By Kelly McMahon

In the first week of Black History Month, I went back to a 1993 edition of The Villanovan to learn how the campus community honored Black History Month in the past.

One of the largest events of the ’93 Black History Month celebrations included a presentation by black feminist author, documentary maker, professor, and social activist Toni Cade Bambara. According to The Villanovan, “the presentation will concentrate on black women in the creation of literary and cinematic texts.” If you’re interested in learning more about Bambara, click here to find some of her works in the Library’s collection.

Additionally, the article reports that “for the first time in history,” Black History Month included student presentations. The reporter focused on a student series on the historical functions of rap music in American society, including a discussion of female rappers and “hardcore rap.”

In this article, the reporter observes that there has “been a transition” on campus, from celebrating MLK Day to “the emergence of an entire month dedicated to black history.”

Want to know more about this year’s Black History Month? Check out the calendar of events.

Kelly McMahon CLAS ’22 is a student assistant in the Communication and Marketing department at Falvey.