The Office of Equal Opportunity presented a W.E.B. Dubois educational film in honor of Black History Month in the MSC lounge on Feb. 5.
The purpose of the film was to enhance students’ knowledge on the important black figure, W.E.B Dubois, who was the first African-American to receive a Ph.D. from Harvard University. Dubois helped form the National Association of Advancement for Colored People (NAACP), developed the first credited black civil rights newspaper called “The Crisis”, and wrote the first Encyclopedia of Important Africans.
Renee R. Williams, compliance officer of equal opportunity, hosted the showing of the Dubois film. “I try to find black historical documentaries and literary authors to provide knowledge to the students every Friday,” Williams said, “It’s important to learn about historical figures like Dubois because he received a Ph.D. in the 1800s after reconstruction. This shows that back then, black people were not always struggling, students only know of figures like Martin Luther King Jr.”
It was an intimate and educational experience for the students, with black history pins and a Dubois fact book passed out. Facts and a survey were also presented to students to give them more information on Dubois, and to see if they retained any information from the film at the end.
Veronique Cooper, a freshman education major said, “Many students who attend a HBCU don’t know the historical facts behind them, or the people who paved the way for them to get an education like Dubois. The event was very knowledgeable and I gained awareness on why we should learn more about black history.”
Sophomore nutrition major Christine Williams said, “I personally feel like, we, as black students, lack knowledge of the importance of our culture because we don’t know our black history.”