Pellissippi State celebrates ‘Black History Month’

Feb. 5, 2007

Pellissippi State celebrates ‘Black History Month’

Pellissippi State Technical Community College has numerous activities planned during February for its 18th Annual Black History Month observance. This year’s theme is “Embracing Tradition—Advancing the Cause.” All events are free and open to the public.

At the Pellissippi Campus on Hardin Valley Road, African artifacts will be on display in the Goins Student Lounge Feb. 7, 12:30-1:30 p.m.

Later in the month, “When the Levees Broke,” a four-hour film directed by Spike Lee about Hurricane Katrina, will air in two parts. Part 1 will be Feb. 19 at 10 a.m. and Feb. 20 at 2 p.m. Part 2 will be Feb. 19, 1 p.m., and Feb. 21, 9:30 a.m. All shows will be in the Goins Auditorium.

Feb. 27 at 1 p.m., Pellissippi State’s Active Black Students Association, a student group that promotes minority participation in the planning and implementation of college programs and policies, will give the presentation “Celebrating the Arts” in the Goins Auditorium. A reception will follow in the Goins Student Lounge.

Elizabeth DiGangi, an anthropology instructor at Pellissippi State, will share her reflections and observations on race from an anthropologist’s perspective in the Goins Student Lounge Feb. 28 at noon.

At the Magnolia Avenue Campus, local physician E. V. Davidson will share his experiences as a buffalo soldier and as a doctor to civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. “Buffalo soldiers” is the nickname first given to African-American soldiers who served in the U.S. Army’s 10th Cavalry Regiment, formed in 1866. The last segregated buffalo soldier units were disbanded in 1951. Davidson will speak in the Community Room Feb. 14 at 10:45 a.m.

On Feb. 26, the Praise, Honor and Glory Gospel Choir will perform in the Community Room at Magnolia Avenue at 7 p.m.

Canvas art with the theme “I Have a Dream” will be on display Feb. 5-9 in the Lobby of the Division Street Campus. Students are invited to write on the canvas what the theme means to them. On Feb. 12, 1-2 p.m., a poetry slam will take place in the Student Lounge. Slam poetry is a form of spoken word often performed at a competition—called a “slam”—where poets perform their own work.

Feb. 27, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., a sampling of food from around the world will be available in the Student Lounge at Division Street during an open mic session on “Celebrating Diversity.”

The Caribbean Sounds Steel Band will perform at two campuses, first on Feb. 22, noon-1:30, in the Goins Student Lounge on the Pellissippi Campus, then on Feb. 28, noon-1:30, in the Community Room at the Magnolia Avenue Campus.

Throughout the month, displays will be on exhibit at all three of the campuses, including common foods that originated in Africa and in black American literature. Additionally, African coffee will be served at various times at the Pellissippi, Magnolia Avenue and Division Street campuses.

To learn more about Black History Month events, please contact Gayle Wood at (865) 539-7160 or gwood@pstcc.edu.

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Contact Information:
Julia Wood
Marketing and Communications Director
Pellissippi State Technical Community College
10915 Hardin Valley Road
Knoxville, TN 37933-0990
Phone: (865) 694-6405
Fax: (865) 539-7088
E-mail: jwood@pstcc.edu