In celebration of Black History Month, Mississippi State University’s Holmes Cultural Diversity Center coordinated a variety of events for students to respect, reflect and educate themselves on the history of African-Americans.
There are eight different events in place throughout the entire month, two of which have already occurred. These events are a result of collaborations among HCDC staff members and students.
The HCDC made preparations for the celebration of Black History Month over the last year. With different perspectives and ideas, the HCDC created a range of unique events to appeal to everyone.
A staff member in the Latino community who felt a conversation on the Afro-Latino community would be beneficial to students from varying backgrounds, as well as highlight a community which is often overlooked inspired the Afro-Latino Discussion Panel
Joy Bradford, program coordinator for the Holmes Cultural Diversity Center, said students will find at least one event which sparks their interests because of the amount of events.
Despite the complexity of planning the different events being held, Bradford said HCDC easily shared the load among faculty and different student organizations, such as the Men of Excellence who led the Barber Shop Talk in the Dawg House on Wednesday.
Bradford said she made it important for each event to be of high quality and worth people’s attendance. The largest of these events is the Black Alumni weekend, which will host black MSU alumni, and will be comprised of social and educational events.
In the events which have occurred, Bradford said they have already seen diversity in attendance and they hope the trend continues throughout the rest of the month.
“We are celebrating the history of the African-American community, but even if you are not a part of that community, come on out and celebrate with us,” Bradford said.
President of the Black Student Association Arsemen Brown, senior chemistry student from Madison, Alabama, said they have tailored the BSA meetings this month to include highlights on important and overlooked figures throughout black history.
The BSA is leading an event Feb. 12 called #MATTER in the Fowlkes Auditorium, where students will engage in structured conversations on issues impacting the black community.
While Brown said she is hoping to attend all of the events she can for Black History Month, she said she is most excited about Celebration of Black Art: Back to Black, and the opportunities to learn from it.
“It is really important because it helps showcase the different cultures and where it started,” Brown said. “It shows the progression that African-Americans have made. It’s important for us to be able to reflect and take that in order to be more appreciative of our culture.”
Derrick Anderson, senior mechanical engineering student and President of Kappa Alpha Si, said he and the members of his fraternity are looking forward to the events this month. Kappa Alpha Si is also hosting a black mental health open-panel discussion with different representatives from the city on Feb. 26 in the Dawg House.
While they did not originally intend for this event to be a part of Black History Month, Anderson said things fell into place for the event to happen this month. 
Anderson, a resident of Gulfport, Mississippi, said he knows this month will be a catalyst for important conversations across campus and hopes people take hold of this opportunity.
“We would like for everyone to come out to as many events as they can within this month,” Anderson said. “Race is always an issue to talk about. Cultural divide is always an issue to discuss. We see black history as a month for celebration and conversation.”
Bradford said she hopes to see more students branch out and attend these events this month since these events are not only a time for a celebration, but for personal growth as well.
“Diversify yourself by coming and learning about something different,” Bradford said. “It may make you step outside of your comfort zone, but you will be a better person for it.”