The theme of this year’s Black Legacy Month is “Afro-Requiem,” or reclaiming African American culture by showcasing the various ways Blackness is represented through music, food, film, sports, and culture.
A complete list of Black Legacy Month events is offered by the Office of Pluralism and Leadership.
The month-long celebration kicked off Feb. 1 with the opening event, Reclaiming Our Culture, at Collis Common Ground featuring food, music, and presentations by Black student groups on campus.
“The opening ceremony was amazing,” says Zantasia Johnson, Black and Pan African student adviser at OPAL. “We had over 100 people in the room, and you can tell there was excitement to kick off the month. The student planning committee did an amazing job putting together a welcoming and joyful event.”
The student Black Legacy Month planning group described the theme Afro-Requiem as “reclaiming African American culture that has been diluted, disregarded, and stolen for years. We aim to pay homage to the uniqueness of the culture, which encompasses the beliefs, values, and traditions that shape groups of African Americans based on their geographic location and heritage.”
This month’s celebration will include a series of cultural discussions, professional development events, and fun activities.
A children’s field day is planned starting at 3 p.m. on Feb. 8 at Leverone Field House, sponsored by Dartmouth Black Student-Athlete Alliance and the Dartmouth Alliance for Children of Color.
There will be a Black Family Game night on Feb. 11 at 7 p.m. in the Shabazz Mural Room. Dinner will be provided.
On Feb. 13 at 6:30 p.m. in the Nelson A. Rockefeller Center for Public Policy’s Hinman Forum there will be a panel discussion hosted by the Dartmouth Minority Pre-Law Association featuring law school representatives from historically black colleges and universities Howard University, North Carolina Central University, and Southern University Law Center.
On Valentines Day, Feb. 14, starting at 7:30 in Collis Common Ground, Collis After Dark and Black Legacy Month are hosting the formal Black Love Gala. This year’s theme is Casino Night: Gambling for Love.
The Dartmouth chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers will also sponsor an event with American government and commercial services contractor Amentum. The opportunity to meet and talk with Amentum team members starts at 5:30 on Feb. 18. For more information and to register for the event contact National.Society.of.Black.Engineers@dartmouth.edu.
Back by popular demand, there will be a Black hair care event at 6 p.m. on Feb. 19, in the Shabazz Mural Room, co-sponsored by Black Legacy Month and the student group Black Girls Are Magic.
The Black Influence Forum starts at 6 p.m. on Feb. 25 in the Shabazz Mural Room. The forum will raise questions about Black influence on the world, including discussions on culture vultures, cultural commodification, and cultural appropriation.
A discussion titled Overlapping Identities will be held at 5:30 p.m. on Feb. 27 at One Wheelock, providing a space for students and staff to share their insights on the relationship between Black and Latin-Caribbean identities. The goal of the event is to debunk myths and allow participants to observe the coexistence of Latino-Caribbean and Black culture as one.
For a full listing of all the events, visit the BLM calendar page.
This year’s Black Legacy Month student committee was co-chaired by Isaiah Golonka ’25 and Kayla Pena ’27, and included Joshua Abbey ’24, Ajayda Griffith ’26, Esther Ojuolape ’26, Kambrian Winston ’26, Tyler Brown ’26, Azaire Andre ’27, Dainie Neely ’27, Ian Scott ’27, Makayla Charles ’27, Diaw Hane Diop ’27, and Jose Girona ’28.