Administration and Division departments celebrated Black History Month in many ways in 2023 with programming, events, and activities.
UH Campus Store
The University of Houston Campus Store commemorated Black History Month by showcasing Black History Month-themed attire. The UH Campus Store also collected donations to support the work of The Jed Foundation. This non-profit organization health and prevents suicide for teens and young adults.
Additionally, the UH Campus Store promoted books by Black authors, including ‘Between the World and Me’ by Ta-Nehisi Coates, ‘Becoming’ by Michelle Obama, and ‘Nightcrawling’ by Leila Mottley, to name a few.
Houston Public Media
Houston Public Media hosted a month-long Black History Month programming. The station released 1-minute Black History Month vignettes during Morning Edition and All Things Considered.
Featured shows included Fight the Power: How Hip Hop Changed the World, and Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates Jr.
Additionally, during every Saturday in February, HPM featured Black History Month appreciation special programming. These programs included:
- Four Pillars of Rock n Roll-Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Fats Domino, & Bo Diddle
- Four Pillars of Soul-Otis Redding, Mavis Staples, James Brown, & Aretha Franklin
- Marvin Gaye – Writers’ Favorite
- Cruisin’ with Smokey Robinson
On Sunday evenings, HPM aired Black Radio: Telling It Like It Was. A story of radio’s role in the 20th-century transformation of the African American community. Plus, the three landmark speeches by Martin Luther King Jr.
I SEE U with Eddie Robinson also continued to explore cultural identity through the stories of people and places transformed by the effects of long-standing biases and gives a voice to those who have often been unheard.
Eddie guides fascinating conversations with newsmakers who share their personal histories, struggles, and triumphs.
Public Art UHS
In celebration of Black History Month, Public Art UHS highlighted recent acquisitions by renowned Houston-based Black artists, including an early painting by Bert L. Long, Jr., one of the original founders of Project Row Houses; a diptych from UH graduate Jamal Cyrus’s Eroding Witness series, and a textile sculpture from former UH faculty member Kaneem Smith.
Now on permanent display at the UH Law Center John M. O’Quinn Building, these acquisitions further the mission of Public Art UHS to collect and show artworks that are representative of and accessible to the diverse communities that it serves throughout Greater Houston and Southeast Texas.
UH Dining Services
As part of its ongoing cultural series, UH Dining Services hosted a Black History Month celebration on February 23rd. Music and energy echoed from within Moody Towers Dining Commons as students, faculty, and staff enjoyed the evening’s performances from the Mathias Lattin Blues Band, electric violinist Marion Dubose, and the step team, S.W.A.G.G. Boiz.
Students also browsed merchandise at several Black-owned businesses during the indoor Farmer’s Market. Some featured companies included The Bridge Imports, Tsunami Hair Grooming, and Lemonade King, to name a few. Attendees were treated to a dining menu inspired by recipes from the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture’s Sweet Home Café cookbook.
Read more about UH Dining Services Black History Month celebration.