Black History Month at UWM is coordinated by a committee of campus stakeholders who plan a variety of programs throughout February in order to recognize and celebrate the history, culture and contributions of people of African descent in the United States.
This publication is sponsored by UWM Union Sociocultural Programming. Contributors include:
- African Student Association
- Black Cultural Center
- Center for International Education
- Black Cultural Center
- Lubar Entrepreneurship Center
- Black Cultural Center
- MAVRC
- Planetarium Club at UWM
- Africology Now
- Department of African & African Diaspora Studies
- Sociocultural Programming
- SPARK
- Wisconsin African American Tobacco Prevention Network
- City of Milwaukee Tobacco-Free Alliance
- UWM Career Planning & Resource Center
- UWM Multi-Cultural Centers
- Woman’s Resource Center
Black & Abroad: Black Panthers Go Global
5 Tuesday ǀ Info Session
3:30 pm-5:00 pm ǀ Black Cultural Center, Bolton 176
Open to African American undergraduates and graduates, but open to the general public
Center for International Education, Black Cultural Center
Study abroad is for everyone. Attend this meet ‘n greet and connect with Black Panthers to hear about their experience of being black and abroad. Study abroad advisors will be available to explain options and answer your questions. Wondering about money? Sit down with a rep from the Financial Aid Office to talk about how to use your financial aid, and learn about grants and scholarships to make study abroad a reality. You may not make it to Wakanda, but you can make it abroad. Light refreshments will be served.
Stars, Stories, and Rhythms of Africa
6 Wednesday ǀ Live Presentation
6:00 pm-9:30 pm ǀ UWM Manfred Olson Planetarium
Open to UWM students, faculty and staff and community members
Planetarium Club at UWM; African Student Association; Africology Now; Department of African & African Diaspora Studies; UWM Sociocultural Programming, UWM Black Cultural Center
Groove to the beat of African drums as we explore African culture under the stars. The African continent extends from 30 degrees N to 30 South; we will see how different the night sky is in three different latitudes. This lively event will combine a variety of elements such as the storytelling, dance and music, and indoor stargazing. There will also be food inspired by African traditions.
American Film Series- Coming to America
7 Thursday ǀ Film Series
6:00 pm-8:00 pm ǀ Union Cinema
Open to UWM students, staff and faculty
Sociocultural Programming
An extremely pampered African Prince travels to Queens, New York, and goes undercover to find a wife who he can respect for her intelligence and will. Attendees are encouraged to dress up as characters from the movie.
Jazz and the Civil Rights Movement
11 Tuesday ǀ Lecture
1:00 pm-2:15 pm ǀ Wisconsin Room Lounge
Open to UWM students, faculty and staff
Sociocultural Programming
Galen Abdur-Razzaq will present a lecture on Monday, February 11th, 2019 titled History of Jazz. It is a 75 minutes PowerPoint interactive presentation chronicling the music from the turn of the century to present day and highlights various artists, their influence on the evolution of jazz and their struggles.
The Hidden Impact of Racial Segregation on Milwaukee County (NEW TIME)
21 Thursday ǀ Lecture/Speaker
4:00 pm-6:00 pm ǀ Alumni Fireside Lounge
Open to UWM students, staff and faculty
MAVRC
Milwaukee is often referred to as the most segregated city in the nation. Learn about the past, present and future effects of segregation on our city and neighborhoods.
Navigating Academia while Black II
13 Wednesday ǀ Panel Discussion
11:30 am-1:00 pm ǀ Wisconsin Room Lounge
Open to UWM students, staff and faculty
Sociocultural Programming
A panel of black people who have finished their bachelor’s degree or higher will discuss what it feels like to be in a predominantly white university and how they learned to navigate.
Lyrical Sanctuary presents Alysia Harris
13 Wednesday ǀ Workshop, Open Mic & Performance
7:00-7:45pm ǀ Writing Workshop ǀ Inclusive Excellence Center (Union 119)
8:00pm-10:00pm ǀ Open Mic & Performance ǀ Alumni Fireside Lounge
Open to UWM students, staff and faculty
Sociocultural Programming
Lyrical Sanctuary is UWM’s monthly open mic night, featuring standout spoken word artists, live music and art, and YOU! Now in its seventeenth season, Lyrical Sanctuary is a campus tradition that brings students and community members together to share their passion for poetry and creative self-expression. Prior to each performance, the monthly featured artist leads a creative writing workshop open to anyone willing to put their pen to the page.
African American Film Series-A boy, A girl. A dream
14 Thursday ǀ film series
6:00 pm-7:30 pm ǀ Union Cinema
Open to UWM students, staff and faculty
Sociocultural Programming
On the night of the 2016 Presidential election, Cass, an L.A. club promoter, takes a thrilling and emotional journey with Frida, a Midwestern visitor. She challenges him to revisit his broken dreams – while he pushes her to discover hers.
Diverse Ideas: Featuring – Dextra Hadnot, Director, External Affairs AT&T Wisconsin
19 Tuesday ǀ Leadership Presentation
10:00 am-11:00 am ǀ UWM Black Cultural Center – Bolton 176
Open to UWM students, staff and faculty
Lubar Entrepreneurship Center & Black Cultural Center
Join us for our newest LEC speaker series, Diverse Ideas. This series is co-sponsored by UWM’s Multicultural Student Center to feature entrepreneurial speakers from a diverse set of backgrounds in Milwaukee. This month we are celebrating Black History Month with the Black Cultural Center. We’ve invited Dextra Hadnot, Director of External Affairs, AT&T Wisconsin to talk about his experience being an ‘intrapreneur’ throughout his career. Dextra will share wisdom about leadership and community. Have a cup of FREE COFFEE on us and be inspired!
From Prison to Portraits: Painting a New Future
19 Tuesday ǀ Art Expo /Reception
5:00 pm-8:00 pm ǀ Alumni Fireside Lounge
Open to UWM students, staff and faculty
MAVRC and other centers TBD
Originally from St Louis, Willie dropped out of high school to join the military. After he returned from military duty, his circumstances led him to prison for 40 years. In prison he received his GED and began to study Black History, Art History and Art Theory. Learning from an artist he met in prison he began to paint. Today, Willie has 2,500 to 3,000 paintings in his attic studio in Sherman Park, with many others in a California gallery. He has been working towards his Bachelor’s degree in Business and Entrepreneurship. In 2016, he entered a national art contest for his work “Thank you for seeing me as a veteran and not a homeless man.” Willie won this competition. Currently, he is working third shift at the Milwaukee VA Medical Center painting murals.
African Dance Demo: Ina onilu drum and dance ensemble
20 Wednesday ǀ African Dance Demonstration Showcase
11:00 am-2:00 pm ǀ Union Concourse
Open to UWM students, staff and faculty
MAVRC
African Dance Demonstration
Sisters Like ME
20 Wednesday ǀ Reception
5:00 pm-7:00 pm ǀ Alumni Fire Side Lounge
Open to UWM students, staff and faculty
Black Cultural Center
Sisters Like Me is an annual program that provides the opportunity for Black women to share their unique cultural experiences with other members of the community at UWM. This year we will celebrate Black girl friendship by illuminating the highlights and challenges of those friendship through sister circles. Sisters Like Me will be a space to learn and unlearn while building community at UWM.
Diversity Career Fair
21 Wednesday ǀ Career Fair
10:00 am-2:00 pm ǀ Wisconsin Room
Open to UWM Student & Alumni
UWM Career Planning & Resource Center & UWM Multi-Cultural Centers
ALL STUDENTS & MAJORS WELCOME: Explore internships and employment opportunities with companies that embrace a diverse workforce.
Black Lives Black Lungs: How Big Tobacco Targets Black Communities
21 Thursday ǀ film screening and panel discussion
7:00 pm-9:00 pm ǀ Alumni Fireside Lounge
Open to UWM students, staff and faculty and community members
SPARK, Black Cultural Center, Wisconsin African American Tobacco Prevention Network, City of Milwaukee Tobacco-Free Alliance
Screening of the short film Black Lives Black Lungs, about how Big Tobacco targets Black communities, followed by a presentation by Dr. Phoenix Matthews from the University of Illinois-Chicago and a panel discussion featuring local leaders.
CANCELED AfroFest CANCELED
22 Friday ǀ Entertainment
2:00pm-6:00pm ǀ Union Ballroom
Open to UWM Students
Come out to enjoy dance lesson guided by a professional African dancer!
Black Feminist Symposium
23 Saturday ǀ Symposium
9:00 AM-3:00 PM ǀ Golda Meir Library
Open to UWM students, staff and faculty
Join the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee community as we kick off the first Black Feminist Symposium organized by the Women’s Resource Center. Our purpose is to recognize historical and contemporary movements to achieve social justice and human rights as it relates to gender, engage in critical self-reflection, promote self-awareness and connect knowledge and experience, theory and activism, as well as academia and practice. Through workshops and dynamic keynote speakers, we will identify the interactions and intersections of identities (e.g., gender, race, ethnicity, class, sexuality) and assess the ways in which they contribute to instances of privilege and power dynamics across cultures, space, and time.
African American Film Series-Blindspotting
28 Thursday ǀ Film
6:00pm-7:45pm ǀ Union Cinema
Open to UWM students, staff and faculty
Sociocultural Programming
While on probation, a man begins to re-evaluate his relationship with his volatile best friend. Collin must make it through his final three days of probation for a chance at a new beginning in his Oakland, Calif., neighborhood. His bond with his volatile best friend soon gets tested when Collin sees a police officer shoot a suspect in the back during a chase through the streets.
For more information, contact Kentrell Washington, Sociocultural Programming: (414) 229-3894 / sociocul@uwm.edu. Sponsored by Sociocultural Programming.