Black History Month at UAlbany
The University at Albany celebrates the achievements of African Americans and recognizes their central role in U.S. History during Black History Month, or African American History Month.
Please join us for one of our Black History Month events.
Faces of UAlbany: Students Reflect on Black History Month
Intercultural Student Engagement Programming
UAlbany's four Intercultural Student Engagement (ISE) centers — the Multicultural Resource Center, Women's Resource Center, Gender & Sexuality Resource Center and Interfaith Services — are working with campus partners to ensure an intersectional approach to the African heritage experience.
Members of the UAlbany campus community and the general public can see what’s happening for Black History Month by visiting ISE TV. The channel is updated daily and includes programming throughout the month.
Black History Month Tool Kit
The Multicultural Resource Center (MRC) and the Albany State University Black Alliance (ASUBA) have partnered to create the Black History Month Toolkit 2024. It provides a host of resources to help you plan, communicate and engage on this significant month.
The toolkit contains links to videos, photos, articles and a shared folder that can be used to explore African American heritage, culture, and experience both historically and in American life today.
This year's theme is African Americans and the Arts.
Black History Month Events
Please send any Black History Month events to [email protected] for inclusion on this page.
Black History Month Trivia with Albany State University Black Alliance (ASUBA)
When: 1 to 3 p.m., every Thursday in February 2024
Where: Campus Center GO Desk
Presented by the Multicultural Resource Center and the Albany State University Black Alliance.
Black History Month Kick Off
When: 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday, February 1, 2024
Where: 1844 Restaurant (Campus Center, Second Floor)
Menu includes BBQ pork, Cajun fried fish, collard greens and peach cobbler among other treats.
Presented by UAS and Sodexo.
Paint & Sing: ASUBA’s BHM Kickoff
When: 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday, February 1, 2024
Where: Multicultural Resource Center (Campus Center West B87)
Presented by the Multicultural Resource Center and the Albany State University Black Alliance (ASUBA).
Conversation and Q&A with Sandra Guzmán
When: 4:30 p.m. Thursday, February 1, 2024
Where: Assembly Hall (Campus Center, Second floor)
Afro Indigenous storyteller and literary editor Sandra Guzmán is presenting a new anthology, Daughters of Latin America: An International Anthology of Writing by Latine Women (2023), a dazzling collection of essential works by 140 Latin American and indigenous writers— many of them translated into English for the first time. Kirkus Reviews called it, “A significant collection of Latine women's voices across five centuries… A fresh, indispensable look at the wide, multicultural world of Latine women writers.”
Guzmán also served as producer and interviewer for the Emmy-nominated documentary, "Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am," which the Writers Institute screened in 2019 to celebrate the life of UAlbany faculty member Toni Morrison (1931-2019).
Cosponsored by UAlbany’s Department of Africana, Latin American, Caribbean and Latinx Studies and the Department of Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies and presented by the NYS Writers’ Institute.
BHM Movie Series: Diamonds in the Dirt
When: 6 to 8 p.m. Monday, February 5, 2024
Where: Multicultural Resource Center (Campus Center West B87)
Presented by the Multicultural Resource Center.
26th Annual Burian Lecture on Life in the Performing Arts with Ruben Santiago-Hudson
When: 7:30 p.m. Monday, February 5, 2024
Where: UAlbany Performing Arts Center, Recital Hall
Our guest lecturer will be Ruben Santiago-Hudson, celebrated American playwright, actor, and director has won major awards in all three categories, including a Tony Award for Featured Actor for his performance in August Wilson’s Seven Guitars.
In 2021, he directed and starred in the Broadway production of his autobiographical play about growing up in a Rust Belt town outside Buffalo, Lackawanna Blues — marking the first time in Broadway history that an individual wrote, directed, and starred in a single play. He directed the 2022 Broadway production of Dominique Morisseau’s Skeleton Crew, which received four Tony nominations including Outstanding New Play.
He also directed the 2017 Broadway production of August Wilson’s Jitney, which earned the Tony Award for Best Revival and five other Tony nominations. His 2021 screenplay adaptation of another Wilson play, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, received several Oscar nominations, winning two for costume design and makeup.
Watch Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (2020, screenplay by Ruben Santiago-Hudson), available on Netflix.
Presented by the UAlbany Theatre Program and the Jarka and Grayce Burian Endowment in collaboration with the NYS Writers Institute.
Loving Yourself as a Black Woman
When: 2 to 4 p.m. Wednesday, February 7, 2024
Where: Multicultural Resource Center (Campus Center West B87)
Presented by the Multicultural Resource Center.
A Taste of Harlem
When: 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday, February 7, 2024
Where: 1844 Restaurant (Campus Center, Second Floor)
Presented by UAS and Sodexo.
Craft Talk and Reading & Conversation with Aaliyal Bihal
When & Where: Thursday, February 8, 2024
- 4:30 p.m.: Craft Talk in the Standish Room, Science Library, Third Floor
- 7:30 p.m.: Reading & Conversation in the Recital Hall, UAlbany Performing Arts Center
Aaliyah Bilal, whose debut story collection Temple Folk explores the lived experiences of Black Muslims as they grapple with the challenges of faith, family and freedom in America was named a finalist for 2023 National Book Award for Fiction, will visit on Thursday, February 8.
Presented by the NYS Writers Institute.
Recent Political Changes and New Geopolitical Trends in West Africa
When: 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Friday, February 9, 2024
Where: Campus Center Expansion Boardroom
Sponsored by the Department of Africana, Latin American, Caribbean and Latinx Studies.
Conscious Crafting: Collaging Black Intersectionality with Albany State University Black Alliance (ASUBA)
When: 4 to 6 p.m. Monday, February 12, 2024
Where: Multipurpose Room, Campus Center
Presented by the Multicultural Resource Center and the Albany State University Black Alliance (ASUBA).
The Beauty of Black Heritage: Add to our BHM Mural!
When: 2 to 5 p.m. Wednesday, February 14, 2024
Where: Multicultural Resource Center (Campus Center West B87)
Presented by the Multicultural Resource Center.
Prime Performance: Rhapsody in Black
When: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, February 14, 2024
Where: UAlbany Performing Arts Center
Written and performed by LeLand Gantt and directed by Estelle Parsons, this one-man show explores the actor’s personal journey to understand and eventually transcend racism in America.
The story follows him from an underprivileged childhood in a rough working-class neighborhood, to a teenager experimenting with crime and drugs, to a scholastic achiever and ultimately to an actor with a career that lands him in situations where he is the only African American in the room.
Charming and self-deprecatingly funny, Gantt imbues every word from his mouth with the passion and poignancy of a preacher speaking the gospel.
Purchase tickets for Rhapsody in Black.
The Prime Performances series at the UAlbany Performing Arts Center is an array of regional, national and international touring artists in music, dance and theatre. Learn more about Rhapsody in Black.
Support provided by the University at Albany Foundation, University Auxiliary Services, Office of Intercultural Student Engagement and the Alumni Association.
Magnificent Moroccan Cuisine
When: Noon to 1 p.m. Thursday, February 15, 2024
Where: Multicultural Resource Center (Campus Center West B87)
Presented by the Multicultural Resource Center.
BHM Movie Series: High on the Hog - How African American Cuisine Transformed America
When: 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, February 15, 2024
Where: Multicultural Resource Center (Campus Center West B87)
Presented by the Multicultural Resource Center.
Exhibit Opening: The Moral Arc Toward Freedom: Lincoln, King, and the Emancipation Proclamation
When: 7 p.m. Thursday, February 15, 2024
Where: Huxley Theatre, NYS Museum, 222 Madison Avenue, Albany
Join us for a lively program to mark the launch of a new temporary exhibit at the New York State Museum.
The opening of The Moral Arc Toward Freedom: Lincoln, King, and the Emancipation Proclamation will include readings and conversation featuring New York State Poet Patricia Spears Jones, historian Dr. Jennifer Burns, and curator Dr. Jennifer Lemak.
The exhibit will showcase Abraham Lincoln's preliminary draft of the Emancipation Proclamation (September 22, 1862), the only surviving Proclamation document in Lincoln’s own hand, and an audio recording of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivering a speech on the centennial of the Emancipation Proclamation in New York City in September 1962.
The program will feature poetry, readings of brief excerpts of historical documents, and a conversation with the audience about the complicated legacy of slavery and emancipation in the United States.
Speakers:
- Patricia Spears Jones, a major force of the New York City poetry scene since the 1970s, is the reigning State Poet of New York (2023-25), by proclamation of the Governor and mandate of the Legislature, under the auspices of the NYS Writers Institute.
- Dr. Jennifer Burns is Lecturer in Africana Studies at the University at Albany.
- Dr. Jennifer Lemak is Chief Curator of History at the NYS Museum.
Cosponsored by the New York State Education Department’s Office of Cultural Education and the Archives Partnership Trust in honor of African American History Month, in collaboration with the New York State Writers’ Institute.
Panel: Africana Studies? The Field, Career Paths, and Examples
When: 2 to 3:30 p.m. Friday, February 16, 2024
Where: Humanities 354
Panelists: Dr. David Agum, Dr. El-Ra Radney, Dr. Marcel Kitissou
Presented by the Department of Africana, Latin American, Caribbean and Latinx Studies.
Journey through Black Music with Albany State University Black Alliance (ASUBA)
When: 4 to 5 p.m. Monday, February 19, 2024
Where: Multicultural Resource Center (Campus Center West B87)
Presented by the Multicultural Resource Center and the Albany State University Black Alliance (ASUBA).
BHM Movie Series: Whitney Houston - I Wanna Dance with Somebody
When: 6 to 8 p.m. Monday, February 19, 2024
Where: Multicultural Resource Center (Campus Center West B87)
Presented by the Multicultural Resource Center.
Cold Days, Caribbean Nights
When: 4 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, February 20, 2024
Where: State and Indigenous Quads
Presented by UAS and Sodexo.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration Event
When: 7 p.m. Tuesday, February 20, 2024
Where: Campus Center Ballroom
Adjoa B. Asamoah, co-creator of the CROWN Coalition, is a racial equity champion, award-winning social impact strategist, political operative, and policy architect. She developed the legislative strategy for and leads the groundbreaking CROWN (“Create a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair”) Act movement, which seeks to make discrimination based on hairstyle illegal in all 50 states.
New York became the second state to sign the act into law on July 3, 2019. Asamoah also served as the Biden-Harris campaign’s National Advisor for Black Engagement and was then tapped to serve as the Black Engagement Director for the historic 59th Presidential Inaugural Committee.
Register to attend the MLK Celebration.
Sponsored by the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs, Office of Diversity and Inclusion, Student Association, and Honors College in collaboration with the NYS Writers Institute.
5th Annual Living in Languages Colloquium: "Intent vs Impact: Translating Race and Racism"
When: February 20 & 21, 2024
Where: Zoom. Register to attend the Living in Languages Colloquium.
Our keynote speaker will be Corine Tachtiris, Assistant Professor of Translation Studies at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Tachtiris’ book Translating Race uses the lens of critical race studies to inform an ethical practice of translating racialized language and the lens of translation studies to destabilize the construction of race through language.
Review the full Living in Languages Colloquium program.
Sponsored by the College of Arts & Sciences, the Departments of English and Languages, Literatures & Cultures.
5th Annual Black Business Expo
When: 7 to 10 p.m. Wednesday, February 21, 2024
Where: Campus Center Ballroom
The Black Business Expo is going to be an opportunity for Black Business owners on the University at Albany campus and in the Albany community to come together and showcase the different businesses/talents. We have created a space for people to ask questions and to get inside information on what it's like to be a black business owner, how you created your business, and any advice you would like to share with others who would like to open a business.
RSVP for the Black Business Expo.
Presented by PWC, the National Association of Black Accountants (NABA), the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the National Congress of Black Women (NCBW).
Resilient Radiance: Black Women and their Legacy
When: 7 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, February 27, 2024
Where: Multicultural Resource Center (Campus Center West B87)
Presented by the Multicultural Resource Center.
BHM Movie Series: AJ and the Queen
When: 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, February 28, 2024
Where: Multicultural Resource Center (Campus Center West B87)
Presented by the Multicultural Resource Center.
Taste of Jamaica
When: 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday, February 28, 2024
Where: 1844 Restaurant (Campus Center, Second Floor)
Presented by UAS and Sodexo.
Connecting African Roots Through Food with Ildefonso Apelanz
When: 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, February 28, 2024
Where: Humanities 290
Sponsored by the Department of Africana, Latin American, Caribbean and Latinx Studies.
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