Black History Month 2023

Black History Month

MCLA recognizes and celebrates Black history in February and all year, and we are grateful for the contributions of our Black students, faculty members, and colleagues. The theme for Black History Month 2023 is "Black Resistance". So MCLA will be offering a variety of opportunities for the MCLA community to celebrate Black History Month, share Black stories, learn about the Black experience in America, and explore the many modalities of Black Resistance.

Documentary Series: Fridays at Freel

Every Friday during this Black History Month, we will be featuring a documentary centering black voices and experiences. Films will be shown at 3:00PM every Friday throughout the month in Freel Library.

John Lewis: Get in the Way

John Lewis

February 3rd

The first major documentary biography of civil rights hero, congressional leader and champion for human rights, whose unwavering fight for justice spanned over fifty years.

Horror Noire

Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror

February 10th

After a century of films that exploited, caricatured, sidelined, and finally embraced them, HORROR NOIRE traces a secret history of Black Americans through their connection to the horror film genre. 

A Reckoning in Boston

A Reckoning in Boston

February 17th

A rigorous night course in the humanities at a community center in the Boston neighborhood of Dorchester illuminates the glaring gap between rich and poor, Black and white, in an ostensibly prosperous and progressive city. 

They Are We

They Are We

February 24th

THEY ARE WE is the story of a remarkable reunion, 170 or so years after a family was driven apart by the ravages of the transatlantic slave trade. 

Book Discussions, Trivia, & More!

BHM Trivia

Black History Month Trivia Night

Thursday, February 9th at 6:00PM at Ramuntos (67 Main St, North Adams)

Think you know black history and pop culture? Student Affairs presents a night of excitement for you to test your knowledge! Come join the fun!

LAS BHM

Latin American Society & the Men's and Women's Basketball Teams Celebrate Black History Month

Saturday, February 11th at 4:00PM in Campus Center Gym

Celebrate Black History Month during the Men's and Women's basketball games with Latin American Society!

Kindred

Kindred Book Club Discussion

Wednesday, February 15th at 7:00PM at Bear & Bee Bookshop (28 Holden St, North Adams)

This month, the Bear & Bee Bookshop will be reading and discussing Octavia Butler's Kindred. Discussion will be led by Jenna Sciuto of MCLA. Pick up your copy and join the discussion!

Dinner on MERC Flyer

Dinner on MERC: A Taste of the Caribbean

Thursday, February 16th at 6:00 PM in Murdock 218

Join us for a lovely Caribbean cuisine from BB’s Hot Spot Restaurant, located in Pittsfield Massachusetts

Black Girl Magic Flyer

Black Girl Magic

Friday, February 17th at 2:00PM in The Empowerment Lounge

Come and join Women of Color Initiative, as they discuss the success of historical Black Women and most importantly how they can emulate “Black Girl Magic”.

Recitatif

Recitatif Book Discussion

The book discussion will take place on Tuesday February 28th from 12:00PM to 1:00PM in the Freel Library. 75 free copies of Recitatif are available for those who would like to participate. Copies can be picked up in Freel Library.

Are you looking to connect with others this Black History Month? Do you love reading all kinds of books? If you answered yes, the BHM Book Discussion is for you! 
 
In this 1983 short story—the only short story that author Toni Morrison ever wrote—we meet Twyla and Roberta, who have known each other since they were eight years old and who spent four months together as roommates in St. Bonaventure shelter. Inseparable then, they lose touch as they grow older, only later to find each other again at a diner, a grocery store, and again at a protest. Seemingly at opposite ends of every problem, and at each other’s throats each time they meet, the two women still cannot deny the deep bond their shared experience has forged between them. Another work of genius by this masterly writer, Recitatif keeps Twyla’s and Roberta’s races ambiguous throughout the story. Morrison herself described Recitatif, a story that will keep readers thinking and discussing for years to come, as “an experiment in the removal of all racial codes from a narrative about two characters of different races for whom racial identity is crucial.” We know that one is white, and one is Black, but which is which? And who is right about the race of the woman the girls tormented at the orphanage?