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'NOMMO: The Power of the Word' is the theme of observances at WVU
February is Black History Month
February is national Black History Month, and West Virginia University’s Center for Black Culture is getting the word out by embracing the word.
“NOMMO: The Power of the Word” is the theme of the campus observances that begin Feb. 1 and run through the month, said Todd McFadden, the CBC’s acting director.
Whether the words cited come in the form of literature, poetry or drama, McFadden said they all have one interwoven theme: they all examine and empower the black experience, both from generations past and into the 21st century.
That’s where the month’s theme comes in, McFadden said.
“The ‘nommo’ are ancestral spirits from African mythology that oversee and creatively nourish the Dogon tribe of Mali,” he said. “We think that’s pretty appropriate, considering the guests who are highlighting our events.”
Scheduled to appear are three internationally acclaimed writers and thinkers who will share their words with WVU.
Askia Toure, the poet, activist and Africana Studies pioneer will take part in “The Black Light Lounge,” the week’s traditional celebration of urban poetry at 7 p.m. Feb. 6 at the Erickson Alumni Lounge.
In 1967, Toure was on the faculty of San Francisco State University with fellow Africana Studies pioneers Amiri Baraka and Sonia Sanchez. He was the co-author of the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee’s “Black Power Position Paper” that repositioned the Civil Rights Movement as it received major coverage in American media, especially The New York Times.
Toure will participate in “An Intergenerational Poetic Conservation” that evening with Marc Marcel, a poet, author and performer who is one of the leading lights of the “Spoken Word” movement. Marcel has delivered his raps and rhymes across the United States and in London, Munich and Prague.
On Feb. 15, acclaimed author Omar Tyree will read from his works and answer audience questions in “An Evening with Omar Tyree” at 7 p.m. in the Mountainlair’s Rhododendron Room.
While studying pharmacy at the University of Pittsburgh, the Philadelphia native was able to enroll under a challenge grant and discovered writing. He had become so marked, in fact, that a journal from his first year at Pitt, “The Diary of a Freshman,” was published in a promotional pamphlet from the school’s minority counseling department.
He soon transferred to Washington, D.C.’s Howard University, and after graduation in 1991, began his career as a reporter, assistant editor and sometimes-account sales representative at the Capitol Spotlight, a weekly newspaper serving the district.
The quick success of two small novels, “Colored, on White Campus” and “FLYY-GIRL” made it possible for him to work full-time as a book author by 1993.
Since then, he’s been featured in The Washington Post and on the BBC, and he was most recently honored for his entrepreneurial spirit and leadership by Multicultural Youth Incorporation, of Washington.
Here’s the current lineup of events. Others are still being finalized.
- Feb. 1 – Brown Bag Film and Discussion: “Racial Authenticity and Cultural Immersion in Spike Lee’s ‘Drop Squad,’” Todd McFadden, noon, Shenandoah Room, Mountainlair Student Union.
- Feb. 6 – The Black Light Lounge: An evening of urban poetry hosted by the CBC Urban Word Poets, featuring open mic poetry, music, food and Marcel- Toure dialogue, 7 p.m., Erickson Alumni Lounge.
- Feb. 15 – “An Evening with Omar Tyree,” WVU’s Black Student Union hosts the novelist at 7 p.m. in the Mountainlair Rhododendron Room.
- Feb. 21 – “Dr. Goddess.” Dr. Kimberly Ellis becomes her alter ego, “Dr. Goddess,” in her one-woman show from 7-9 p.m. at the Towers Gold Ballroom.
- Feb. 28 – African-American Read-In, traditional read-aloud event sponsored by Sigma Tau Delta, the English Honorary Society, 6-8 p.m., Laurel Room, WVU Mountainlair.
Black History Month was founded in 1926 by Dr. Carter G. Woodson, the black educator, activist and son of slaves who dug his way from the West Virginia coal mines to the Ivy League, where he earned a Ph.D. from Harvard.
For more information on events at WVU, call the CBC at 293-7029.
Center for Black Culture
Office: (304) 293-7029