To best discuss, learn and understand American history, the antiquity of African Americans is an undeniably vital and interwoven piece of the multi-fabric of this country, according to Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s Timothy E. Lewis, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Political Science.
As Black History Month begins in America, SIUE celebrates its annual Black Heritage Month with an opening ceremony at 11:30 a.m. Monday, Feb. 4 in the Morris University Center’s Goshen Lounge. SIUE Chancellor Randy Pembrook will offer remarks, and the featured speaker will be Eugene B. Redmond, PhD, SIUE emeritus professor of English and East St. Louis Poet Laureate.
“Carter G. Woodson first began the national campaign in 1912 to recognize the achievements, history and traditions of African Americans,” said Lewis. “Woodson was one of the first black men to acquire a PhD from Harvard. In 1926, his campaign developed into ‘Negro History Week,’ which aimed at teaching all children and adults about the history of black persons and their contributions to a global society.”
Woodson’s dream was to evolve his campaign into the creation of a national K-12 Black History curriculum that would be taught within mainstream social studies, according to Lewis.
“By the early 1970s, more than 80 percent of schools were celebrating ‘Negro History Week,’ and in 1978 President Richard Nixon expanded and renamed it ‘Black History Month,’” noted Lewis. “Today, there is still no national mandate for a K-12 African American history curriculum. However, 13 states have embraced the vision of Woodson and have required that African American history be taught in K-12 classes.”
“Yet nationwide, only 8-9 percent of total class time is devoted to black history, according to the report, ‘Research into the State of African American History and Culture in K-12 Public Schools,’ conducted by the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC),” cited Lewis. “As a result, most Americans are ignorant of simple facts about black achievements and history. So today, there is still a great need to learn about African American history.”
Throughout SIUE’s Black Heritage Month, some of the committee members will provide the following information regarding black history as it relates to SIUE:
- The History of Black History Month, by Timothy E. Lewis, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Political Science
- Katherine Dunham, renowned dancer, anthropologist, and social activist who founded the Performing Arts Training Center (PATC) at the SIUE East St. Louis Center, by Terra Cole Brown, graduate program advisor, McNair, HBCU and MSI pathway recruitment coordinator in the Office of Graduate and International Admissions
- Emmanuel Eneyo, PhD, one of SIUE’s longstanding black full professors, by Patricia Merritt, media relations specialist in University Marketing and Communications
- Johnetta Haley, SIUE emeritus professor and former administrator, by J.T. Snipes, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Educational Leadership
- Elijah P. Lovejoy, abolitionist from St. Louis for whom SIUE’s library is named, by Rasheda King, SIUE Human Resources officer
- Thelma Mothershed, an SIUE alumna who was also a member of the Little Rock Nine, by Daniel Shields, counselor in the Office of Admissions
- Eugene B. Redmond, SIUE emeritus professor of English and East St. Louis Poet Laureate, by Kelly Jo Karnes, director of the Morris University Center
Photo: Timothy E. Lewis, PhD, SIUE assistant professor in the Department of Political Science.