Wilkes University celebrates Black History Month with a variety of lectures and events starting Feb. 3. The events are sponsored by the University’s Division of Global Cultures, Center for Global Education and Diversity, and the Multicultural Student Coalition.
4 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 3: Visualizing Equality Lecture by Dr. Aston Gonzalez
Aston Gonzalez, Ph.D., associate professor of history at Salisbury University and author of Visualizing Equality: African American Rights and Visual Culture in the Nineteenth Century, will deliver a lecture to the Wilkes community on Wednesday, Feb. 3. The event is at 4 p.m. and will be broadcast via Zoom. Gonzalez will speak about African American activists who produced images that advanced campaigns for Black rights before, during and after the Civil War. The lecture is free and open to the public.
Advance registration is required by emailing Debra Archavage at debra.archavage@wilkes.edu. Zoom access will be provided upon registering.
12 noon to 2 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 12: Second Annual Douglass Day Transcribe-a-thon
Members of the Wilkes community will take an active role in preserving Black history when they participate in a nationwide transcribe-a-thon on Friday, Feb. 12 from 12 noon to 2 p.m. The event, which honors both Frederick Douglass Day and Black History Month, will occur via virtually. Participants will use a designated Library of Congress website to access historic documents and type up their contents.
Attendees will transcribe the papers of Mary Church Terrell, a Black activist, educator and writer who helped found the National Association of Colored Women (NACW) and the NAACP. Students, faculty, staff and community members are welcome to transcribe.
Participants must register in advance by emailing Debra Archavage at debra.archavage@wilkes.edu. Details will be provided upon registering.
11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 23: Continuing On the Path to Racial Equity: An event Honoring Martin Luther King, Jr.
Wilkes students, faculty and staff will reflect on the lasting impact of Martin Luther King, Jr. and how his efforts continue to inspire and resonate in 2021. Wilkes alumnus Woodly M. Augustin will provide the keynote address. Augustin graduated from Wilkes in 2018 with a bachelor’s degree in psychology. He was a member of the football team and a two-time captain of the lacrosse team. Augustin continued his education at the University of Scranton where will graduate with his master’s degree in school counseling this May.
Participants must register in advance by contacting Erica Acosta, associate director of diversity initiatives, at erica.acosta@wilkes.edu. Zoom details will be provided upon registering.
