Storytelling prevalent in Black History Month

February 5, 2017

COLLEGE PARK, Md.- As Black History Month begins, communities across the country
are looking for unique opportunities to highlight the stories of their African-American residents.
One such event at the University of Maryland is the Black Monologue Project, on Friday, Feb.
24, at 8 p.m. in Hoff Theater
Going into its eighth year, the event gives students and staff
the chance to share stories and personal experiences as a black
member of the UMD community. Over the course of an hour,
speakers share personal monologues on identity, race, gender, and
more. The event is free and open to the public.
This production is just one of over a dozen events hosted this
February by the Multicultural Involvement & Community Advocacy,
a unit in the Adele H. Stamp Center for Campus life. Senior graphic design major
The theme for this years Black History Month is "The Alexandra Fitch presents at
the event in 2016
Crisis in Black Education," which is described by MICA as Photo Credit: Julia Lerner
celebrating the efforts that are being made to combat the crisis
in Black Education.
The program was started in 2010 by
Hayley Haywood, the then Graduate Coordinator for Black Student Involvement and
Advocacy started the program in 2010. She brought the project over from her previous school,
Clark University.
Its success has gone on to inspire even more Black Monologue events at Colleges like
the University of Virginia.
Other events being held across the USA look to the past for inspiration in the present. In
Indianapolis, Indiana, the Indiana Historical Society is organizing a public reading of 10 letters
written in 1918 by students from IPS School 17, an African-American school, to their teacher
Irven Armstrong, who was drafted and served in World War I.
The event, titled Sincerely, Sgt. Armstrong, gives greater insight into the African-
American community of Indianapolis during World War I.
 The month will also feature movie screenings, discussions, an art show, and culminates
with a formal ball.

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