Photo Courtesy of India Williams
Guest speaker and Director of the Office of Disability Services Angela James (top) gives a presentation at the NAACP meeting. Panelist (above) discuss the differences between attending a predominantly white college versus a historically black institute. The panelist includes Southeastern alumni Thomas Moore and Patricia Barney, current Southeastern student Amarielle Cordova and current University of Louisiana Lafayette student Kendal Davis.
Every February we celebrate the love and romance of Valentine’s Day, but another thing we celebrate all month long is Black History Month. This time of year, we celebrate blacks who have made a difference and who have achieved great accomplishments in American history. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is a student run organization on campus and members are excited for all the events they have planned for Black History Month.
“I am very excited for Black History Month,” said NAACP Senior President Lauren Davis. “This is a month where we can celebrate particularly the black pioneers that paved the way for so many of us. I’m also excited for all of the events that the student organizations have planned for this month.”
The NAACP is not only on campus, but it is also a nationwide organization fighting against discrimination. According to Davis, it was started to provide awareness of racial problems affecting people’s lives and to help improve the economic, education, social and political status of blacks and other ethnic minorities.
“I initially joined NAACP because my sister was a part of the organization and she encouraged me to join,” said Davis. “However, over the past four years that I have been involved with NAACP, I have been able to find a family of people that support me, and I feel that this organization has allowed me to grow as a person and as a leader. I would have never imagined that I would go from the quiet freshman following her older sister to a leader on the current executive board.”
The first week of February kicked off NAACP week where a variety of events to educate students about Black History Month were held on Feb. 1 where members welcomed singers, dancers, poets and a guest speaker. On Feb. 2 they held a game night. On Feb. 3 they held a bake sale as well as a student panel talking about the difference between black students who attend a predominantly white institution versus the black students who attend a historically black college or university. On Feb. 4 they hosted a block party and on Feb. 5 they had a Mardi Gras theme community service project at the Heritage Nursing Home.
The members of NAACP want students to get more involved, but members want to educate students and provide awareness.
“The Southeastern chapter of NAACP is dedicated to get students involved by hosting fun activities, but we also hope for them to learn something while at it,” said Davis.
The organization is holding a book drive all month long for Hammond Head Start. They not only host events during Black History Month, but they also have events in fall and spring on campus.
“We hold a lock in every fall and spring that is fun and we play different games, but we also teach the students about real life issues,” said Davis. “We also give back to the community from everything to visiting nursing homes to setting up a game for girl scouts to play for the ‘Believe in Girls’ event.’”
If interested in joining NAACP contact membership director Jessica Winfrey at [email protected].