2025 Black History Month Looks Back and Takes Joy in the Now
By Rebecca Goldfine
“Every event this month in some way links to wellness and community,” said the program's lead organizer, Jasmine Ross ’14, who is interim director of the Center for Multicultural Life (CML). “They are linked in the sense that to truly settle into wellness, you have to take moments to celebrate, to take moments for joy.”
Buddhism at ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø±¬ÍøÕ¾
During the two days dharma teacher Kaira Jewel Lingo spent on campus at the start of the month, lots of deep, calming breaths were encouraged and taken. She led a , shared a dinner with students, and gave a based on teachings in her book, We Were Made for These Times: 10 Lessons for Moving through Change, Loss, and Disruption.
Her visit, so early in the schedule for Black History Month, was intentional, and set the tone for the remainder of February. “She created a great start and offered a re-grounding for students, staff, and faculty,” said Ross.
One of Lingo’s messages was that in times of uncertainty and unpredictability, there is an opportunity to lean into the change and find what motivates us. She also reminded her audiences that as we move through disruption or challenges, we should always seek out moments of joy and solace, especially in our communities and with the people we love.
“The way in which you take care of yourself is what allows you to take care of others,” Ross said.
Embracing One’s Inner Royalty
A highlight of Black History Month at ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø±¬ÍøÕ¾ is always the Ebony Ball, which falls on February 22 this year. The student organizers chose “royalty” to guide this year’s theme.
“It is a celebration of both the ancestors who came before us who got us to this place, and also the royalty with which we all can walk through life,” Ross said. “Royalty are classy and they have responsibility, and all of our students can and should embody pieces of that.”
Earlier in the day, leading up to the late-night ball, Ross and eight students will be running an eight-hour pop-up “Glam and Glow” salon and barbershop in Ladd. The team will do hair and nails—cutting, trimming, braiding—free of charge for both walk-ins and students who make appointments.
“Hair, beauty, and wellness are all linked to each other, and they're linked with community—the way in which you show up for and communicate with your community,” Ross said.
Historically, Black students at ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø±¬ÍøÕ¾ have found it difficult to find local businesses that know how to work with Black people’s hair, Ross noted. So the pop-up is pragmatic, but it will also be festive, with games, snacks, and raffle prizes—in a basement that “is cozy and gives off barbershop energy.”
“Black history is everyone’s history. It’s a time to celebrate the ancestors who have put in the work that essentially created the foundation that we all get to live on today. Their work is all of our work.â€
—Jasmine Ross, interim director of the Center for Multicultural Life
Building Community
On Saturday, February 8, students from ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø±¬ÍøÕ¾, Bates, and Colby Colleges will gather at Bates for the second annual all-day Black Student Summit.
The summit, reflecting the theme of BHM, will reinforce Black health, wellness, and community. Breakout sessions will look at Black masculinity, preventing burnout, and overcoming imposter syndrome. Alumni and students will speak on panels, and administrators from each of the colleges will spend time answering students’ questions.
On February 11, Black students will also get a chance to join a video chat with members of the Black Alumni Association,which has been developing a new mentorship program for them.
For this introductory meeting, students and alumni will gather online for an event called “Bear Necessities: Pajamas, Self-Care, and Community.” “Whether you are lounging in your favorite pajamas or simply looking for ways to unwind, this event is all about nurturing our minds and spirits,” the association said.
Wellness and Getting a Job
Black History Month this year also includes four events organized in conjunction with Career Exploration and Development (CXD). Ross said she hopes these sessions inspire more of the students she works with to seek out the services of CXD. Some of the students’ hesitation comes from them worrying that they’re behind their peers and haven't filled their resumes with enough prestigious internships and jobs, she said.
The first of the four sessions, on February 6, is called “CXD and CML Careers for the Common Good.” Students will gather with representatives from six Maine companies—including and —that are combining business with the common good. “These are companies that are all doing good work, leaning into issues that address large-scale problems,” Ross said.
On Valentine’s Day, CXD is leading a program called “CXD and CML Career Early Access.” The event will be set up like a game show, to be both enjoyable and informative, Ross said. “CXD will be talking about industries and companies that you need to be thinking about a little earlier in the game, like finance,” she added.
On February 17, CXD and CML will partner again for a session on finding and funding internships.
The final session, which will fall in early March, focuses on jobs available to young graduates with a bachelor’s degree and which pay high entry-level salaries. “It includes jobs like executive assistants or project management,” Ross said. “Things that ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø±¬ÍøÕ¾ students already have the skills for.”
ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø±¬ÍøÕ¾'s Black Alumni Association is also honoring Black History Month. The association's leadership has organized several events, including an online “Fast-Track Speed Networking” event for young alumni February 5.
A virtual happy hour, on February 20, will bring alumni of all ages together for “networking, reminiscing, and celebrating the rich history and contributions of Black ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø±¬ÍøÕ¾ alumni,” said Joycelyn Blizzard, director of ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø±¬ÍøÕ¾ Multicultural Alumni Engagement.
This will be followed by an in-person reception in Washington, DC, on February 25, at Busboys and Poets.
The associaton is also inviting alumni to “take time to reflect on your memories of your undergraduate career at ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø±¬ÍøÕ¾ College, specifically as it relates to ways you and your fellow students acknowledged Black life, history, or culture in the pines.” All will be entered into a drawing for one of four prizes.
Nerding Out with History and Trivia
, on Valentine's Day, is a national event that falls on the self-selected birthday of Frederick Douglass, the American social reformer, orator, abolitionist, writer, and stateman. Ladd House’s living room will be open from noon to 3:00 p.m. for students, staff, and faculty to transcribe Douglass’s work.
“This is an opportunity to add yourself to history,” Ross said, and to engage with Douglass’s writings. “There is space in there to add in how you have benefitted from, engaged with, or learned from his words.”
The calendar blurb promises that “partygoers will help transcribe documents from the African American Perspectives Collection at the Library of Congress. No experience is required: volunteers simply type out the text from a document (such as a newspaper article or letter), preserving the original spelling, grammar, and punctuation. The uploaded documents make historical information more accessible to future students of Black history. This is public history at its best.”
Plus, there will be cake, Ross said.
The evening before, February 13, student members of the Black Student Union, Africa Alliance, Student Organization for Caribbean Awareness—and those who work for CML—will help run a Black History Month trivia night, 7:00 p.m–9:00 p.m. at Jack Magee's Pub.
Finishing Out the Month with Three Bangs
Elizabeth Stordeur Pryor.
, a professor of history at Smith College and daughter of late comedian Richard Pryor, will give a talk February 28 on “why the n-word is so hard to talk about,” despite it being prevalent in both racist and anti-racist documents, art, literature, history, and politics.
This year, too, RISE and TEDx are both included in this year's BHM lineup, because the personal stories shared at these community events often touch on themes of wellness, health, and the experience of Black and minority students, Ross said. TEDx takes place February 27, 3:30 p.m.–5 p.m. in Kresge.
RISE has two performances, on Februay 28 and March 1, at 7:00 p.m. in Kresge. "RISE will close out Black History Month and open up Women's History Month,” Ross said.
So stay tuned!