African-American Society celebrates Black History Month

03/04/2015

By Becky Kennedy

Comment Contributor

On Feb. 25, the African-American Society hosted a banquet that was held in the Dunn Conference suites. The event was in honor of Black History Month, and it was hosted by the African-American Society.

The point of the banquet was to learn more about the history and culture of African Americans. The banquet featured speakers, music by African Americans, artwork by African-Americans, poetry, and much more.

According to Bridgewater State University almunus Bruce Wayne Gaines, “I want the students to know that history is alive and well in parents, grandparents, neighbors, church members, teachers, and friends. History doesn’t exist only in a book.”

Similarly, Chelsey Bethea, a senior studying Cultural Anthropology, agreed. She said, “We hope to create a better understanding about how African Americans feel about black history and black history month.”

“We usually have a black history celebration every year because of black history month,” said Melissa El’Saieh, a junior majoring in Biology.

Students that attended the banquet were supportive and glad they made the time to attend. “I’m really liking it. Listening to the speaker,” said Maggie Dovalle, a freshman majoring in Biology. “He’s a BSU alum and he talked about BSU was like during the time he attended. It made us aware how far we’ve gotten as a black community.”

“It’s great. I liked the food, the alums that show their stories, the art… basically everyone coming together. Every time a Black History Month event comes, I want to learn something new,” stated Chris Laguerre, a junior Biology major.

It’s always good to learn something new, and it’s also a great way to maybe make people understand more about African American culture.

Becky Kennedy is a Comment contributor.