A variety of Penn State student organizations will hold events in celebration of Black History Month throughout February. The list of scheduled activities includes presentations, exhibitions, and book signings.

This year, there will be a whole host of returning and new events held around campus in the name of diversity and inclusion. All of the events currently scheduled for the University Park campus are as follows:

Presentation Featuring Historic and Contemporary Black Designers – All of February

The College of Arts and Architecture will run an ongoing presentation throughout the month of February in the Stuckeman Family Building lobby. The lobby monitor will show a presentation featuring historic and contemporary black designers, including architects, landscape architects, and graphic designers.

Brandi Boatner – Monday, February 3

Penn State’s chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) is hosting diversity advocate Brandi Boatner to speak about diversity and inclusion at 6 p.m. on Monday, February 3 in Sparks 121. She is the social and influencer lead for Global Markets in IBM corporate communications.

African Studies Spring 2020 Seminar Series – Wednesday, February 5

The free seminar will take place on at 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday, February 5 in 319 Walker Building. Yanni Kostonis is a professor of history and Russian and Slavic Studies at New York University. He will present “Black, Greek, and Imperial: The Encounter of Race, Empire, and Nation in the Revolutionary Age, 1790s–1815,” as part of the African Studies Program Spring 2020 Seminar Series.

“Franchise: The Golden Arches in Black America” – Thursday, February 6

This free lecture and book signing, sponsored by the Africana Research Center, is running from 6-7:30 p.m. on Thursday, February 6 in Foster Auditorium. Marcia Chatelain is a Georgetown professor and will host the lecture titled, “Franchise: The Golden Arches in Black America.”

“African Brilliance: A Diplomat’s Sixty Years of Collecting” Exhibition – Saturday, February 8

Beginning Saturday, February 8, the Palmer Museum of Art will display the exhibition by retired U.S. Ambassador Allen C. Davis entitled “African Brilliance: A Diplomat’s Sixty Years of Collecting.” It will showcase more than 80 works from East, Central, and West Africa collected over six decades. The objects presented include carved and decorated wooden sculptures, natural fiber and beaded textiles, metalwork, and ceramic pots that represent household, community and ritual practices.

“Out of Africa: Ethnobotanical Conversations in the Atlantic World” – Wednesday, February 12

This free lecture will take place Wednesday, February 12 at 12:30 p.m. in 319 Walker Building. Robert Voeks is a professor of geography and the environment at California State University. He will present “Out of Africa: Ethnobotanical Conversations in the Atlantic World,” as part of the African Studies Program Spring 2020 Seminar Series.

Douglass Day 2020 – Friday, February 14

Starting at 12 p.m. in the Mann Assembly Room, students can gather to participate in a “transcribe-a-thon” with the papers of Anna Julia Cooper, a visionary Black feminist leader, educator, intellectual and activist. This event is sponsored by Penn State University Libraries, Department of English, Department of African American Studies, and Center for Humanities and Information.

“African Brilliance: A Diplomat’s Sixty Years of Collecting” Lecture – Friday, February 14

William Dewey, associate professor of art history, will present a talk, “African Brilliance: A Diplomat’s Sixty Years of Collecting” at 12:10 p.m. on Friday, February 14 in Palmer Museum of Art. This event is part of the “African Brilliance: A Diplomat’s Sixty Years of Collecting” exhibit.

“Yoruba Masking at the Diasporic Crossroad” – Wednesday, February 19

Professor of African and African Diaspora art Bolaji Campbell will present “Yoruba Masking at the Diasporic Crossroad” at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, February 19 in the Palmer Museum of Art. The presentation will examine four contemporary African diaspora artists — Wole Lagunju, Moyo Okediji, Leonce Raphael Agbodjelou and Nick Cave — who have appropriated Egungun iconography as an abiding symbol of their artistic vision.

Family Day: “Textiles and African Brilliance” – Saturday, February 22

From 12-3 p.m. on February 22 at the Palmer Museum of Art, visitors can explore the woven, embroidered, and beaded textiles in “African Brilliance” and create their own raffia weaving. Attendees can also partake in family-friendly guided tours and art activities designed for all ages. The community ensemble, Roots of Life, will perform at noon.

“Insecurity and its Impacts on Pastoral Systems in the Chad Basin” – Wednesday, February 26

Starting at 12:30 p.m. on February 26 in 319 Walker Building, associate professor of anthropology at Ohio State Mark Moritz will present “Insecurity and its Impacts on Pastoral Systems in the Chad Basin.” This is also a part of the African Studies Program Spring 2020 Seminar Series.

“Race for Profit: How Banks and the Real Estate Industry Undermined Black Homeownership” – Thursday, February 27

This free presentation will start at 6 p.m. in Foster Auditorium and is sponsored by the Africana Research Center. Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor of Princeton University will present a talk on her book, “Race for Profit: How Banks and the Real Estate Industry Undermined Black Homeownership.”