UM-Flint Events for African American Heritage Month 2013

The year 2013 marks two important anniversaries in the history of African Americans and the United States.

On January 1, 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation set the United States on the path of ending slavery. In 1963, a century later, America once again stood at the crossroads. On August 28, 1963, hundreds of thousands of Americans marched to the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. It was on this occasion that Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his celebrated "I Have a Dream" speech. Just as the Emancipation Proclamation had recognized the coming end of slavery, the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom announced that the days of legal segregation in the United States were numbered.

Marking the sesquicentennial of the Emancipation Proclamation and the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington, Diversity Education Services invites insight and introspection on black emancipation, freedom, justice and equality, and the movements that have sought to achieve these goals.

African American Heritage Month Kick-Off
Events and Activities

An Evening of Jazz with Galen
Friday, February 1
6 p.m., Happenings Room
Flutist Galen once again brings his smooth jazz and knowledge of jazz history to UM-Flint.  It's a night of good music, good food, and good fun.

Standing on My Sisters' Shoulders
Film and Discussion
Tuesday, February 5
5:30 p.m., Loving Cultural Center

The award-winning documentary Standing On My Sisters' Shoulders takes on the Civil Rights movement in Mississippi in the 1950's and 60's from the point of view of the courageous women who lived it–and emerged as its grassroots leaders. These women stood up and fought for the right to vote and the right to an equal education. They not only brought about change in Mississippi, but they altered the course of American history.

Lincoln and the Emancipation Proclamation
Thursday, February 14
5:30 p.m., Loving Cultural Center
A wartime measure issued by President Abraham Lincoln, the Emancipation Proclamation freed relatively few slaves, but it fueled the fire of the enslaved to strike for their freedom.

100 Years of Protest and Progress
Monday, February 18
7 p.m., Tuscola Room (William S. White Building)

In the century between the Emancipation Proclamation and the March on Washington, America witnessed violent protest, yet tremendous progress in the struggle for equality. Where have these prolific events in our nation's history led us to today? Co-sponsored by Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc.

Traveling Exhibit – University of Michigan Museum of Natural History
Saturday, February 23
Bus will leave UCEN at 7:30 a.m. and return at approximately 3:00 p.m.

Organized by the American Anthropological Association, the exhibition, RACE: Are We So Different?, explores the science of human biological variation, the history of the ideas of race and race in contemporary life. The traveling exhibit seeks to promote a national dialogue about race by providing numerous entry points to discussion of a topic that affects all of our lives but is often avoided. Visit the exhibition website at www.UnderstandingRace.org. Space is limited, call Diversity Education Services at (810) 762-3169 to reserve your seat.