02/15/08
True love and Founder’s Day aren’t the only big celebrations February has to offer.
This month is Black History Month, and members of Mungano, Baker’s multicultural organization, have festivities in which everyone can get involved.
Mungano President Nicole Baumgartner said the organization held a black history trivia night Monday and also had its annual poetry night Feb. 7. The event was to encourage people to celebrate Black History Month.
“(You can share) whatever you would like to come out and share with the campus,” Baumgartner said.
The poems’ topics ranged from roots and fears, to love and racism.
Some chose to read poems they wrote, and others read inspirational poems by others. Junior Jessica Beckem read both her own poem and Maya Angelou’s “Million Man March.”
“It’s really inspirational, and it describes some of the struggles that African-Americans have been through,” she said.
Beckem said poetry is a good way to show feeling and emotion, and that any poetry is inspirational. She thinks this is why it’s important to include poetry in Black History Month celebrations.
“Literature and art was one thing that really opened doors for African-Americans,” she said.
Baumgartner said other activities this month will include a night of slam poetry next Friday, a trip to the Jazz History Museum and an Ethiopian restaurant Feb. 23, Mungano’s annual soul food dinner Feb. 24 and a movie festival in Harter Union Feb. 25-29.
Sophomore Shontelle Dixon said slam poetry is a performance of poetry, usually about social issues.
Baumgartner said the soul food dinner would include a traditional African-American dinner and a jazz band.
Sophomore Di-Tu Dissassa said she is looking forward to going to the Ethiopian restaurant, not only because it will be a cultural learning experience, but because she has Ethiopian heritage.
Beckem said she would like to see a lot of people come to the events because they are good learning experiences.
“Every day of that weekend is going to be fun,” she said.
Dissassa said she thinks everyone on campus should participate in Mungano at least once while they attend Baker. She said it is about becoming educated about and accepting differences in culture.
“A lot of people think they know a lot about different cultures, but they don’t until they really experience it,” Dissassa said.
Baumgartner said some people don’t know a lot about black history and believes Mungano’s activities can be used as an educational tool.
“You get a firsthand experience of the culture,” she said.