News & Events

UNC Asheville Celebrates Black History Month with a Variety of Programs

January 26, 2010

UNC Asheville will celebrate Black History Month throughout February with a host of special events. Among the highlights will be a Step Show featuring groups from across the Southeast and a lecture by African American deaf-educator Lindsay Dunn.

The full schedule of events is as follows:

Lindsay Dunn will present his lecture, “The Deaf Community in the 21st Century: An African American Experience” from 12:20-1:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 4, in UNC Asheville’s Highsmith University Union, room 221. Dunn grew up in South Africa, where he attended the Dominican School for the Deaf. He later attended Gallaudet University, the only university in the United States that uses American Sign Language as the principle form of communication. Dunn is now a lecturer at Gallaudet, teaching courses that provide an in-depth knowledge and understanding of deaf people of African ancestry in Africa and the African Diaspora.

“Natural Woman,” a documentary exploring the psychological attitudes that occur when African American women decide to wear their hair naturally, will be shown at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 16, in UNC Asheville’s Highsmith University Union Grotto. A panel discussion with film director Cindy Hurst and noted author and Tuskegee University professor of philosophy Darryl Scriven will follow.

Affrilachian poet Frank X Walker will give a reading at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 17, in UNC Asheville’s Humanities Lecture Hall. Walker, a native of Danville, Ky., has lectured, conducted workshops, read poetry and exhibited at more than 300 national conferences and universities. Walker coined the term “Affrilachian,” which refers to an African-American who lives in Appalachia, and is a founding member of the Affrilachian Poets. He is the author four poetry collections, including “When Winter Come: the Ascension of York,” “Black Box,” “Buffalo Dance: the Journey of York” and “Affrilachia.” Walker is also the editor and publisher of “PLUCK!” the Journal of Affrilachian Art & Culture.

Step groups from across the Southeast will take center stage at 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 27, at the Crowne Plaza Tennis & Golf Resort Asheville, for the Black Student Association’s “Step It Out 2010: Go Hard or Go Home!” Step shows, popularized by historically black fraternities, feature high-energy synchronized dance routines, comprising elements of African dances and military exhibition drills. Admission is $5 at the door.

For more information, contact the UNC Asheville Intercultural Center at 828/258-7671.