Black History Month on Campus

Gabby Lloyd '26 and Marcus Francis '27 at the Dining Services Black History Month event. Credit: Gabriella Licini '23

Between panels, cuisine and performances, the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, along with various clubs and campus partnerships, provided an array of opportunities to recognize and celebrate Black History Month at Marist College. 

The month began with the Edwidge Danticat Author Talk on Feb. 1. By the end of February, Marist put on 14 different events to educate, provide experience and entertain the Marist community. 

“Marist does a good job with not only Black History Month, but every other cultural event that they've tried to celebrate. They try to make it inclusive and bring light to what it really is,” said Gabrielle Lloyd ‘26, secretary of the Black Student Union.

Lloyd worked with the rest of the BSU and Marist Dining Services to organize a night in the dining hall that allowed students to taste dishes in honor of Black History Month. Among the spread was jerk chicken and collard greens.

“The food was good. They used a lot of traditional recipes from Caribbean and African cultures and a recipe from Tabitha Brown’s cookbook, which was a pancake with African food mix and chickpeas,” said Lloyd.

Dining Services set up a table with decorations representing Black History Month and African culture. The display had phrases like ‘Fight like Malcolm X’ and ‘Dream like Martin Luther King Jr.’

In addition, the BSU was asked to assemble a playlist to stream during the event. Lloyd crafted a playlist that included reggae and Caribbean music, which was recommended by the dining staff.

“It was really nice to see the staff come together and have a good time with the residents,” said Lloyd. “It was just a cool experience with everyone there.”

Marist also hosted “A Celebration of Traditional Ghanaian Music,” featuring Nii Okai Aryeetey and Omanye Music and Dance Ensemble on Feb. 21 and 22. This showcase held two workshops teaching participants about Ghanaian music and dance, followed by a performance displaying several drum dance and folk music traditions. 

During the performance, the dance ensemble encouraged students to join them and dance in front of the crowd. 

“Going up there was definitely something fun and out of my comfort zone,” said Paschalyn Cama '25. “I was really fortunate to come to this event, learn something new and interact with new people.

On Feb. 24, a photovoice exhibition honored educators and students of color and their presence in the classroom with speeches and photos in the Lowell Thomas Atrium.

According to the flyer, “The Storied Experiences of Teachers of Color through Photovoice brings together teachers and other educators of color from throughout the New York - New Jersey region to engage around their experiences in P-12 schools.” 

“[The exhibition] brought light to the fact that even the smallest things in the classroom impact the lives of the students because many of them don’t have access to certain things in their homes,” said Lloyd. “It was a very moving exhibit.”

The exhibit featured speakers such as Marcus Francis ‘27, a board member of BSU, who spoke about the importance of having teachers of color act as role models for students.

Throughout the month, the BSU worked with various clubs, including Student Activities, that provided members of the BSU with a Google Form to share their achievements and what they’re interested in to highlight them as students of color on campus. 

“We had a lot of clubs reach out to us to collaborate. Unfortunately, we couldn't do everything just because it's such a busy month for us, but that was definitely noticed and appreciated,” said Lloyd.

Dr. Edward Antonio, vice president of diversity, equity and inclusion, also worked with groups on campus that asked them to work together to create events to honor Black History Month.  

Despite this, Antonio said he was not completely satisfied with the turnout at some of the events. 

“We have an issue at Marist when it comes to supporting these events through active participation. We do not have a strong culture of engagement and participation. I think that’s because everyone is busy,” said Antonio. “Given the size of the college, the attendance at some of the events could have been better.”

Antonio said the Office of DEI is developing better ways to make the events more attractive to students, faculty and staff. For example, actively trying to engage professors so that they encourage their students to attend events by promoting the educational value of activities and DEI programs.

“We need to change the culture to one that encourages community-wide participation in DEI events,” said Antonio.

According to Antonio, the LGBTQIA community has been very active in hosting various programs and is another important example of the DEI work happening at Marist.

“I know that we have a strong community on campus among students, faculty and staff, so we need to find a way of making sure that we are relevant to their needs and wants,” said Antonio. “If we are all engaged and participate in this work as we should, we will accomplish our goals.”