CSUN to Celebrate Black History Month

African dancers, poetry readings, a hip-hop music contest and visits from African American educators will be among the activities scheduled at Cal State Northridge in February to celebrate Black History Month.

More than 40 events will be held this month, said Marcee McAfee-Clark, a graduate student who works for the Pan African studies department, which planned the celebration.

“We started working on this in October,” McAfee-Clark said. “It’s going to be one of the biggest Black History Month celebrations ever on this campus.

“We have students from a lot of different backgrounds at CSUN and many don’t know very much about black history. We tried to tailor our events to appeal to all types of people.”

The events began Thursday with U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles) discussing the alleged connection between CIA-supported Nicaraguan Contra rebels and the spread of crack cocaine in Los Angeles.

At 6:30 tonight, Dr. Maulana Karenga, a Cal State Long Beach black studies professor and the creator of the African American holiday Kwanzaa, will speak at the Shoshone Room in the Satellite Student Union.

On Thursday, John Mack, director of the Los Angeles Urban League, and CSUN Pan African studies professor James Dennis) will debate “Desegregation vs. Separation.”

Other upcoming events include a night of poetry and jazz on Friday and a visit by W.E.B. Dubois biographer and Pulitzer Prize winner David L. Lewis on Feb. 14.

For a complete list of Black History Month activities, call the Pan African studies department at (818) 677-3311 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.