VCU news

By Brian McNeill

Virginia Commonwealth University will honor the African-American experience and achievements in art, culture, history, literature and the sciences throughout February as part of the university's annual Black History Month celebration.

The events, which are coordinated by the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs in the Division of Student Affairs, will include a variety of lectures, forums, performances and other activities, including a weeklong series focusing on diversity in research.

The newly created Diversity Scholars in Research Week, which will be held from Monday, Feb. 23, to Saturday, Feb. 28, will celebrate the diversity of scholarship and research among VCU's undergraduate, graduate and professional students. The week will include an exhibition, panel discussions, workshops, networking opportunities and other activities aimed at highlighting the diversity of scholarship at VCU.

"On Wednesday of [that] week, there will be a poster exhibition allowing students from all areas of study an opportunity to present their work to the university community, and invites individuals not yet engaged in research to learn how their fellow Rams have developed their projects," said Faith A. Wilkerson, assistant director of the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs.

The Diversity Scholars in Research Week is a collaborative effort by the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs, the Department of African American Studies, the University Career Center, the Center on Health Disparities, the University College, the Office of Research and Innovation, the Division for Health Sciences Diversity and the Division of Community Engagement.

Dennis Parker, director of the American Civil Liberties Union's Racial Justice Program, will deliver VCU's 13th annual Black History Month Lecture on Tuesday, Feb. 10.

Parker's lecture, "Still Separate, Still Unequal," will examine educational inequity and how society pushes some children from the education system to the justice system, and will also explore how implicit bias defines the United States in nuanced ways that obstruct progress toward equality.

The talk will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. at the W.E. Singleton Center for the Performing Arts. Doors open at 6:30 p.m., and the lecture will be followed by a reception. Attendance is free, though registration is requested.

The Black History Month Lecture is sponsored by the Friends of VCU Libraries, the Francis M. Foster African-American History Endowment Fund and the School of Education.

Lamman Rucker, an actor known for his roles as T. Marshall Travers on the soap opera "As the World Turns" and as Will Brown on the TBS sitcom "Meet the Browns," will take part in two VCU Black History Month events.

On Monday, Feb. 9, Rucker will participate in a forum and panel discussion with musical artist, activist and Division for Health Sciences Diversity lecturer Yewande Austin that will be titled "Blurred Lines: Race, Gender and Culture at VCU." The event will be held from 5 to 6:30 p.m. in the University Student Commons Theater and is sponsored by the Division for Health Science Diversity and the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs.

Rucker will also take part in a "coffee and conversation" event on Tuesday, Feb. 10, from 2 to 4 p.m. in the University Student Commons Theater.

The celebration will get underway with a Black History Month Kickoff on Monday, Feb. 2, from 1 to 4 p.m. in the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs in Suite 215 of University Student Commons.

For a full list of events, visit http://www.omsa.vcu.edu/docs/15bhm.pdf.

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