Black History celebrated at seminar

The Brown Bag Documentaries Series sponsored by Equal Opportunity Compliance Officer Renee Williams gives Prairie View A&M University students the opportunity to celebrate black history in film every Friday in February.

Not only do the series of documentaries shown give students the opportunity to grow intellectually, but they also get the chance to bring lunch and converse with other students. The event's purpose is to educate students in all aspects of African American history through films that highlight real life issues of the black community.

Books pertaining to each documentary are also available to those students who engage in the film and discussion providing those searching to learn a better way to fulfill their desire free of cost.

Williams said: "I don't like the idea of giving out books to students just because you came first or just raffling them off. I want the students to pay attention to the film, ask questions, voice their opinion, and make comments. I want them to walk away taking some valuable piece of history along that they weren't aware of prior to coming to the viewing. We all learn something new every day and this is a great opportunity for students to learn about history, their own history."

The "Alex Haley Documentaries" were most recently shown. The intended outcome was to expose students to the real Alex Haley and not just "the guy who made the movie Roots," which is how many students associate him.

When reflecting Williams said: "Many people only know Alex Haley for his monumental accomplishments. Some of them don't even know Roots was a book first. When the television series first came out in the '70s my whole family was glued to the television screen ready to watch. His impact on the black community was huge. Every time I see the documentaries I learn something different and I'm sure the students did as well."

The documentary spotlighted Alex Haley's work with Playboy, The Autobiography of Malcolm X, and of course, Roots: The Saga of an American Family. Students were enlightened by the information they learned by watching the documentaries.

Junior education major Terri Bass said, "Being 20 years old and just learning about Alex Haley, I felt embarrassed. Not only did he conduct the very first interview for Playboy, but his first book was The Autobiography of Malcolm X in addition to writing Roots, about Kunta Kinte. It was an intriguing opportunity to learn about Alex Haley through the documentaries."