On Tuesday, the Malcolm X Institute of Black Studies presented its annual Black History Month Program in Salter Hall. This year the program, presented by the newest associates of the Institute, focused on “Silent Assassins” in Black History – those who had a profound impact on the progression of equal rights for African-Americans but are not prominently known as figures such as Martin Luther King, Jr. or Malcolm X.
Members of the MXI gave presentations on historical figures who they considered Silent Assassins. Some of those historical figures included former Wabash Professor of History Peter Frederick, John Hope Franklin, and Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm.
Josh Johnson ’11 focused his presentation on the founder of Black History Month, Carter G. Woodson. Woodson was also referred to as the “Father of Black History” and, in 1915, co-founded the Association for the Study of African-American Life and History.
The program was separated into five distinct categories: Wabash Black History, Entertainment Black History, Political Black History, Education Black History, and Sports Black History.
The Wabash portion of the program included the origin of the MXI, which was first known as the Afro House. A re-enactment of the infamous story of how two black Wabash men were threatened with the shaving of their afros during Chapel Sing and told, “we don’t have time to take your needs into consideration,” showed how the idea for the MXI was planted.
The Wabash portion gave gratitude towards one of the co-founders, Professor Peter Frederick, who helped students clean out and renovate an old College house into the first MXI building.
The other categories of the program focused on history-making figures, such as Abebe Bikila, the first African to win a gold medal at the Olympics; Shirley Chisholm, the first African-American woman elected to Congress; and Jane Bolin, the first African-American woman to graduate from Yale Law School.
Not only were presentations given, but Deonte Singfield ’11 and Edward Davis ’10 performed two songs throughout the program, “Wade in the Water” and “Amazing Grace.” Mr. Singfield felt that music was a passionate and personal way to present his opinion on the importance of Black History Month.
“The program was based around building awareness of those figures who aren’t really well-known in African-American history,” Mr. Singfield said. “I thought that expressing myself through music was a unique way to do my part in this program.”
Derrin Shane Slack ’10 also strayed from the conventional speaking presentation and read a poem about the absurdity of oppression and how powerful a black man truly is in this world.
Assistant Professor of English Ravyn Wilson-Bernard had only positive comments about the Black History Month Program.
“It’s nice for a professor to be educated by the students every now and then,” Wilson-Bernard said. “Obviously they showed their dedication and made it relevant for the student body. I love music, so I really enjoyed the a cappella performances because they still have so much relevance and the students did such a great job.”
Associate Chairman of the MXI Charles Goodman ’10 said he wanted to bring a new angle to the annual program by celebrating those who have made large contributions to the efforts of progression in the African-American society, but have gone largely overlooked.
“Typically, with black history programs, you see figures such as Martin Luther King, Jr., Frederick Douglas, and Rosa Parks,” Goodman said. “So, I wanted to make it real memorable by digging dip into the black history fire to find those individuals who made a major contribution to the African-American society by the general public. That’s where the theme for ‘Silent Assassins’ came from – someone who generally goes unnoticed, but has a big effect in the end.”