Thursday, November 6 @ 4:30, Portlock Black Cultural Center
Beyond Borders Prize Awarding Ceremony
Beyond Borders is the name of the first annual Study Abroad Photography Contest. The contest is open only to Lafayette students who studied abroad during the 2007-2008 academic year, including fall 2007, spring 2008, January 2008 and May 2008 interim terms, and summer 2008. At this ceremony the first prize of $200, second prize of $100 and third prize of $50 will be awarded. The top twenty photographs will be on display at the PBCC through Thanksgiving break, and will be exhibited in Farinon Student Center thereafter. Deadline for submission of photos is Wednesday, Oct 15th.

Williams Center for the Arts @ Friday, November 7, 8:00 pm
Sweet Honey in the Rock
Founded by Bernice Johnson Reagon in 1973 at the D.C. Black Repertory Theater Company, Sweet Honey in the Rock has evolved into an internationally renowned a cappella ensemble and a vital and innovative presence in the music culture of communities of conscience around the world.
The Biblical metaphor of sweet honey in the rock—sustenance and strength—captures completely these African American women whose repertory is steeped in the sacred music of the black church, the clarion calls of the civil rights movement, and songs of the struggle for justice everywhere. Their performances are at once grand celebrations of gorgeously blended song and occasions for affirmation of the highest values of humanity.

Williams Center for the Arts @ Saturday, November 22, 8:00 pm
Mulgrew Miller and Wingspan
Alan and Wendy Pesky Artist-in-Residence Concert
Wingspan returns to the Williams Center stage for the Boys and Girls Club of Easton’s 22nd annual Easton Jazz Festival. Bandleader/piano man Mulgrew Miller, vibraphonist Steve Nelson, saxophonist Steve Wilson, and trumpeter Duane Eubanks, along with a veteran rhythm section bring fire and grace to this straight-ahead, post-bop repertory of Miller’s compositions. “True to [Miller’s] blues-tinged upbringing, he's a bop intellectual with an unabashed gift for populism,” says Time Out New York. “That explains both the thundering jabs in his sparkling runs and the sleekness in his writing and arranging."

DECEMBER

Farinon Marlo Room East, Dec. 3 @ 12pm
LINC Meeting
The goal of the Lafayette Intercultural Network Council is to promote the development of cross- and inter-cultural exchange through student, staff, and faculty collaboration and dialogue. LINC aims to provide social justice and diversity education programming, among other efforts. It works to cultivate a shared vision for diversity initiatives at Lafayette, in order to promote an inclusive environment that values mutual understanding, respect, cultural sensitivity, and a strong socio-cultural academic community.

Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2007 in the Farinon Marlo Room from 7-9 pm
Kwanzaa Celebration
Kwanzaa is an annual cultural program that celebrates the roots of African-American tradition, legacy, and spirituality. During this event students coordinate a variety of performances including poetry, dance, and song to celebrate African-American culture.

FEBRUARY

BHM Kickoff Celebration
February 3rd, 11-2pm
Farinon Atrium          

Experience the Diaspora! Come kickoff Black History Month with free food, a live drum performance and much more! Join us as we transform the Farinon Atrium into an expo with food, music, and vendors, all celebratory of African culture.

LINC Meeting
Farinon Marlo Room East, February. 4 @ 12pm

The goal of the Lafayette Intercultural Network Council is to promote the development of cross- and inter-cultural exchange through student, staff, and faculty collaboration and dialogue. LINC works to cultivate a shared vision for diversity initiatives at Lafayette in order to promote an inclusive environment that values mutual understanding, respect and cultural sensitivity, and a strong sociocultural academic community working together to provide social justice and diversity education programming and other efforts.

Hip-Hop Spoken Word Workshop with Marc Bamuthi Joseph
Thursday, February 5th, 7pm
Marlo Room

Interested in the art of Spoken Word?  This exciting workshop with internationally acclaimed artist Marc Bamuthi Joseph is designed for beginners or those looking to enhance your spoken word skills. Space is limited so please RSVP with Amina DeBurst debursta@lafayette.edu by Tuesday, February 3rd.

The SpokenWorld with Marc Bamuthi Joseph
Friday, February 6th, 8pm
Williams Center for the Arts

Internationally renowned spoken word artist Marc Bamuthi Joseph is part of an emerging class of hip-hop theater artists who combine a variety of art forms in their work. He has been a featured artist on Russell Simmons’ “Def PoetryJam” on HBO, and is a National Poetry Slam champion, Broadway veteran, and inaugural recipient of the United States Artists Rockefeller Fellowship. Joseph uses theater; West African, tap and modern dance; spoken word poetry; and live music to stretch the bounds of traditional hip-hop and create a new forum for expressive performance art. The SpokenWorld features excerpts from his evening-length works Word Becomes Flesh, Scourge, and 2008’s the break/s. The Seattle Times calls Joseph "an electrifying performer and a great storyteller.” This performance is sponsored by the Lafayette College Office of Intercultural Development.

Dianne Reeves
Saturday, February 7th, 8pm
Williams Center for the Arts

“Dianne Reeves has an amazing voice, one of the best jazz has boasted. It’s powerful and intimate and full of emotion, and her range is stunning,” says the Boston Globe. Since she lit up our stage seven years ago with her charismatic tribute to Sarah Vaughn, Reeves’ subsequent recordings and award-winning vocal tracks in the film, Good Night, and Good Luck, have bolstered her reputation as one of the most“in demand” singers of our era.

Ashley Khan, “Kind of Blue: The Making of the Miles Davis Masterpiece”
Monday, February 9th, 7pm
Williams Center of the Arts, room108

Lecture featuring renowned jazz author Ashley Kahn, presenting a PowerPoint lecture about his book.  Some of Mr. Kahn's books will be available for sale and autograph at the presentation.


Rwandan and Holocaust Survivors Speak Out Against Intolerance
Tuesday, February 10th, 7:30pm
Oeschle Hall Auditorium, Room 224

Born in Rwanda in 1984, Jacqueline Murekatete was not yet ten when she lost her entire immediate and extended family to the 1994 Rwandan Tutsi genocide. Dave Gewirtzman survived the Holocaust by hiding for two years under a pigsty, along with other members of his family, on a Polish farm. Today, Jacqueline and David both live in the United States and travel together speaking out against the horrors of genocide, urging people to remember while challenging them to fight prejudice and to peacefully coexist. They have been honored with awards from the United Nations, the American Jewish Committee, and the Anti-Defamation League and have been featured in the New York Times, Washington Post, People magazine and on CNN, NPR, BBC, and other media outlets. At 7:30pm on Tuesday, February 10, 2009, Jacqueline and David will speak to members of the Lafayette community and the public about their experiences. Hillel is sponsoring this talk together with the Office of Religious Life, Landis Community Outreach Center, and Newman Association.

Life of David McDonogh: A Dramatic Presentation
Thursday, February 12th, 4:30pm
Colton Chapel

David McDonogh was a black man, slave and a Lafayette College student during the 1840’s. Actual written correspondence between David and his owner, John McDonogh, will be shared during this dramatic interpretation presentation.  Starring: Chris Duru as David McDonogh and Paul Sommers as John McDonogh 

Campus Sex and Relationships Workshop
Facilitator: Hasani Pettiford
Friday, February 13th, 4:15pm
Black Cultural Center

Hasani has spent the last 10 years studying student sexuality. His research has revealed one thing: For one too many students, sex has transitioned from an extra-curricular activity to a core curriculum. This eye-opening presentation discusses various issues of concern.

LVIAC Semi-Formal
Saturday, February 14th
Dinner 8pm, Dancing 9pm
Lehigh University
Cost $5 Due by February 13th

Transportation will be provided.

This will be a great opportunity to mix and mingle with a diverse group of students from all over the Lehigh Valley in an elegant atmosphere. Join us for great food, conversation and entertainment in a night celebrating the beauty of love and life.
Semi-formal attire is appropriate for this event. Please speak with Amina DeBurst debursta@lafayette.edu more information about this event and to obtain tickets.

Artist Reception
Works by Theodore A. Harris
“Where Would America Be Without Chains?”
Monday, February 16th, 4:30pm
Portlock Black Cultural Center

Renowned artist Theodore Harris chronicles the physical and spiritual journey of African Americans in a moving exhibition. Come join him for an enlightening discussion of his work.

BHM Student Panel
“We Speak”
February 18th, 12noon
Interfaith Chapel

Join ABC leaders in discussion as they reflect on past and present Black students experiences at Lafayette College.

Theodore Shaw, Esq.
Presidential Lecture
Black History Month Keynote Address
“Reflections on Race and Identity in Obama’s “Post-Racial” America”
Tuesday, February 24th, 7:30pm
Kirby Hall of Civil Rights, Rm. 104

Theodore Shaw, Esq., is currently serving on the Obama transition team at the U.S. Department of Justice and teaches at the Columbia University School of Law. Shaw was President of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund from 2004 to 2008 and was involved in numerous landmark cases during his tenure with the organization. He served as lead counsel of a coalition that represented African-American and Latino students in the University of Michigan undergraduate affirmative action admissions case. He also argued the Gratz v. Bollinger and Grutter v. Bollinger cases challenging the use of affirmative action at the University of Michigan Law School before the United States Supreme Court in 2003.

Mr. Shaw worked as a trial attorney in the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. from 1979–1982, litigating civil rights cases throughout the country at the trial and appellate levels and before the U.S. Supreme Court. Shaw currently serves on the Legal Advisory Network of the European Roma Rights Council, based in Budapest, Hungary.

Mr. Shaw graduated from Columbia Law School in 1979. He received his undergraduate degree, with honors, from Wesleyan University. Shaw has received numerous honors and awards, including the Lawrence A.Wein Prize for Social Justice from Columbia Law School, and the A. Leon Higginbotham, Jr. Memorial Award conferred by the National Bar Association Young Lawyers Division. He has served on both Columbia Law’s Board of Visitors and the Wesleyan University Board of Trustees. Previously, he has taught at the University of Michigan Law School, Temple Law School, CUNY School of Law, and served as a lecturer in law at Columbia Law School.

Backstory in Blue: Ellington at Newport '56
Wednesday, February 25th, 4:10pm
Gendebien Room, Skillman Library

Author John Fass Morton talks about his new book, just published by Rutgers University Press, which looks at Duke Ellington's career-reviving performance at the Newport Jazz Festival of 1956.

Step Afrika
Thursday, February 26th, 7pm
Farinon Atrium

Step Afrika celebrates stepping, an art form born at African American fraternities and based in African traditions. As the first professional company dedicated to stepping, Step Afrika’s intricate kicks, stomps and rhythms mixed with spoken word pound the floor and fill the air.

Ongoing Events

BHM Featured Artist
Works by Theodore A. Harris
“Where Would America Be Without Chains?”
February 2nd – March 11th, 1-4pm
Portlock Black Cultural Center

African Dance
Learn basic dance steps and body movements that culminate into traditional African dances.  For beginners and intermediates.   
Wednesdays, February 4th-February 18th 7-9pm
136 Kirby Sports Center

West African Drumming
A high energy, hands on drumming workshop.  Drums supplied (or BYOD).  No experience necessary.  Limited spaces available.
Wednesdays, February 4th-February 18th, 7-9pm
APK Room, Kirby Sports Center

MARCH  

LINC Meeting
Mar. 4, Farinon Marlo Room East @ 12:00 pm
The goal of the Lafayette Intercultural Network Council is to promote the development of cross- and inter-cultural exchange through student, staff, and faculty collaboration and dialogue. LINC works to cultivate a shared vision for diversity initiatives at Lafayette in order to promote an inclusive environment that values mutual understanding, respect and cultural sensitivity, and a strong sociocultural academic community working together to provide social justice and diversity education programming and other efforts.
As part of this year’s Latino Heritage Month, Lafayette's Portlock Black Cultural Center will host an exhibit featuring the art of Costa Rican artist, Sofia Ruiz-Ugalde.