Black History Month Events
The Black Cultural Center is proud to present a comprehensive list of events for 2023 that combines both virtual and in-person opportunities for the community to participate in. Below, you will find the descriptions and flyers for each event. Please note that some events have targeted audiences at the request of the program sponsors. All times listed are in Central Standard Time (CST).
PAST BLACK HISTORY MONTH EVentS 2023
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 1
Annual Murray Lecture*
7:00 PM | Sarratt Cinema
Target Audience: All
Emmy Award-winning sports journalist Jemele Hill will kick off Black History Month at Vanderbilt as the featured speaker of the university’s 15th annual Murray Lecture on Wednesday, Feb. 1, at 7 p.m. in Sarratt Cinema. The event is free and open to the public.
Hill will discuss her new book, Uphill: A Memoir, in a conversation with Candice Lee, vice chancellor for athletics and university affairs and athletic director. The book explores race, gender, and political relations in sports. Hill is a contributing writer for The Atlantic and has been recognized with several notable awards, including the National Association of Black Journalist’s Journalist of the Year, an Emmy for her ABC News special The President and the People, and the Van McKenzie Cup.
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 2
STEM Sistah Network*
4:00 PM | Zoom
Target Audience: All
Are you currently a Black woman in STEM or pursuing a STEM degree? If yes, please join us for the relaunch of the STEM Sistah Network. The group is open to faculty, staff, and students at levels at Vanderbilt.
An Evening of Art & Hip Hop*
6:00 PM | National Museum of African American Music
Target Audience: All
Please join the Student Center for Social Justice and Identity (SCSJI), Bishop Johnson Black Cultural Center (BCC), Peabody College, and Blair School of Music on Thursday, February 2nd, 2023, from 6-8:30 pm in the National Museum of African American Music’s (NMAAM) Feature Gallery for An Evening of Art and Hip-Hop, a celebratory kickoff to SCSJI’s new program, Afro-ARTivism! This event will honor the artistic contributions of Black Vanderbilt and Nashville community members while highlighting the concept of Black Resistance, the 2023 national theme of Black History Month. Additionally, this event will introduce the practice of artivism and allow participants to engage in meaningful reflection as they discover the innovative ways social justice work can be pursued through diverse mediums of creativity. Transportation and food provided.
Relax & Reset Yoga*
6:00 PM | BCC Auditorium
Target Audience: All
Join us every Thursday at 6:00 p.m. during Black History Month to relax and unwind in special yoga sessions led by Jo-Jo Jackson. The sessions on 02/02 and 02/16 will occur in the BCC auditorium, the sessions on 02/09 and 02/23 will take place on the Commons.
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 3
Beauty from the Discarded*
12:00 PM | BCC Auditorium
Target Audience: All
Dayo is a Mixed Media Artist specializing in “green” art. She‘s been saving items from landfills and transforming them into beautiful works of art for over 20 years. She has traveled to many states, exhibiting her work at juried art shows. Her work depicts children of all nationalities with expressions of unity, love, faith, and peace.
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 4
African Student Union Community Service (FUBU)*
11:00 AM | In-Person
Target Audience: All
Join the African Student Union for a community service project in conjunction with Dream Streets. Participants will distribute fresh groceries to local residents and help pack snack bags for an afterschool program.
Click Here to Signup to Participate!
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 5
BVU Indoor Field Day (FUBU)*
2:00 PM | Rec Center Fieldhouse
Target Audience: All
If you miss playing the games of your childhood, join us for hours of fun at the David Williams Recreation and Wellness Center. There will be several team games as well as individual events. The day will also include special prizes to be raffled off to the participants.
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7
Let’s Rap About It – Session 1
2:00 PM | The Underground (BCC Basement)
Target Audience: Undergraduate Students
On February 7, the University Counseling Center is launching a special 10-week processing group for Black male-identified undergraduate students. This space allows students to explore, process, and express emotions and experiences through music and lyrics. The sessions will occur every Tuesday at 2:00 p.m. in the Underground (BCC basement lounge). During the month of February, sessions will take place on 02/07, 02/14, 02/21, and 02/28. Students with questions about the sessions should contact:
martez.nelson@vanderbilt.edu
Pre-Med Check-in Office Hours*
4:30 PM | BCC Resource Room
Target Audience: Undergraduate Students
Are you an undergraduate student planning to attend medical school? Do you questions or anxieties about the process of applying and getting into medical school? If yes, to any of these questions, then you need to signup for an office hour session with members of the Vanderbilt chapter of the Student National Medical Association.
Spritual Care Network*
6:00 PM | BCC Basement
Target Audience: Undergraduate Students
College is a time of self-discovery, and our spirituality is one of the biggest issues we, as staff, help students navigate. This semester, our Graduate Assistant, Taqiyyah Elliot, a 3rd year M. Div scholar, will begin hosting a bi-weekly group called the Spiritual Care Network. This is NOT a Bible study or Christian-centered space, but a place for ALL persons to talk about our various beliefs and stay grounded to our identified Higher Power. For more information or questions, please reach out to her at taqiyyah.elliot@vanderbilt.edu
Black Women’s Professional Panel
7:00 PM | Buttrick 102
Target Audience: Undergraduate Students
STRANDS will host a pre-professional panel focused on the careers and aspirations of Black Women on Vanderbilt’s Campus. The panel will be comprised of Black women upperclassmen with different career endeavors. The audience will be able to ask their own questions and network with panelists. The panelist will cover medicine, law, business, and engineering career paths.
Common Bonds: A Celebration of Black History Month*
9:00 PM | Stambaugh House)
Target Audience: All
Join the residents of Stambaugh House and the Black Cultural Center for a special celebration of Black History Month on the Commons. The event will feature sweet treats from Black-owned vendors, music, trivia, and great fellowship!
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 8
The Reinvented Life of Belle da Costa Greene – Reading Group
12:00 PM | BCC Auditorium
Target Audience: All
One of the most well-known American librarians and experts in illuminated manuscripts (incunabula) in the early-mid twentieth century, Belle da Costa Greene helped build the renowned Morgan Library and Museum in New York City. Indeed, she was known as “the soul of the Morgan Library.” Greene also summered annually with the Vanderbilts in their “cottages” in Newport, Rhode Island. She began her career as the personal librarian of financier John Pierpont Morgan, one of the richest men in Gilded Age America. She ended it as the library’s first director from 1924-48.
Born Belle Marion Greener in 1879, the green-eyed Greene was the daughter of the first African American graduate of Harvard College. She also belonged to the colored elite in Washington, DC. She accessed the rarefied worlds of the Morgans and Vanderbilts by “passing” as a white woman. In exploring her reinvented life, this month-long series of events will engage questions of race, color, class, gender, and passing.
The Greene Reading Group will discuss two books related to Belle da Costa Greene and the subject of racial passing. Dr. Claudine Taaffe, Associate Chair of and Senior Lecturer for African American and Diaspora Studies, will lead the discussions.
For the Culture, Let’s Talk My Black Faith*
5:00 PM | BCC Auditorium
Target Audience: All
Do you consider yourself religious or spiritual? Do you have questions about your faith?
Join us for an engaging conversation co-led by Rev. Rocky Major, Assistant Director at the Center for Spiritual and Religious Life, in partnership with University Counseling Center Social Justice & Inclusion Counselors Aneesa Anderson and Martez Nelson.
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 9
Jazz & Journaling*
12:00 p.m. | BCC Auditorium
Target Audience: All
Exhale! Come by the BCC at noon for Jazz & Journaling! This is a time for reflection, goal setting, and caring for your mental health. You deserve it!
Elements of Hip Hop Workshop – Go DJ!*
4:00 p.m. | BCC Auditorium
Target Audience: All
The Afro-Artivism collaboration is pleased to present a four-part series on The Elements of Hip Hop! Each session will be an interactive workshop offering participants to learn core elements of hip hop. The sessions will cover DJing, dancing, writing, and tagging! Join us for the first session focused on the art of DJ-ing! This session promises to be fun and entertaining!
Black Medical Trivia (FUBU)
6:00 p.m. | BCC Auditorium
Target Audience: All
Did you know that Dr. Daniel Hale Williams, a Black physician, performed the first successful open heart surgery in 1893 and founded Provident Hospital and Training School for Nurses (the first black-owned hospital in America) in 1891? Additionally, he founded the National Medical Association in 1895 since African Americans were denied membership in the American Medical Association.
If you knew either of these facts, you should consider signing up for the Black Medical Trivia event hosted by the Vanderbilt Chapter of the Student National Medical Association!
Exploitation: Sexting, Coercion, and Consent on BLK
6:14 p.m. | Buttrick 302
Target Audience: All
We hope you can join Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc., along with Project Safe for an informative and important discussion on sexting, coercion, and consent.
BLK Chat BLK
6:30 p.m. | Buttrick 202
Target Audience: All
Join the African Student Union for an informative “chat” on dating and love within BVU!
A Self-Care Moment*
7:00 p.m. | Commons Multipurpose Room (235)
Target Audience: All
Are you feeling stressed out? Are the winter months not your “jam”? Or do you just need a self-care moment?
If you said yes to any of these questions, then we hope you will join us for a yoga class on the Commons. This is a great opportunity to be still and reset:)
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 10
Black History Immersion Excursion
8:00 AM | Montgomery and Selma, Alabama
Target Audience: Invitation Only
The BCC is happy to resume our Annual Black History Immersion Excursion for the first tie since February 2020! From February 10-12, members of the Vanderbilt community will visit historic sites and museums in Montgomery and Selma, Alabama. Sites will include The Legacy Museum: From Enslavement to Mass Incarceration and The National Memorial for Peace and Justice, both curated by Bryan Stevenson. The trip attendees include 48 undergraduate students and 13 chaperones from the Association of Vanderbilt Black Faculty and Staff.
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 13
AVBFS Music Mondays: Grown and Sexy
12:00 PM | Virtual
Target Audience: Faculty and Staff
In honor of pre-Valentine’s Day, log in to listen to music classified as grown and sexy by the Social Affairs Committee from the Association of Vanderbilt Black Faculty and Staff (AVBFS).
Get in the groove here.
On Haitian Culture & Literature: A Conversation on I Am Alive
12:10 PM | Garland 209
Target Audience: All
I Am Alive (Je suis vivant) is celebrated Haitian author Kettly Mars’s latest novel, telling the story of a bourgeois Caribbean family as it wrestles with issues of mental illness, unconventional sexuality, and the difficulty of returning home and rediscovery following the devastating 2010 earthquake in Haiti. Mars, herself a survivor of the disaster, has crafted a complex, at times disorienting, but ultimately enthralling and powerfully evocative work that adds to her reputation as one of the leading voices of the francophone world.
Documentary Screening and Discussion*
2:00 PM | BCC Auditorium
Target Audience: All
Abstract (from Alexander Street)
An epic portrait of the eloquent, award-winning Black, lesbian, poet, mother, teacher, and activist Audre Lorde, whose writings — spanning five decades — articulated some of the most important social and political visions of the century. From Lorde’s childhood roots in NYC’s Harlem to her battle with breast cancer, this moving film explores a life and a body of work that embodied the connections between the Civil Rights movement, the Women’s movement, and the struggle for lesbian and gay rights. At the heart of this documentary is Lorde’s own challenge to envision what has not been and work with every fiber of who we are to make the reality and pursuit of that vision irresistible.
This event is a collaboration between the BCC and the K.C. Potter Center.
Iron Men’s Group
5:30 PM | BCC Auditorium
Target Audience: Black male-identifying Faculty, Staff, and Graduate Students
The Iron Men’s Group will host their kickoff meeting on February 13 at 5:30 p.m. in the BCC Auditorium. The group provides an opportunity for monthly fellowship and discussion among Black male-identifying faculty, staff, and graduate/professional students at Vanderbilt. Each session will feature a discussion topic, and dinner will be provided. This is a joint collaboration between the BCC and the Center for Spiritual and Religious Life.
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14
The Reinvented Life of Belle da Costa Greene – Exhibit Opening
12:00 PM | Special Collections, Vanderbilt Central Library
Target Audience: All
The exhibit opening of The Reinvented Life of Belle da Costa Greene will include a reception catered by Hattie B’s. Please come for a first look at the exhibition and opening remarks.
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 15
CLA$$ is in Session: Financial Planning Series*
5:00 PM | BCC Auditorium (and virtually)
Target Audience: All
It’s time for the BCC’s Annual Financial Planning Series! Every year Dr. Rosevelt Noble leads a six-part financial planning series geared toward students. The sessions are designed to teach the students the basics of budgeting, saving, credit, debt management, and investing. The sessions are interactive, with built-in templates and assignments throughout. The first session in the series is in collaboration with Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. All of the sessions are offered in-person as well as virtually.
Click Here to Register to Participate Virtually!
Blackness and the Great Outdoors: Interactive Lecture (FUBU)*
7:00 PM | BCC Auditorium
Target Audience: All
Come learn about historical and contemporary Black figures who have played an important role in the explorations of the great outdoors! This session will be led by WilSkills. Attendees to this event will priority selection for the second part of this series which involves an excursion to Climb Nashville.
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 16
The Morgan, The Woman, and Her Illuminated Life
12:00 PM | The Community Room, Vanderbilt Central Library
Target Audience: All
“The Morgan, The Woman, and Her Illuminated Life” is a moderated lunchtime panel (lunch served first come, first serve).
Moderated Discussants:
Joanna Colclough, The Library of Congress
Daria Rose Foner, Sotheby’s and former Research Associate, Morgan Library & Museum
Moderator: Tracy D. Sharpley-Whiting, Gertrude Conaway Vanderbilt Distinguished Professor and Vice Provost for Arts and Libraries
Women in the Academy
12:30 PM | BCC Auditorium
Target Audience: All
“I’ve Got the Power: Negotiations Across the Ranks” is a moderated lunchtime panel (lunch served first come, first serve).
Creating Black Wealth and Building A Legacy
12:30 PM | Zoom Webinar
Target Audience: All
As part of their Black History Month programming, Fidelity Investments is bringing together Fidelity leading representatives and Tiffany “Budgetnista” Aliche for a conversation you won’t want to miss. Listen in as they discuss pressing issues and propose real solutions; explore industry insights and deliver actionable information; and share personal perspectives that may help you get more out of your money.
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 17
BVU Video Yearbook (FUBU)*
10:00 AM to 4:00 PM | BCC Auditorium
Target Audience: Undergraduate Students
Come by the BCC in your best fit for a short interview to be included in the first installment of the BVU Video Yearbook. The session lasts roughly 10 minutes! Come be a part of history!
Click Here to Reserve Your Spot!
Black History Month Trivia*
6:30 PM | BCC Auditorium
Target Audience: Graduate and Professional Students
Think you know Black History? Stop by the BCC and prove it! get your team together and come compete for prizes!
Blackness and the Great Outdoors: Climb Nashville (FUBU)*
6:00 PM | Climb Nashville
Target Audience: All
Join us for a FREE indoor rock climbing session at Climb Nashville! Priority selection given to those who attended the Blackness and the Great Outdoors: Interactive Lecture on 02/15.
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 20
Coping Consciously, Self-Care for the Culture (FUBU)*
4:00 PM | BCC Auditorium
Target Audience: All
By infusing social justice education with Afrocentric wellness, Coping Consciously is offering an immersive and therapeutically interactive wellness space that invites participants to actively mitigate stress caused by race-based discrimination. The various activities aim to catalyze mental, emotional and physiological repair for those who come. The session will be led by Ain Ealey.
Elements of Hip Hop Workshop – Dancing*
6:30 PM | BCC Auditorium
Target Audience: All
The Afro-Artivism collaboration is pleased to present a four-part series on The Elements of Hip Hop! Each session will be an interactive workshop offering participants to learn core elements of hip hop. The sessions will cover DJing, dancing, writing, and tagging!
Join us for the first session focused on Hip Hop Dancing! Dress for a workout and prepared to have fun!
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 21
Buy Black Vandy*
4:00 PM | Community Event Space
Target Audience: All
Come out to shop and learn about Black-owned businesses led by students, faculty, staff, and alumni!
|
Black History Jeopardy Night
8:00 p.m. | BCC Auditorium
Target Audience: All
Join EESA, ASU, and MSA on Tuesday, February 21st in the BCC auditorium to learn about Black Muslim figures through a game of jeopardy. Also, enjoy free Sambusas from The Horn! We hope to see you there!
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 22
AfricaNashville: Percussion Workshop
6:00 p.m. | Blair
Target Audience: All
The Yeli Ensemble is a world-class percussion and dance group from West Africa. They are visiting Nashville from January through April, and we’re proud to have Vanderbilt as one of their engagement destinations. Join us for a highly interactive and engaging percussion workshop!
Black X Queer Mixer (FUBU)*
6:00 p.m. | BCC Auditorium
Target Audience: All
Join us for a mixer for Black and Queer students. This is a establish new connections and make new friends in the community.
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23
AfricaNashville: Interactive Lecture and Demonstration*
11:00 a.m. | BCC Auditorium
Target Audience: All
The Yeli Ensemble is a world-class percussion and dance group from West Africa. They are visiting Nashville from January through April, and we’re proud to have Vanderbilt as one of their engagement destinations. Join us for an interactive lecture and demonstration with Dr. Moses Ochonu.
Understanding Systemic Racism and Antiblackness
12:00 PM | Zoom
Target Audience: All
In honor of Black History Month, Felysha Jenkins, assistant dean of diversity, equity, and inclusion for the Basic Sciences will be hosting a lecture and Q&A, “Understanding Systemic Racism and Antiblackness,” on February 23 from noon – 1:30pm CT. Registration is required as space is limited.
The event will be led by Bedelia Nicola Richards, associate professor of sociology at the University of Richmond and founder and CEO of RaceTalk, LLC. Richards, a race and education scholar, facilitates conversations and workshops about race for institutions around the country and provides empirically based solutions for achieving racial equity goals.
The event will be a 60-minute lecture followed by a 30-minute Q&A.
Richards has published a co-edited volume titled Clearing the Path for First Generation College Students: Qualitative and Intersectional Studies of Educational Mobility. In addition, her work appears in journals such as Sociology of Race and Ethnicity, Ethnic and Racial Studies, Social Problems, and Sociology Compass. As a publicly engaged scholar, she has also shared her expertise through Scholar Strategy Network, Inside Higher Ed, and other platforms.
Playing A New Game*
1:00 PM | BCC Auditorium
Target Audience: All
Join us for an enlightening conversation with Dr. Tammy L. Wilborn based on her book “Playing A New Game, A Black Woman’s Guide to Being Well and Thriving in the Workplace.”
Buy Black Nashville*
5:00 PM | BCC Auditorium
Target Audience: All
Buy Black Nashville is a new monthly entrepreneurship series launched by the BCC to highlight the business services and products of Black-owned businesses from the Nashville area. An objective of the initiative is to introduce the business to new areas of the Vanderbilt community. Most of the featured businesses are approved vendors frequently utilized by the BCC. To kick the series off, come join us as we hear the story of Kernels Gourmet Popcorn.
Kernels Gourmet Popcorn
Click Here to Pre-Register and receive a free sample bag of their famous popcorn!
A Self-Care Moment*
6:00 p.m. | Commons Multipurpose Room (237)
Target Audience: All
Are you feeling stressed out? Are the winter months not your “jam”? Or do you just need a self-care moment?
If you said yes to any of these questions, then we hope you will join us for a yoga class on the Commons. This is a great opportunity to be still and reset:)
Black and Queer Community Building*
7:00 p.m. | KCPC
Target Audience: Black Queer Community (7:00 p.m.) All (8:00 p.m.)
This two-part event will start with a BlackOut Discussion at the KCPC at 7:00 p.m. followed by an 8:00 p.m. Lambda Workshop at the Multicultural Community space. The first session is a closed affinity space for the Black Queer community. The second session is open to all community members.
Both sessions will feature community organizer, educator, and storyteller Simba Alik Woodard.
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 24
AfricaNashville: Dance Workshop*
1:00 p.m. | BCC Auditorium
Target Audience: All
The Yeli Ensemble is a world-class percussion and dance group from West Africa. They are visiting Nashville from January through April, and we’re proud to have Vanderbilt as one of their engagement destinations. Join us for a highly interactive and engaging African dance workshop!
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 27
How I Got Over: Navigating Academia as a Black Scientist
11:00 AM | Virtual
Target Audience: All
Jobs in STEM fields are projected to double their growth rates from the last decade to the next, but African Americans are significantly underrepresented in STEM workforce participation. Pew Research shows that only 6 percent of the life sciences workforce is African American, while 13 percent of the U.S. population is African American. These low numbers cannot be solely explained by individual choices and have been shown to be exacerbated by challenges such as “chilly” workplace climates experienced by African Americans who enter the field.
How can Black people resist absorbing negative messages they encounter in STEM? How can the academic community in the life sciences be more aware and inclusive? The virtual Lab-to-Table Conversation at 11 a.m. on Feb. 27 will discuss some of the challenges that Black trainees and faculty face in their fields of study and the strategies they have used to be successful in the face of these challenges. They will also discuss how inclusion and equity can increase representation and bolster the upward trajectory of Black scientists.
The event is free, virtual, and open to the public. Registration is required.
Black Hair + Storytelling as a Form of Social Activism*
6:00 p.m. | BCC Auditorium
Target Audience: All
Join the BCC and STRANDS for a powerful conversation with St. Clair Detrick-Jules.
St. Clair Detrick-Jules is an award-winning filmmaker, photographer, author, activist, and public speaker. She captures personal stories and intimate moments centering on Black liberation, immigrant justice, and women’s rights. An Afro-Caribbean artist who remains rooted in her community, St. Clair grounds her work in radical love, joy, and the knowledge that a more just world is possible.
Her book My Beautiful Black Hair (Chronicle Books, September 2021) showcases the photographs and stories of Black women embracing their crowns. 
Come be inspired and empowered to love your beautiful Black hair!