By Kathy Chouteau
In commemoration of Black History Month during February, the West Contra Costa Unified School District’s (WCCUSD) Office of African American Student Achievement (OAASA) is kicking off a variety of virtual events with the overall theme of “Black Love: Love of Self, of Family, of Community.”
On Tues., Feb. 16 at 6:30 p.m. on Zoom, the WCCUSD’s OAASA will host HBCU students, who will share their perspectives as current and former undergraduates. Among them will be Ameer Hassan Walton, a Hampton graduate and author of “My Historically Black Purpose,” which offers an introduction to the realm of Historically Black Colleges and their unique role in “transforming young black boys and girls into strong black men and women.” Click to access the Zoom.
A few days later on Thurs., Feb. 18 at 6 p.m., HBCU Week speaker Dr. Wendi Williams, dean of education at Mills College, will discuss her role as a black administrator and talk about students pursuing careers in education. (Visit the following event calendar for the Zoom link when it becomes available).
To check out the entire event calendar for Black History Month, including Zoom meeting info, click here.
“Celebrating Black History Month is an important time because this is the ‘official’ month that the contributions of African American/Black persons are celebrated and explored on a deeper level,” said WCCUSD Director of the Office of African American Student Success William McGee.
It “allows for the African diaspora to be highlighted” and “underscores the need of African American/Black people not to be relegated to a month, but to be explored throughout the entire year.”
For more info about the WCCUSD’s Black History Month events, contact OAASA at 510-231-5003 or [email protected]. Learn more about OAASA here.
