Black History Month at UWM

Black History Month is a time to pay respects to those that have come before us. They have paved the way for Black liberation, love, and excellence. They have empowered the present. We pull strength from the successes and lessons of our ancestors and continue to move forward as we envision our future. It is the youth and our future children who will build a better, Blacker tomorrow. They will carry the torch but with their own flame as they blaze the next trail.

Black History Month at UWM is coordinated by a team of campus stakeholders offering a variety of programs that recognize and celebrate the history, culture and contributions of Black people who’ve paved the way for those to come. Black History Month has been observed during the month of February. First being celebrated as Black History Week in 1926. Dr. Woodson G. Carter, scholar known as the Father of Black History Month, initially chose the birth week of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass before being expanded to a month-long celebration in 1970.

Contributors to Black History at UWM 2023 include:  

AfricologyNOW
Black Student Cultural Center
Black Student Union
Black Lens MKE
Campus Activities Board
Department of African & African Diaspora Studies

Inclusive Excellence Center
LGBTQ+ Resource Center
Lubar Entrepreneurship Center
Student Association
Student Involvement

Sociocultural Programming
Union Cinema
UWM Manfred Olson Planetarium
UWM Multicultural Student Success Centers
Women’s Resource Center

 For the most complete and up-to-date listing of events, please visit: uwm.edu/blackhistorymonth

This publication is sponsored by UWM Union Sociocultural Programming.  

African American Film Series: Messwood

Thursday, February 2 | Film Screening and Discussion

6 pm-8 pm | Union Cinema

Declining participation leads Milwaukee’s own Messmer (predominantly Black) and Shorewood (predominantly white) high schools to combine their football programs. After a successful season in 2018, quite a few starters graduate and in 2019 the team is forced to rebuild. At the center of this familiar and thrilling sports season drama, these teenage athletes attempt to make sense of their adolescence and of the perceived and tangible racial fissures in southeast Wisconsin.

Followed by a post-film discussion with the directors. For more information or to request accommodations contact Sociocultural Programming: sociocul@uwm.edu

Sponsored by Sociocultural Programming, Union Cinema

Black History Month Kickoff

Tuesday, February 7 | Celebration

11 am-1 pm | Union Concourse

Music, food, crafts, spoken word poetry, a vendor fair featuring Milwaukee’s Black-owned businesses, and more will celebrate the start of Black History Month at UW-Milwaukee.

For more information contact Sociocultural Programming: sociocul@uwm.edu

Sponsored by Sociocultural Programming, Student Involvement, Black Student Cultural Center, Inclusive Excellence Center & Military and Veterans Resource Center

Sisters Like Me

Wednesday, February 8 | Conference

4:00 pm-5:30 pm | Union Fireside Lounge

Sisters Like Me is an annual program that offers a brave space for Black women-identified students to share their unique cultural experiences with other members of the community at UWM. Black Women who are leaders in the campus and community will facilitate a cooperative learning experience for attendees through small discussion/”sister” circles of healing. This program aims to help build relationships, share communal narratives, and develop tools for support, success, and self-care.

For more information or to request accommodations contact the Women’s Resource Center: wmncntr@uwm.edu

Sponsored by the Women’s Resource Center and Black Student Cultural Center

Under African Skies

Wednesday, February 8, February 15, & February 22 | Performance

7 pm-8 pm | UWM Planetarium

Experience stars, stories, and cultural perspectives across the expansive African continent. Each Wednesday from Feb 8 – 22 features a different guest speaker who will talk about their country, culture, and connections to the night sky.

Schedule of Guest Speakers February 8: Ermitte Saint Jacques, Senegal

February 15: Mrina Eliseus Mtenga, Tanzania

February 22: Mohamed Maache, Algeria

The program will include indoor stargazing sessions of the night sky followed by the opportunity to ask questions. Not recommended for children under 4. For questions about this event, please email planetarium@uwm.edu.

For more information or to request accommodations contact UWM Planetarium: planetarium@uwm.edu

Sponsored by Black Student Union

Black History Month Coffee Hour

Thursday, February 16 | Discussion

9:30 am-11 am | Inclusive Excellence Center

Come join us in celebrating Black History Month and gain cultural knowledge. Participants will be greeted with a steaming cup of coffee or tea along with traditional treats.

For more information or to request accommodations contact the Inclusive Excellence Center: iecenter@uwm.edu

Sponsored by the Inclusive Excellence Center

First Annual Black History Month Alumni Mixer

Thursday, February 16 | Celebration

5 pm-7 pm | Sherman Phoenix, 3536 W. Fond Du Lac Ave

Join the UWM Alumni Association and the Black Student Cultural Center for our first annual UWMAA Black History Month Alumni mixer. Connect with old friends and make new ones. Registration Link: www.give.uwm.edu/BHM_Mixer

For more information or to request accommodations contact the Black Student Cultural Center at bscc-staff@uwm.edu

Sponsored by the UWM Alumni Association & UWM Black Student Cultural Center

African American Film Series: Nope

Thursday, February 16 | Film Screening and Discussion

6 pm-8 pm | Union Cinema

The residents of a lonely gulch in inland California bear witness to an uncanny and chilling discovery. Directed by Jordan Peele, who wrote and directed the film, reunites with Get Out star Daniel Kaluuya, who stars alongside Keke Palmer as two siblings who inherit their father’s ranch after he is killed by an object falling from the sky. You won’t want to miss what happens next!

Followed by a post-film discussion. For more information or to request accommodations contact Sociocultural Programming: sociocul@uwm.edu

Sponsored by Sociocultural Programming, Union Cinema

Feliz Cumpleaños Riri

Monday, February 20 | Discussion

9:30 am-11 am | Women’s Resource Center

Join the Women’s Resource Center for an intersectional feminist discussion on Rihanna’s cultural impact in advance of her highly anticipated Super Bowl Halftime Show performance. Celebrate her contributions during Black History Month with cupcakes, her music, and friends.

For more information or to request accommodations contact the Women’s Resource Center: wmncntr@uwm.edu

Sponsored by the Women’s Resource Center

Divine 9 X UWM

Tuesday, February 21 | Celebration

6 pm-8 pm | Union Fireside Lounge

Come learn about the rich history, long-term benefits, and lifetime brotherly and sisterly bonds of fraternities and sororities in the Divine 9. The event will feature a panel discussion and opportunities to connect. Light refreshments will be served.

For more information or to request accommodations contact the Fraternity and Sorority Life at kbzpresident21@gmail.com

Sponsored by the Fraternity and Sorority Life

Film Screening & Conversation with Visiting Assistant Professor Marquise Mays

Wednesday, February 22 | Film Screening & Discussion

5 pm-7 pm | Union Fireside Lounge

Join Marquise Mays Visiting Assistant Professor, Film, Video, Animation and New Genres for an evening of conversation after screening his films Black Strings and The Heartland.

For more information or to request accommodations contact the Black Student Cultural Center:bcc-staff@uwm.edu

Sponsored by the UWM Division of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion and the Black Student Cultural Center

Black History Month Exploring Students’ Art & Poetry

Monday, February 23 | Celebration

3 pm-5 pm | LEC

For more information or to request accommodations contact the Student Association: njgeluk@uwm.edu

Sponsored by Student Association & Sociocultural Programming

(Re) Imagining Black Futures in the Age of Wakanda

Friday, February 24 | Discussion

3 pm-5 pm | Union Fireside Lounge

Join Africology NOW in discussing the impact of Marvel’s Black Panther franchise on representations of transnational Blackness. Along with the films, we will present and discuss examples of music, film, television, and literature that incorporate themes of Afro/African futurism, Pan-Africanism, Black and African feminisms, and queer studies. A central question of this discussion is how media and culture play into how Black identity, memory, and tradition are (re)defined and (re)imagined through storytelling.

For more information or to request accommodations contact AfricologyNOW: jamee@uwm.edu or sbolu@uwm.edu

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

University of Wisconsin-MilwaukeeStudent Involvement