Honoring Black History
Officially recognized for the first time in February 1976 by President Gerald Ford, Black History Month is a time in which black individuals are recognized for their contributions to American history.
Defined by History as “an annual celebration of achievements by African Americans and a time for recognizing their central role in U.S. history,” Black History Month has been nationally recognized for over 40 years.
Here at Elon University, there is no doubt that it is viewed as a predominantly white institution. Statistically, only 6% of the incoming class of 2025 is of African American descent. While demographic data by race is not provided school-wide by the university, one could probably do the math and figure it out for themselves.
Historically, Elon has been known for an extensive legacy of racism - especially involving previous faculty and staff. Elon President William A. Harper was accused of several racially-motivated incidents during his term as president from 1911 to 1931. A 1910 editorial quoted Harper, as he stated that “the history of the world shows that education is essential to race leadership and the negroes are willing to sacrifice more for it than are our whites.” Harper was also tied to the mob responsible for the lynching of John Jeffress, a black man accused of sexually assaulting a 7-year-old girl, as reported by the Raleigh News & Observer.
The abhorrence of Harper’s racially-motivated actions called for a change to be made on Elon’s campus. Back in 2018, President Connie Book announced Elon’s plans to create the Committee on Elon History and Memory, of which its first project was removing Harper’s name from William A. Harper Residence Hall. The removal was done successfully in July of 2020.
Amanda Carter, a sophomore at Elon University, believes that “Elon does not do enough” in regards to Black History Month. However, she feels that they are “making small strides in the right direction.”
“I feel the university and non-cultural organizations as a whole could do more to recognize Black History on Elon’s campus. I also believe that more support could be shown and provided to cultural organizations,” said Carter.
Carter is the black student success initiative coordinator at The Center for Race, Ethnicity, and Diversity Education (CREDE), an organization that is largely responsible for a majority of Elon’s celebrations for Black History Month. The CREDE’s mission is to “advance the conversation on student diversity education campus-wide and to develop intercultural competence while providing race and ethnicity related advocacy, services, and programs to faculty, staff and students, particularly those from underrepresented and historically marginalized communities,” according to their website.
This year, Elon’s Black History Month theme is “A Black Joy Love Letter,” “focusing on expressing, acknowledging and understanding what black joy is… the events will celebrate the contributions of Black people through the understanding of the dynamics of blackness, resistance and agency,” according to Today at Elon.
Simone Royal, the interim program coordinator for The CREDE, notes that planning events has been an extensive process.
“We have been working tirelessly from sunrise to sunset to make sure the events we plan turn out to be successful. We not only want to educate, but provide fun and engaging events for the community. The Black Student Success coordinators from the Center of Race, Ethnicity, and Diversity Education are those who plan events for the community, however, it is a collective effort of student coordinators and student leaders spreading awareness of events on campus,” said Royal.
Upcoming events include:
SUB Cinema Screenings at Turner Theatre February 18-19, 26-26 at 8 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. Films are relevant to Black History Month and have sub-themes of Joy, Love and Resistance.
National Panhellenic Council Panel on February 16 at 6 p.m. in Moseley 215. Panelists include members from The Divine Nine and other multicultural organizations across Elon’s campus.
Black Solidarity Day: A Black Joy Love Letter will take place on February 25 in the Moseley Student Center from noon to 8 p.m. The program is for the entire Elon community, offering “an allyship, anti-racism, anti-Black racism track designed specifically for non-Black identified participants who want to learn more about anti-blackness, oppression, power, privilege and ways in which they can be better allies with Black communities,” according to Today at Elon. Registration for this event closes today, February 14.
Events aside, Elon’s community has to continued to educate and raise awareness on the topic of Black history every month of the year, not just in February.
When asking Carter what Black History Month meant to her, she responded with, “Black History is something I celebrate year-round, not just one month out of the year. This is a time of reflection and a time to give thanks to our ancestors who paved the way for the black community. It feels as though white people compartmentalize their friends of color as a responsibility instead of wanting to educate themselves. This work should not just fall on black/African American students and colleagues, but should be a continued working relationship together.”
For the success of current and future generations, start thinking about Black History Month as just black history and honor the black community in the way that they deserve.
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