As the shortest month of the year comes to a close, the upliftment of Black history should not. February is designated to be Black History Month and the celebration and education of Black culture should be year round.
NIU hosted a plethora of events, presentations and workshops throughout this month that focused on the importance of Black heritage while also being centered on the 2025 theme of Black History Month: African Americans and Labor.
“I think Black History Month is a great way for the Black community to be represented. We’re so multifaceted,” said Dejah Marshall, a senior psychology major. “We do art, graphic design, painting, biochemistry, we’re so intricate, and I feel like this is the perfect opportunity to really display Black talent on campus.”
All Black History Month events could be found on the Center for Black Studies’ website and on NIU’s event calendar. The Center for Black Studies hosted an event almost every day.
As well as having events celebrating Black Heritage Month, several centers and departments across campus did other things that informed students about what’s going on. For example, the Asian American Resource Center did a poster in celebration of Black History Month.
“It’s being able to capture it in a place where it’s recognized,” said Carol Sumner, vice president for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, on effectively celebrating Black History Month. “That’s the work that we need to keep doing, is being able to show the scope, because a lot is happening, it’s just not always on the calendar.”
In 2024, NIU did a better job at promoting their Black Heritage Month events on their events calendar, helping students see them more clearly without having to go to the Center for Black Studies’ website to do so.
When looking at how other universities in Illinois promoted their Black History Month events, such as the University of Illinois-Springfield, UIS lacked promotion for the events the school had to offer.
Celebrating Black history and culture at the collegiate level is crucial and special because students are surrounded by people of all different backgrounds every day. These events are free and should be taken advantage of by students.
“It’s one of the rare windows when we can see across generations and status. The same topic through different lenses and the same topic where it comes together in a very consistent way of celebrating,” Sumner said.
Sumner expressed the university’s goals are engaging all students and departments across the university in celebrating Black heritage in every month and in every aspect.
“That’s always been our approach is to make sure, yes, we’re bringing emphasis to a theme in a month, but that it is through the course of the year and can mean many different things,” she said. “Not just the historical frame but how are we going about celebrating career opportunities? How are we going about promoting mental health? We do celebrate Black History Month and every heritage month.”
