
Celebrate Black History Month with fun and educational programming throughout February
February is Black History Month, an annual opportunity to celebrate and acknowledge the achievements, artistic pursuits, scientific research, and historical and cultural contributions made by African Americans throughout history. Growing from the first week-long celebration founded by Dr. Carter G. Woodson in 1926, Black History Month has been celebrated in its current form every February for the last 49 years.
Each year the month is themed to highlight a different aspect of Black history, and for 2025 the theme is African Americans and Labor. According to the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, the organization Woodson created as he spearheaded the first celebration of Black history in 1926, this theme “focuses on the various and profound ways that work and working of all kinds—free and unfree, skilled and unskilled, vocational and voluntary—intersect with the collective experiences of Black people.”
Lees-McRae will celebrate this special month with a programming series that seeks to celebrate and educate about Black history. All Black History Month events are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted.
Black History Month Trivia Night
Wednesday, Feb. 5, 7 p.m.
Tufts Room
Kick off Black History Month with a fun evening that will test your knowledge of Black history. Compete with a team of four or less for a chance to win prizes from Black-owned businesses.
This event is for Lees-McRae students only.
Coal Black Voices: Affrilachian Poets
Tuesday, Feb. 11, 12:45 p.m.
Evans Auditorium
Enjoy this screening of the documentary “Coal Black Voices,” directed by Jean Donohue and Fred Johnson. The documentary provides a peek into the lives of African Americans in the Southern and Appalachian regions of the United States through the poetry and storytelling of the Affrilachian Poets.
Word Magic: The Nommo Tradition of Afrocentric Orality in Barack Obama’s Presidential Rhetoric
Monday, Feb. 17, 2 p.m.
Evans Auditorium
Associate Professor of Communication and Media Studies Abby Arnold-Patti delivers this lecture that explores the Nommo Tradition, an oral tradition of West Africa that focuses on the power of spoken language to create tangible change.
Learn moreBeyond the Watershed: Interwoven Histories in the Photography and Poetry of Nadia Alexis
Date and time TBD
Location TBD
Join poet, writer, and photographer Nadia Alexis for a reading, discussion, and photography exhibit highlighting her new poetry collection, “Beyond the Watershed.” This book, which combines Alexis’ poetry and photography, speaks to her experience as the daughter of Haitian immigrants.
Daughters of the Dust: Screening of Julia Dash’s Cinematic Masterpiece
Tuesday, Feb. 25, 6 p.m.
Evans Auditorium
“Daughters of the Dust,” a story of a family in the Gullah community of coastal South Carolina, became the first film directed by a Black woman to have a theatrical release when it came out in 1991. Enjoy this screening of one of the most important pieces of African American film history.
Learn moreBlack Women and Sport
Wednesday, Feb. 26, 11:30 a.m.
Tufts Room
Join Professor of History and Faculty Athletic Representative Robert Turpin for this lecture about the history of Black women in sports, a topic Turpin researched for his recent book, “Black Cyclists: The Race for Inclusion.”
Learn moreResearch Round Table: African Americans and Labor
Thursday, Feb. 27, 11:30 a.m.
Shelton Learning Commons Room TBD
Join students from the HUM 231: Advanced Research and Composition course as they discuss the research they conducted on the 2025 Black History Month theme, African Americans and Labor.