Celebrating Black History Month
What is Black History Month?
Black History Month is an annual celebration of achievements by African Americans and a time for recognizing their central role in U.S. history. Also known as African American History Month, the event grew out of “Negro History Week,” the brainchild of noted historian Carter G. Woodson and other prominent African Americans. Since 1976, every U.S. president has officially designated the month of February as Black History Month. Other countries around the world, including Canada and the United Kingdom, also devote a month to celebrating Black history.
For more information regarding Black History Month, visit “Black History Month” at History.com
To learn more about our Diversity, Equity & Inclusion efforts, visit the below page.
Black History Month Resources
BSA Mission Statement:
To welcome a diverse population of students; to expand outreach in all culture not just cultures of African descent. In order to consolidate and build upon this diversity, it is essential that equality of opportunity and the absence of unfair discrimination based on ethnicity. To recognize the link between equality and quality and will not unfairly discriminate in the recruitment or general treatment of students on the basis of any factor which is not relevant to academic achievement. To provide a safe environment for all students to feel safe and equal to one another.
The Black Intellectual Groundworks (B.I.G.) aims to enrich the university curriculum and student life by building a dedicated resource base for Pan-African culture and scholarship. The B.I.G. will be built along all academic disciplines (degree-granting or not) represented at the university as an auxiliary resource tying teaching and learning to the rich Pan-African tradition. Initially the B.I.G. will be established as a topical library of materials that integrate this tradition and will be organized by academic discipline. The second stage of the B.I.G.’s growth will be its alignment with co-curricular events organized and/or hosted by the Black Student Association. This will create opportunities to invite guest speakers whose work is catalogued in the B.I.G., organize thematic events that activate the B.I.G.’s holdings through readings, screenings etc. The third stage of the B.I.G.’s growth will be to seek intentional curricular alignment between existing course offerings and the wealth of Pan-African thinking that pertains to their content. The final stage will be to create a physical space—a resource center, separate lounge, etc.—that will permanently host the B.I.G. and the Black Student Association and will be open for use to the entire university community.
For more information, contact Dr. Rossen Ventzislavov at rossen.ventzislavov@woodbury.edu
Black History Month Events
Virtual Lecture: Diego Romero Evans
Join Woodbury School of Architecture for a virtual lecture as part of the Year of Climate Justice by Diego Romero Evans.
Diego is a Post-graduate Researcher LAEP at UC Berkeley in San Francisco. His interests include climate change, new typological infrastructures, water treatment hybrid-facilities and environmental design thinking. The focus of his research concentration has been urban coastal adaptations strategies to extreme climatic conditions, specifically groundwater emergence due to sea level rise.
Join Woodbury School of Architecture for the fourth annual PLATFORM Community College Exhibition.
PLAT|FORM is back but it looks a little different this year. Please join us for a virtual Pecha Kucha night. We will celebrate the incredible work happening across community colleges in California.
With more than 2.1 million students on 114 campuses, the California Community Colleges is the largest system of higher education in the United States. California boasts a particularly strong community of architecture and interior architecture programs; PLAT|FORM highlights the work of community college students to showcase ideas on design, education, and art.
Forest Lawn presents “In Honor of Black History Month: Preserving Honor & Excellence,” Inspirational music, dance, and readings performed live starting at noon on its Facebook page. forestlawn.com/events/
Shādee, a 90-minute dramedy, written, performed, and produced by G. Smokey Campbell online via Vimeo about Nick Nile, an innocent activist wrongly imprisoned. Campbell plays 20 characters in this play about gentrification and the privatization of prisons, as part of Whitefire Theatre’s 10th Solofest. Tickets are $15.99. whitefiretheatre.com
Writers Quincy Troupe and Erin Aubry Kaplan discuss Miles Davis as part of the California African American Museum’s exhibition “Men of Change: Power. Triumph. Truth.” honoring influential Black men such as Muhammad Ali, James Baldwin, Ta-Nehisi Coates, W.E.B. Du Bois, Kendrick Lamar, and Davis, whose works have altered the history and culture of the United States. Kaplan, a contributing writer for the New York Times opinion page and former op-ed columnist for the Los Angeles Times, and Troupe, who collaborated with Davis on “Miles: The Autobiography,” and wrote the memoir “Miles & Me,” discuss Davis’ life and music from 4 to 5:30 p.m. The discussion is free, but you must RSVP for Zoom instructions.
Student led assembly on Norma Merrick Sklarek at 4:00 PM on February 18, 2021
ASTERISK
2021 Los Angeles Black History Month Festival (virtual edition)
The fourth Los Angeles Black History Month Festival at Leimart Park, originally scheduled for Feb. 6-7, has been rescheduled due to COVID-19 to be a livestream event from 4 to 9 p.m. via Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, at the Barbara Morrison Performing Arts Center in Leimert Park Village, according to organizer Myleta Perdomo, who started the event with her husband, Kenrick in 2018. Performers include Ijahken and the Fari Soldiers (Conscious Reggae), Voice Rogers (Gospel), Jerri Jhetto (African Fuse). Speakers include Dr. Patricia Adelekan, Aziz, L.A. City Controller Ron Galperin and Donte and JeVonda Wade, authors of “Wade Super Duper Cape.” Info: lablackhistorymonthfestival.com.
Hip-Hop artist Talib Kweli discusses his memoir “Vibrate Higher: A Rap Story,” in a free Zoom talk hosted by the California African American Museum from 4 to 5:30 p.m. RSVP for Zoom instructions.
Join Woodbury School of Architecture for a virtual lecture as part of the Year of Climate Justice by Ananya Roy.
Ananya Roy is Professor of Urban Planning, Social Welfare, and Geography and The Meyer and Renee Luskin Chair in Inequality and Democracy at the University of California, Los Angeles. She is inaugural Director of the Institute on Inequality and Democracy at UCLA, which promotes research and scholarship concerned with displacement and dispossession in Los Angeles and and seeks to build power to make social change. Previously she was on the faculty at the University of California, Berkeley, where she received her Master’s in City Planning (1994) and Ph.D. in Urban Planning (1999).
Ananya’s research and scholarship has a determined focus on poverty and inequality. Her work has focused on urban transformations and land grabs in the global South as well as on global capital and predatory financialization.
Men of Change: A Healing Circle, the final event of the California African American Museum’s celebration of Black History Month, is billed as an “interactive healing circle by and for Black men and masculine-identifying folks,” led by Zen Buddhist Gregory Reimoku Smith, a member of Black Boys OM. The free workshop includes a short presentation, guided meditation, and discussion from 2 to 3:30 p.m. RSVP for Zoom instructions.
Please join us for the continuation of our Black Lives Matter screening series this spring.
The screening series is open to all Woodbury students, faculty, and staff.
The films will be made available for you to stream for free. RSVP for the links to join.
Please email jennifer.peterson@woodbury.edu with any questions.
Read Alumni & Student Stories
Alumnus Sean Joyner Explores Social Justice at Woodbury SOA on Archinect
Alumnus Sean Joyner (BArch 16′) recently began the new Reflections on Academia blog on Archinect as a series of reflections, thoughts, ideas and observations during his time working and teaching at Woodbury School of Architecture. His first post explores Woodbury’s commitment to social justice through student scholarship winners.
Recognizing the Woodbury SoA Community in Celebration of Black History Month – Part 1
In a multi-part celebration of Black History Month, Woodbury School of Architecture reflects on some of its past Alumni Spotlights. 2020 was a trying year, and as we look ahead, we are inspired and encouraged by the diligence, grit, and passion, of our alumni and collaborators.
MBA Students Take on Beautiful Curly Me as Consulting Project
As part of their capstone course projects, MBA student teams have adopted Beautiful Curly Me as their consulting case this semester. Under experienced guidance of their professor, Dr. Paul Sabolic, the student teams virtually met with the company’s CEO to inquire about current strategies, operations, and tactics used.
Recognizing the Woodbury SoA Community in Celebration of Black History Month – Part 2
This week we look at some of the exciting and important work of our students and faculty in the School of Architecture. Design that creates change has always been intrinsic to the ethos of our school and our mission, and we continue to see our students and faculty embody this ideal.
A CoLA-Verse Discussion Series: “This is America”
Hear student presentations from the ‘Racism and Popular Culture’ Honors Course, led by Professor Ayanna Gaines and her students Mariely (El) Tavarez, Paisley Anderson, and Patrick Castro. Throughoug the course, students pondered this question: does popular culture reflect our reality or create it?