ATHENS, Ohio -- Ohio University celebrates Black History Month with various programs and events throughout February, including two very prominent speakers.

Former chairman, surviving founder and national organizer of the Black Panther Party, Bobby Seale, will be speaking at 7 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 9, at the Baker Center Ballroom. At 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 17, Eleanor Holmes Norton, a nationally recognized civil rights leader and congresswoman from the District of Columbia, will be speaking in the Baker Center Ballroom. Norton is currently serving her seventh term as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives.

In addition, there are conferences and events taking place that commemorate black history. The Sports, Youth and Africa Symposium takes place Feb. 20-21 at Grover Center and features keynote speaker Professor Rose Chepyator-Thomas, a Kenyan Commonwealth Games gold medallist and Olympian. On the same weekend, the National Pan-Hellenic Council will be holding the Nguzo Saba Leadership Conference on Saturday at the Baker Center Ballroom.

An African-American knowledge bowl, a Dove Ball and a tribute to women are also on the list of activities. Weekly discussions at United Campus Ministries regarding diversity and racism will be held throughout the month, and WOUB-TV will air various programs to celebrate black history.

For more information on Black History Month activities, please contact the Office of Multicultural Programs at 593-4027.

List of Black History Events

Saturday, Feb. 7

• Dove Ball
  Time: 8 p.m.-midnight
  Location: Baker University Center Ballroom
  This is a semi-formal dance. $4 wearing white/$5 not wearing white. This event is sponsored by Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc.

Monday, Feb. 9

• Relationship Discussion
  Time: 6-8 p.m.
  Location: Bromley Hall Lounge
  This event is sponsored by Unified Sisters.
  
  
• Bobby Seale
  Time: 7 p.m.
  Location: Baker University Center Ballroom
  This event is sponsored by the Black Student Cultural Programming Board and is free and open to the public.

Tuesday, Feb. 10

• AKAnomic Awareness: Tax Forms & FAFSA "How To" Program
  Time: 7-9:30 p.m.
  Location: Bentley Hall 304
  Financial counselors will explain "how to" correctly complete your taxes and file with your FAFSA s well. This event is sponsored by Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. and it is free and open to the public.
  
  
• Mind, Body & Soul Women's Discussion Group
  Topic: "Hair"
  Time: 7:30 p.m.
  Location: Gordy Hall Multipurpose Room
  Focuses on hair care and the meaning and connection to self. This event is sponsored by the Office of Multicultural Programs.
  
  
• Interact for Change
  Time: 8 p.m.
  Location: Baker Center 327
  An interactive theatre company, "Bridging the Diversity Gap" will creatively engage students and community members in improvisational theater and games where issues such as social justice and diversity will be explored.

Friday, Feb. 13

• Tribute to Women
  Time: 6 p.m.
  Location: Irvine Lecture Hall
  This is a program where Ohio University men show their love and appreciation to the wonderful and beautiful women on campus. This event is sponsored by Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., and is free and open to the public.
  
  
• Midnight Pancake Poetry Lounge
  Time: 10 p.m.
  Location: South Pole (Nelson Down Under)
  Cost: TBA.
  This event is being sponsored by Unified Sisters.
  
  
• Phrozen Pharoah (a pre-Valentine's Day Skate)
  Time: 10 p.m.-1 a.m.
  Location: Bird Arena
  This event is sponsored by the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., and co-sponsored by Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity. The cost is $5 per person.

Tuesday, Feb. 17

• Eleanor Holmes Norton
  Time: 8 p.m.
  Location: Baker University Center Ballroom
  This event is being co-sponsored by the Office of Institutional Equity, United Campus Ministry and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.

Wednesday, Feb. 18

• "Black to the Promised Land" Jewish Film Festival (the 2nd of three films)
  Time: 8 p.m.
  Location: Hillel Foundation House, 21 Mill St.
  What happens when 11 black teenagers from Bedford-Stuyvesant, a tough New York City neighborhood of drugs, guns and graffiti, spend 10 weeks on a quiet Israeli kibbutz? How do these youths with "bad habits and unrecognized potential" adjust to the demands of kibbutz living? All they know about Israel are what they read in the headlines. When their teacher suggests the trip to the kibbutz, they are eager to go.
  
  
• Malcolm X Commemorative
  Time: TBA
  Location: Baker University Center Ballroom

Friday, Feb. 20 - Saturday, Feb. 21

• Sports, Youth & Africa Symposium
  Times: Friday: 3-6:30 p.m. and Saturday, 8 a.m.-5:30 p.m.
  Location: Grover Center, various rooms
  This event is being co-sponsored by The Institute for the African Child, African Student Union and the Sports Administration Program.
  
  
• Sleep Out for the Homeless
  Time: 10 p.m.-2 a.m.
  Location: College Gate
  Members will camp out at the College Gate collecting food, money and clothing for the homeless in Athens. Proceeds will be donated to the Good Works Shelter. This event is being sponsored by Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc.

Saturday, Feb. 21

• Nguzo Saba Leadership Conference
  Time: TBA
  Location: Baker University Center Ballroom
  This event is sponsored by National Pan-Hellenic Council.

Monday, Feb. 22

• Business Etiquette Workshop
  Time: 6-8 p.m.
  Location: Gordy Hall Multipurpose Room
  This event is sponsored by Unified Sisters and is free and open to the public.

Tuesday, Feb. 24

• Mind, Body & Soul Women's Discussion Group
  Topic: "Piecing It All Together"
  Time: 7:30 p.m.
  Location: Gordy Hall Multipurpose Room
  Discusses connecting your mind, body and soul. This event is sponsored by the Office of Multicultural Programs.
  
  
• Women in History
  Time: 7:30-9:30 p.m.
  Location: TBA
  Monologues of two great African American women from the past, Josephine Baker and Sally Hemings. Sponsored by Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.

Friday, Feb. 27

• African-American Knowledge Bowl
  Time: 7-9 p.m.
  Location: New Classroom Building 135
  This is a fun-filled trivia show based on African and African American history. $200 cash prize to the winners! This event is sponsored by the Black Student Cultural Programming Board and admission is free and open to the public.

Saturday, Feb. 28

• Halo Tourney
  Time: 8 a.m.
  Location: Lindley Cultural Center
  This is a video game tournament. It is sponsored by Student African American Brotherhood (SAAB). The cost is $32 per team.

Events through February

• "The Five Senses" Art Exhibit
  Time: Mondays thru Fridays, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
  Location: Lindley Cultural Center Art Gallery Exhibited will be the art of five very talented Ohio University faculty members: Terence Oliver, Gary Kirksey, Robert Peppers, John Butler and Dan Williams.
  
  
• Soup for the Soul: Activists Across the Ages
  Time: Thursdays, noon-1 p.m.
  Location: United Campus Ministries (18 N. College St.)
  
  
• Privilege + Power = Racism: Exploring and Challenging White Privilege
  Time: Thursdays, 4-5 p.m.
  Location: United Campus Ministries
  What is white privilege and how can white students be effective allies for people of color at Ohio University and elsewhere? United Campus Ministries invites students to examine white privilege through group activities, videos, readings and discussion on strategies for ending oppression in our communities.

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Media Contact: Media Specialist George Mauzy, (740) 597-1794 or mauzy@ohio.edu

Related Links:

• Black Students Cultural Programming Board
• Multicultural Programs