This year’s Black History Month events focus on ‘Black Euphoria’

Sam Overton Managing Editor

In NC State’s 46th year of celebrating Black History Month, the African American Cultural Center (AACC) is preserving the theme of Black Euphoria with a full slate of events throughout the month of February.

After its formal recognition in 1976 by then-President Gerald Ford, Black History Month presents an opportunity for the Black community to celebrate and reflect on their experiences. For those outside the community, it’s equally as important to understand the Black experience.

Alexis Grant, a second-year studying material science engineering, and Saraiya Mills, a fourthyear studying communication, are at the forefront of organizing NC State’s month-long celebration. Alongside AACC Assistant Director Andaiye Qaasim, Grant and Mills worked hard to envision the theme, schedule events and coordinate with the community.

“Thinking about Black History Month — it’s really for the non-Black demographic,” Grant said. “As Black people, we’re living these lives every day. Like, this is constantly on our mind, all of these things surrounding being Black — this is a lifestyle. Black History Month is [celebrated] to highlight that and … gives us a platform we normally don’t have throughout the rest of the year.”

This year’s theme of Black Euphoria emphasizes elements of wellness, peace, contentment, healing, tranquility and love within the Black community. Within that softness lies strength, resistance and power, but the AACC sought to focus on the Black experience in a more holistic way this year.

“[I’m] not saying that we aren’t … being activists, and we’re not advocating for these issues,” Qaasim said. “But I think when we think of ourselves holistically, that can’t be our 24/7. Like, it can’t always be trauma and violence in that sense. … Folks wanted to reflect on the joy of the full experience.”

This month, all students are welcome to attend any number of NC State’s Black History Month events. In fact, non-Black students are encouraged to attend to foster cross-community dialogue and enter Black spaces to learn and understand the Black experience.

“NC State is a predominately white institution — I think we could use more opportunities of cross dialogue,” Qaasim said.

“Anytime you walk into a space where you are experiencing a culture that maybe is not your own, take that as something sacred. I think that’s something that students can carry with them, to know that these are very sacred and special interactions.”

Grant wants those outside the Black community to understand that it isn’t a monolith — this year’s theme may be Black Euphoria, but that doesn’t encompass the sentiment of the entire community at all times. NonBlack participants should be open-minded at Black History Month events, seeking to learn instead of generalize.

“These events, especially because it’s such a blissful mindset going on — it’s people just enjoying themselves — these events are gonna have a very organic feel to them,” Grant said. “There’ll be Black people being very authentic, but [don’t] take what you see in those events and apply that to the whole Black demographic.”

This year’s events run the gamut, from speed-friending to pottery workshops to Valentine’s mocktails. Most importantly, here are a few of the events that foster conversation and education across ethnographic lines. To view the full schedule, visit the AACC’s website.

Documentary Film Screening:

Talking Black in America — Roots

Feb. 7, 7-8 p.m., D.H. Hill Library

“Talking Black in America — Roots,” which will be screened at the D.H. Hill Library Auditorium, is a great opportunity for the community to learn about the origins of African languages and Black vernacular in the U.S. The film is the third documentary of “Talking Black in America,” an Emmy Award-winning docuseries that inspects African American language and culture and its worldwide impact.

Black History Month: Djembe Drum and Dance Workshop

Feb. 7-8, 3-5 p.m., Witherspoon Student Center

Hosted by the Magic of African Rhythm, students have the opportunity to participate in a two-day workshop centered around the history and cultural context of the djembe. Attendees will practice a traditional rhythm on the djembe, move their bodies in connection with the drum’s beat and learn about the Djembe culture of South Africa.

“That’s hosted by Teli Shabu — he’s a master drummer who plays the kora, which is a 900-year-old instrument from West Africa,” Qaasim said. “He’ll be coming out and doing a djembe drumming workshop, and we also have about six djembe drums downstairs, so he’ll be teaching folks about the history of the djembe drum.”

28 Days of Love: Black Book Blitz

Feb. 8, 6:30-8:30 p.m., African American Cultural Center Art Gallery

Kicking off with an opening ceremony on Feb. 8 and running until Feb. 22, the AACC Library’s Black Book Blitz highlights 28 Black authors who have written about what it means to be Black and the accompanying experience of love and meaning.

Black History Month: Diaspora Dinners

Feb. 10, 17 and 24; 3-4:30 p.m.; African American Cultural Center

In a joint partnership with What’s on the Table, the AACC will be hosting three Diaspora Dinners across the month of February in Witherspoon Student Center. Each Friday will focus on cuisine from a different area of the African diaspora, and participants will foster a conversation regarding the food at hand and Black beauty across African culture.

“It could be African American soul food, it may be Caribbean cuisine, we may have Ethiopian cuisine,” Qaasim said. “Then, we’ll be having a conversation [about] Afro-diasporic identity.”

Gallery Opening: Black Euphoria: Love Letters to Black Life

Feb. 28, 6-8 p.m., African American Cultural Center Art Gallery

In NC State’s final event celebrating Black History Month, the AACC will be curating a community-generated, scrapbook-style exhibit of love letters exploring Black wellness, Black Euphoria and more.

“We’ll be collecting pictures and photographs and some audio from folks that are there,” Qaasim said. “All together, we’re going to have a gallery opening, which is more of a community-curated exhibit. So all of those things that students made throughout the month, we’re collecting those and we’ll be putting that up into the gallery downstairs.”

All students are encouraged to visit the gallery’s opening, to foster a sense of community across ethnographic lines and understand the Black experience in terms of this month’s theme.

“People showing up to things like that and seeing Black artistry and supporting that is really important,” Grant said.