NWC News Desk

NWC celebrates African American History Month with full slate of events in February

Posted January 20, 2017
By NWC News Desk

Northwest College invites the public to celebrate African American History Month through a variety of events hosted throughout February on the NWC campus.

This year’s lineup begins with a Stothart First Friday Reading on Friday, Feb. 3, beginning at noon in the Hinckley Library.

Named for Rob Stothart, a former associate professor of English who helped launch the NWC Writer’s Series, the readings offer an open mic format in which college and community participants are invited to read their original writing or their interpretation of a favorite author. The February reading will be dedicated to topics with an African American heritage theme.

A book discussion featuring author Michelle Alexander’s “The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness,” will be held Thursday, Feb. 9. Rachel Hanan, an associate professor of English at NWC, will lead the discussion beginning at 6:30 p.m. in NWC’s Intercultural House located at 565 College Drive.

On Sunday, Feb. 12, the public is invited to enjoy a free soul food buffet from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Intercultural House. As a term used to describe cuisine prepared during the period of slavery in the United States, soul food combines traditional African ingredients with elements from the American South.

Dave Patterson, an NWC instructor of criminal justice, will talk about the truths, misconceptions and reform of the criminal justice system as it relates to African Americans in the United States on Thursday, Feb. 16. The program begins at 6 p.m. in the Intercultural House.

NWC's celebration of African American History Month will continue throughout February with a Monday, Feb. 20, program on the evolution of the 12-Bar blues and a Wednesday, Feb. 22, presentation that features the life and accomplishments of Harriet Tubman.

For more information about these and other intercultural activities, follow the “See the full calendar” link in the Upcoming Event box at http://nwc.edu/international.

All events are sponsored by NWC Intercultural Programs and are free to the public.