Black History Month
During Black History Month, Miami University reflects on more than 400 years of Black history and heritage in our country. Black history is American history, and during this month we foreground conversations about Black representation, identity, and diversity in our nation, and state’s and campus’s history. We honor the history and achievements of African Americans past and present. This heritage month is also an opportunity for the Miami community to assess the work we have accomplished and still have to do. At Miami, we stand in solidarity with all who advocate for transformative change and justice and we declare unequivocally that Black Lives Matter, this and every month. We encourage all Miamians to engage in dialogue and allyship with our campus community organizations such as BSAA, ABFAS, ASU, BWE, NPHC, NABA, NSBE, NBLSA.
University Libraries' Resources
Visit the Miami University Library's Black History Month Resource Guide
Events
Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration
January 16, 2023, 10 a.m.
Presented by: Office of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion, Office of the President, Oxford NAACP, and the City of Oxford.
On behalf of Miami University and the City of Oxford community members, join us for the MLK Day Celebration with special keynote speaker and Western College alumnae Carolyn Jefferson-Jenkins who will present "I Dare You to be the Dream!"
Black Excellence Scholars Series
Wednesday, Feb. 8, Noon to 1:00p.m.
Virtual Event: Click Here to View Event Recording
Passcode to Recording:GMa1wyZ*
Featured Speaker: Rodney Coates, Ph.D.
Title of Talk: Songs of Freedom
Topic: Throughout our history of trials and triumphs, our songs have been of freedom as we plowed the fields of justice and planted the seeds of equality; we sang of a brighter day yet to come. That day is today, as we lift up our eyes to the hills. Our faith, resilience, and determination have brought us a new song of freedom.
Sponsored by: The Office of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion and the Center for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Black Love Panel
Thursday, Feb. 9, Noon to 1:00 p.m.
Virutal Event: Click Here to View Event Recording
Passcode to Recording: wAL!s?9K
This panel will encompass conversations around important topics and dynamics within relationships in the African American/Black community.
Sponsored by: The Office of Student Wellness, the Center for Student Dviersity and Inclusion, the Office of Research and Innovation, the Office of Career Fairs and Special Events, the Farmer School of Business, the Center for Career Exploration and Success, and the Office of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion
Anti-Racism Workshop
Tuesday, Feb. 14, 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
Shriver Bystrom
Anti-racism work requires sustained, proactive education and engagement as well as systemic, intentional efforts at micro-and macro-levels. We will learn about our responsibilities in racial equity and how to prevent racism. We will discuss how to identify racist behaviors both in ourselves and in others and how to counter such behaviors. The workshop will also provide tools and strategies for having conversations around racism and how to prevent, stop, and unlearn racial prejudices. To register please complete this form.
Sponsored by: The Office of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion
Living Interfaith Relationships
Thursday, Feb. 14, Noon to 1:00 p.m.
Virutal Event: Click Here to View Event Recording.
Passcode to Recording: 3x5H%8U!
Join us for a panel discussion on living interfaith relationships. We will be examining the navigation of friendships, colleague relationships, and romantic relationships in relation to our day-to-day lives with an interfaith lens.
Sponsored by: The Office of Student Wellness , META, Global Initiatives, and the Office of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion
Lived Experiences at Miami: Website Unveiling
King Library 320
"Lived Experiences: Race at Miami University" tells the stories of people of color in the Miami University community during its Public Ivy period—from 1970 to the early 2000s. Funded by Miami's Boldly Creative initiative, the interdisciplinary "Lived Experiences" team filmed oral history interviews with former students, faculty members, and staff members of color to document and spotlight their experiences and perspectives.
Now, an all-new website will showcase these stories, along with rich biographical details and related archival materials that illuminate additional context and historical information related to the events, people, and themes the interview subjects discuss.
During this event, members of the "Lived Experiences" team and those who made it possible will discuss the project and give a tour of the website.
Diversity Statement Workshop
Wednesday, Feb. 15, 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Shriver Bystrom
Sponsored by: The Office of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion
Black Excellence Scholars Series
Thursday, Feb. 16, Noon to 1:00p.m.
Virtual Event: Click Here to View Event Recording
Passcode to Recording: X4yLL@eN
Featured Speaker: Kristian Contreras, Ed.M.
Title of Talk: the #NotYourMammyStudy
Topic: We are learning in and laboring for an industry that works tirelessly to keep Black women at its figurative bottom. However, I take heed of Black feminist luminary Audre Lorde’s reminder - we are warriors in our classrooms, conferences, Zoom sessions, office hours, and daily lives.
Sponsored by: The Office of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion and the Center for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Black Excellence Scholars Series
Monday, Feb. 20, Noon to 1:00p.m.
Virtual Event: Click Here to View Event Recording
Passcode to Recording: G7%V$sG9
Featured Speaker: Helane Androne, MAT, Ph.D.
Title of Talk: Black Womanist Speculation: The Legacy Archetype
Topic: In responding to a question about the most important lessons learned by Lauren Olamina in the Parable series, Octavia E. Butler ends her response thus: “She learns to be an activist” (340). I posit this characterization as an archetype found in black womanist scifi/fantasy, using Chela Sandoval's concept of the "methodology of the oppressed," which she offers as a series of technologies exemplified by third world feminist movements. The result, Sandoval suggests, is a hermeneutics of love in the post-modern world.
Sponsored by: The Office of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion and the Center for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Miami Presents: Celebrating Black History Month- Black Alumnae Authors
Tuesday, February 21, 12:00 p.m.
Virtual Event: Register Here
Join the Miami University Alumni Association on Tuesday, February 21 for a conversation with Miami University alumnae authors in celebration of Black History Month. Erika Baty '04 and Nicole Miller '05 will discuss their journey to become an author, their books, and the importance of Black authors.
Erika Baty '04 is an author, website designer, and creator who spends her time as an entrepreneur working on social issues such as diversity, food insecurity, and mental health.
Erika studied Journalism and Mass Communications and Psychology at Miami. She is a member of Delta Sigma Theta’s Zeta Mu chapter and was once the 1st black and 2nd woman pre-law president at Miami University. Erika worked and lived abroad in China for 4 years where she worked in marketing and B2B eCommerce.
She lives between Southern California and Iowa. When she’s not at a book signing events or working with different social organizations, she’s knee-deep eating chocolate while reading recipe books, dreaming about blogging, creating new entrepreneurial ventures, and spending as much time as she can with her one-year-old son, Dean.
Nicole D. Miller '05 is a novelist, freelance writer, tenured blogger, and serial entrepreneur in Cleveland, Ohio. She has been featured in various podcasts, guest blogs, online literary magazines, and television platforms for her writing. She offers assistance with book publishing via her company ND Miller Publishing where she provides aspiring authors with affordable resources to manifest quality content. More can be learned about Nicole at nicoledmiller.com.
The presentation is free to watch online, but registration is required. Please reach out to Seth Seward, sewardsg@miamioh.edu with questions.
Lived Experiences at Miami- Documentary Premiere
Tuesday, Feb. 21, 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Shideler Hall, Auditorium
"Lived Experiences at Miami" tells the stories of people of color in the Miami University community during its Public Ivy period—from 1970 to the early 2000s. Funded by Miami's Boldly Creative initiative, the interdisciplinary "Lived Experiences" team filmed oral history interviews with former students, faculty members, and staff members of color to document and spotlight their experiences and perspectives.
During this event, members of the "Lived Experiences" team will debut a documentary film about the project and host a panel discussion.
Miami Presents: Celebrating Black History Month- Black Alumnae Authors
Wednesday, February 22, 12:00 p.m.
Virtual Event: Register Here
Join the Miami University Alumni Association for a presentation in celebration of Black History Month. This panel discussion will focus on the Lived Experiences Through Storytelling project, a project funded through the university’s Boldly Creative Fund. It is a broad storytelling project that chronicles the history of racial dynamics at Miami University. We will hear from leading faculty and staff on the project:
- Yvette Harris, Professor, Department of Psychology
- Jacqueline Johnson, University Archivist
- Andy Rice, Assistant Professor, Department of Media, Journalism, and Film
- Seth Seward ‘11, Assistant Director of Alumni Relations
- Alia Levar Wegner, Digital Collections Librarian, Assistant Librarian
This project leverages storytelling, interview, and archival methodology to explore the history of different populations at Miami University to better understand our legacy in relation to diversity, equity, and inclusion and to develop a digital website that serves as a public repository of Miami’s rich and diverse history.
The project is designed to engage our students, faculty, staff, and alumni in searching for reflection on the history of Miami and beyond. The ultimate result of the project will be a digital archive of materials and stories focusing on the history of diverse populations at Miami. The project will coordinate ongoing initiatives with an ambitious new effort to collect digitally oral and archival stories of students, alumni, faculty, and staff of color at Miami University. Set in a rich historical context with other artifacts, narratives, and factual information, this broad storytelling project will offer a broadly inclusive and participatory approach to chronicling the history of racial dynamics at Miami University.
The presentation is free to watch online, but registration is required. Please reach out to Seth Seward, sewardsg@miamioh.edu with questions.
Black Excellence Scholars Series
Thursday, Feb. 23, Noon to 1:00p.m.
Virtual Event: Click to Register
Featured Speaker: Morgan Moore, M.Div.
Title of Talk: Caring for Black Women: Bodies, Assault and Trauma-Informed Care
Topic: Within this presentation, I will discuss the archive of assault and how it affects Black Women. I define the archive of assault as the physical assault and social consequences of racism and sexism that Black Women uniquely experience based on their social position because of the intersection of their race and gender. I will then share how the archive of assault affects Black Women, how this shows up in their lived experience and their sexuality, and then indicate why the archive of an assault should influence trauma-informed care.
Sponsored by: The Office of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion and the Center for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Black Excellence Scholars Series
Tuesday, Feb. 28, Noon to 1:00p.m.
Virtual Event: Click to Register
Featured Speaker: Lauren Brassfield
Title of Talk: The Lived Experiences of Black Women Staff at PWIs
Topic: Centering on Black women staff at PWIs, this presentation will provide an overview of the research study Lauren is planning to do for her dissertation.
Sponsored by: The Office of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion and the Center for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion