Carleton’s Black History Month events are in full swing this February, with multiple events aimed at celebrating black culture and encouraging open discussions of race, gender, and equality.
The Carleton University Students’ Association (CUSA) Race, Ethnicity, and Culture (REC) Hall in collaboration with the Womyn’s Centre and the Gender and Sexuality Resource Centre (GSRC) are behind the events this year.
REC Hall volunteer coordinator Kareen Onyeaju said the theme of this month’s events is “It’s lit,” which emphasizes the nature of the month as a celebration.
“We’re live, it’s a celebration,” Onyeaju said. “Blackness is here to stay, and we have every right to celebrate it on campus and internationally.”
She added the theme encompasses what Black History Month should be: is inclusive, educational, and fun, but still able to reach students, while giving students “an idea of what it means to be black and proud on campus.”
The collaboration with various service centers on campus aims to make this year’s Black History Month more inclusive and approachable to a wider variety of audiences, according to Onyeaju.
“We have a wide variety of discussions including black identity and navigating queer spaces,” she said. “There are different types of blackness, and I think we tend to go towards a very pro-masculine type of black identity, but not everyone identifies with that.”
The Womyn’s Centre is also hosting a variety of events in conjunction with the GSRC that tackle gender and race issues. These events are dubbed Black “Herstory” Month, with the center hosting a Fem(me) Talk on Feb. 9 about womanism.
Deborah Owusu-Akyeeah, coordinator of the Womyn’s Centre, led the discussion in front of a crowd of about 30 people at the BECAMPS room in the UniCentre, and discussed the definition and importance of the term womanism.
“Womanism means combating both systematic anti-blackness and systematic misogyny,” Owusu-Akyeeah said.
The term, first coined by African-American writer and poet Alice Walker, strays away from the traditional meaning of feminism and focuses on the oppression felt by women of colour specifically, according to Owusu-Akyeeah.
A reoccurring theme of the event was focusing on the importance of self-love and self-validation. Phrases like “your existence matters” and “my womanism is beautiful” were frequently heard amongst participants.
Owusu-Akyeeah said Black History Month offers students who face specific types of oppression regarding race a place to discuss the various issues that affect them.
“In this institution itself, you’re not going to hear about black knowledge because it was systematically erased,” she said. “Black History Month just gives that outlet for students that are dealing with this one form of oppression to come in and talk about their history.”
The events have been hosted by REC Hall since the centre’s founding in 2002, according to Onyeaju. Carleton student Mawuli Chai founded the centre.
“[Chai] was really looking for a space on campus for people of colour to discuss these issues and find their place on campus,” Onyeaju said. “Since then, [Black History Month] has expanded, every year there has been an increase in attendance and participants.”
Onyeaju encouraged all students to come out to the Black History Month show in the atrium on Feb. 24.
“We’re going to have a variety of performances and it will be the pinnacle of celebrations of black history month,” Onyeaju said. She added she hopes the events have a positive impact on the community.
“I would hope at the end of the day people realize it’s lit, [the month] just encompasses blackness and proudness,” she said. “They don’t have to feel ashamed or feel fear to be proud to be black.”
