Black History Month
The Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at the School of Earth, Energy, and Environmental Sciences invites you to learn about and celebrate Black history month.
Black History Month, or African American History Month, began as a weeklong celebration in 1926 as a way to commemorate the contributions of African Americans in the United States. Since 1976, every U.S. president has officially designated the month of February as Black History Month. February was chosen because it coincides with the births of former President Abraham Lincoln and of abolitionist and writer Frederick Douglass.
The Association for the Study of African American Life and History, in collaboration with other federal agencies, including the National Park Service, organizes a nationwide effort to celebrate Black History Month and recommends themes each year. The Black History Month 2021 theme, “Black Family: Representation, Identity, and Diversity”.
However, the recognition of the Black experience needs to be celebrated all year round.
Stanford Earth Black History Month Series:
February 19- Movie night: When the Levees Broke (online live screening). This event is a prelude to the panel on March 1st.
February 23- Coffee Convos: Featuring We Got Next and Scott Briscoe.
February 26- Alumni Panel: Black in the Geosciences event with Chven Mitchell and Dr. Kate Turner.
March 1- Expert Panel: When Race and Place Matter: Climate Justice in an Era of Increased Natural Hazards (Dr. Benjamin Preston [RAND], John Moore III [NOAA], and Amina Ly [Stanford Earth])
Send your questions in advance for any of these events using this link.
Geosciences:
Learn more about the first Black USGS geophysicists.
Check out the National Association of Black Geoscientists and the Black Geoscientists websites.
Follow #BlackLivesMatter, #BlackInSTEM, #BlackinGeoscience, and #BlackGeoscientist.
Additional resources:
The Law Library of Congress has compiled guides to commemorative observations, including a comprehensive inventory of the Public Laws, Presidential Proclamations, and congressional resolutions related to African American History Month.
The National Archives holds a wealth of material documenting the African American experience and highlights these resources online, in programs, and through traditional and social media.
The National Park Service has a great compilation of resources in commemoration of this year’s theme, including videos of the efforts to diversify the outdoors.
The “Talking About Race Web Portal” is a site created and maintained by the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, which includes different digital resources to help understand the experience of many African Americans in the history of this country.