Coahoma Community College News February 22, 2019 Students Enlightened on Lesser-Known Black Historians in Black History Program Hosted by English and Foreign Language Department In celebration of the black figures who made remarkable contributions to history, the English and Foreign Language Department, along with the Division of Academic Affairs, hosted a black history program themed 'Black Migrations' in the lecture room of Whiteside Hall. In the first part of the program, 'Migrations to Greatness,' English instructor David Jones spoke on Jean Baptist Pointe du Sable, a trader who was able to fluently speak different languages including Spanish, French and English. He was the first person to settle in the Chicago area. Jones began his presentation by pointing out that the competition number for a 6.2 mile race he ran in Jackson last month was coincidentally 1619, the year when the first black slaves came to America. Before faculty and students gave presentations on black historians, English Department Chair Vera Griffin began the program by reminding them that the first doctor to perform heart surgery was an African American. "We have moved through slavery," Griffin said. "We have moved from plantations to cities...Wherever blacks have been, they have been resourceful." Subtitling the second part of the program 'Migrations from Stereotypes' and the last part 'Migrations to Maturity,' students and personnel alike grasped the audience's attention with readings, poems and short talks. Sophomore pre-nursing major and Miss Coahoma Community College 2018-19 J'Terrica Trotter read a full biography on educator and political advisor Mary McLeod Bethune who founded Bethune-Cookman College in Daytona Beach, Florida. Taylor Harris, who is also a sophomore pre-nursing major, recited a moving poem by Patricia Smith, "What It's Like to Be a Black Girl (for those who aren't)." Rather than insighting the attendees with a reading, English Instructor Wanda Lee lectured the audience on a notable black historian who stands out for her-Ida B. Wells-Barnett, a Holly Springs-born educator and investigative journalist who started her own newspaper that made people across the nation aware of lynchings. Lee pointed out that she and Ida Wells both share the same rhythm of syllables in their names, giving special attention to the fact that Wells refused and actually fought to keep her seat on a train before Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus. Lee quizzed the students on her presentation and awarded $20 to the student who said aloud the most profound answers. After CCC student Jutavian Readus captivated the audience with a Trayvon Martin-inspired reading entitled "The Hood," which depicted the emotions of today's average black teens who may put on the hood of their hoodie and wrongly get profiled as ill-intentioned criminals. A lyricist and insightful speaker Antwane Wallace, who also goes by B.L.A.K. P.O.W.E.A., climaxed the program with a moving, rhythmic talk. Wallace enlightened the crowd on the rich African-American heritage amazingly found in the names of cities and towns in the Mississippi Delta. SANDRA M. PHOENIX HBCU Library Alliance Executive Director Atlanta University Center Robert W. Woodruff Library 111 James P. Brawley Drive SW Atlanta, GA 30314 404-978-2118 (office) 404-702-5854 (cell) http://www.hbculibraries.org/ sphoenix@hbculibraries.org<mailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org<mailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org%3cmailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org>> Honor the ancestors, honor the children. Follow us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hbculibraryalliance1/ and Twitter https://twitter.com/HBCULibAlliance Check out "PULSE!" The HBCU Library Alliance's News Source! - https://hbculibraryalliance.wordpress.com/