By Alicia Colegrove

The University of Maryland community is reflecting on the observance and meaning of Black History Month.

This year marks the 100th anniversary of Carter G. Woodson establishing Negro History Week to study and remember Black American History, now recognized every February. Student groups at the university hosted events such as political workshops, museum trips, trivia and more to honor Black history.

Julion Harris, a senior business management and marketing major and treasurer of Black Student Ministries, said he tries to be intentional with how he celebrates. 

Harris, a Prince George’s County native, attended a predominantly Black school district. He said he felt like Black History Month in his community was cherished while growing up. 

Harris said that at UMD the recognition wasn’t as noticeable since the university is predominantly white.

“It wasn’t as, I would say, in your face as it was growing up,” Harris said. “But there were still efforts there. So I feel like for me, I just had to make more of an effort to celebrate it.”

Black Student Ministries kicked off the month with a service project in which students wrote positive notes and made bouquets for people in their lives who inspire them. They also planned a collaboration event with the Black Student Union, which was originally scheduled for February but was pushed to March 8 due to snow. 

Brian Gilmore, senior lecturer of MLAW Programs, hosted the Black Poets & Society in Washington, D.C., event to discuss the history of Black poets in the nation’s capital and his new book: “No More Worlds to Conquer: The Black Poet in D.C.”

The event was part of MLAW’s Law, Art and Activism program hosted at Busboys and Poets in Hyattsville, and featured guest speakers, presentations, a book giveaway, music and food. 

Many students turned out for the event, according to Gilmore, where he discussed his new book, read poetry and answered students’ questions. The book covers the Black poetry scene in Washington, D.C., and its cultural impact on the country dating back over 100 years.

Gilmore said that recognizing art is especially important right now because of animosity across the country. 

“Art is what reminds everybody, no matter what your ethnicity is, it reminds you of your humanity,” said Gilmore. 

Nyumburu Cultural Center, a UMD group dedicated to Black Cultural awareness, hosted events like ‘Hip-Hop, Social Justice and Black History,’ and a Black History Month closing ceremony dinner and celebration on Thursday. 

Solomon Comissiong, assistant director of student involvement and public relations at the Nyumburu Cultural Center and president of UMD’s Black Faculty and Staff Association, said Nyumburu’s commemoration doesn’t stop in February. 

“We celebrate black history in September and October, November, December, until there’s the winter break, and then we come back in January and February and March and April,” Comissiong said. “So we celebrated throughout the entire year.”

Comissiong also hosts a weekly African American Political Education Workshop covering history and politics. The workshop started with students gathering in his office to discuss social issues, but gained so much traction that he decided to make it a weekly meeting. 

“I would have to stand on this table behind me, a little coffee table behind me, because I had so many students packed in here,” Comissiong said.

Meetings are open to the UMD community, and students of various ethnicities have attended. Comissiong said teaching the public about diverse history is at the heart of Black History Month’s significance. 

“It decreases the opportunity for racism or prejudice to creep in and to infect our society,” Comissiong said. 

February at the university was packed with activities to celebrate the month, but as March creeps in, Black students and faculty say that efforts to teach and honor Black history will continue. 

“Because Black history is history, it is world history,” Comissiong said. “It is U.S. history.”

Featured Image: The exterior of the Nyumburu Cultural Center on Feb. 24. Photo by Kendrick Brown.