

“There are so many (student organizations) involved that it’s just impossible for (Black History Month) not to get all the support I’m anticipating,” Hagens said.

Involving SA representatives in the planning of Black History Month allows for greater student participation, said Cedric Bolton, coordinator of student engagement in the Office of Multicultural Affairs. Bolton has been the chair of SU’s Black History Month for 15 years.

This year’s Black History Month celebration includes events focused on LGBTQ and disability inclusion within the Black community, Bolton said. Highlighted events include a Black queer lecture, a martial arts expo, a three-on-three basketball tournament and an alumni lecture series, Bolton said.

Bolton hopes the events will bring the campus together to celebrate Black heritage in the wake of a series of racist incidents at SU, he said. At least 24 racist, anti-Semitic or bias-related incidents have occurred at or near the SU campus since early November.

“[Black History Month] is all about creating safe spaces while celebrating different cultures and identities,” Bolton said. “Looking at all of the different categories of black culture or culture in general — politics, religion, film, arts, education — we have impacted all of those categories.”

Working with SA leaves room for collaboration on future heritage months, Bolton said. The Office of Multicultural Affairs is planning more heritage months later this year, including an Asian-Pacific Heritage Month and a Latinx Heritage Month, he said.

Published on February 2, 2020 at 8:44 pm

Contact Mira: mlberenb@syr.edu