Western Illinois University will celebrate Black History Month throughout February, with a variety of activities, speakers and events planned. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the events vary from virtual to in person. The Black History Month schedule for the remainder of the month includes: • Tuesday, Feb. 9 – 9-11 a.m. – Free breakfast from the Black Student Association (BSA): The BSA will honor the Black Panther Party’s revolutionary, free breakfast program, an idea later adopted by the federal and state government as a way to help children. Breakfast baggies will include apples,... Read More

As part of the 2021 celebration of Black History Month at Western Illinois University, University of Missouri-Columbia Associate Professor Keona Ervin will deliver the keynote address, “Reimagining Liberation: Black Feminism from the Combahee River Collective to the Movement for Black Lives,” virtually from 6-7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 2. The address will provide an overview of the organizing work of radical Black feminists from the 1970s to present. It will include a discussion of the ways Black feminism has uniquely shaped and critiqued movements for social democracy. The virtual address... Read More