Gettysburg College’s celebration of Black History Month, “Love Who You Want: Exploring Sexuality, Gender, and Race from the African American Perspective,” will feature several on-campus events each week in February. The events promote cultural diversity and delve into the rich ethnic heritage of African, African-American, and Caribbean culture.

February 3 – February 9

Kara Walker: Harper’s Pictorial History of the Civil War
Currently showing - March 8, Shmucker Art Gallery
MacArthur Foundation Achievement Award recipient Kara Walker’s suite of lithographs “Harper’s Pictorial History (Annotated),” on loan from the Middlebury College Museum of Art, takes Civil War-era imagery as its subject to question issues of identity, history, sexuality and race, particularly in relation to stereotypes and historical perceptions of African Americans.
Sponsor: Schmucker Art Gallery and the Department of Africana Studies
In part by: The Gettysburg College Sesquicentennial Committee for the Commemoration of the American Civil War and EPACC

Documentary: James Baldwin: The Price of the Ticket
Feb. 6, 6 – 8 p.m., McCreary 101
“James Baldwin: The Price of the Ticket” captures on film the passionate intellect and courageous writing of a man who was born black, impoverished, gay, and gifted.

Voices of Inclusion: A Social Justice Institute
Feb. 8, 4 – 9 p.m. and Feb. 9, 9 a.m. – 9 p.m., Multiple locations
The Social Justice Institute is an intensive, two day learning experience for Gettysburg students to explore personal and group identity, examine today’s societal injustices, and promote social action through civic engagement.
Sponsor: College Life

February 10 – February 16

Dinner & Discussion: Sexuality, Gender, and Race with Aliyya Abdur- Rahman
Feb. 11, 6 – 7:30 p.m., Diaspora House
The event will feature a dinner and informal conversation about the intersections of sexuality, gender, and race in the African American community.
Sponsors: ALLies and the Black Student Union
***CANCELLED- Event will be rescheduled for the week of March 25.

Food for the SOUL
Feb. 12, 5 – 8 p.m., Servo
The Dining Center will create a cross-cultural culinary experience reflecting the African diaspora. West African, Caribbean, and Southern cuisine will be enjoyed along with musical selections from the Gettysburg College Gospel Choir.
Sponsors: Dining Center and the Black Student Union

Lecture: Against the Closet: Black Political Longing and the Exotics of Race with Aliyya Abdur-Rahman
Feb. 12, 6:30 – 8 p.m., Masters 110
Considering genres from the slave narrative to science fiction, “Against the Closet” analyzes African American literary depictions of transgressive sexualities in order to illuminate the ways in which race, politics, and sexuality intersect in the social/racial ordering of United States culture and in the making of African American literature.
Sponsor: College Life
***CANCELLED- Event will be rescheduled for the week of March 25.

Documentary: The Loving Story
Feb. 13, 6 – 8 p.m., McCreary 101
A racially-charged criminal trial and a heart-rending love story converge in this documentary about Richard and Mildred Loving, set during the turbulent Civil Rights era. “Long Way Home: The Loving Story” is a story of love and the struggle for dignity set against a backdrop of historic anti-miscegenation sentiments in the U.S.

Charles Neblett: Singing for Freedom
Feb. 14, 7 – 9 p.m., College Union Building, The Junction
While attending Southern Illinois University in 1960, Charles Neblett and fellow students worked to organize sit-ins and mass marches against the completely segregated city of Cairo, Illinois. In 1962, Charles, one of the founding members of the SNCC Freedom Singers along with Cordell Reagon, Rutha Harris, and Bernice Johnson, Reagon performed music throughout the United States to share the struggle for freedom that was being fought in the South.
Sponsor: Office of Intercultural Advancement

Coffeehouse: Student Showcase and Poet Taalam Acey
Feb. 15, 9 – 10:30 p.m., College Union Building, The Junction
Student poets will display their talents in this evening of spoken word. The featured artist is Taalam Acey. Acey is an independent artist whose work has been featured frequently on TV One and was selected as the original "number one thing you need to know about" on BET's countdown show, "The 5ive." Acey was selected as the initial presenter for the inaugural Baltimore TEDx.
Sponsors: CAB and the Black Student Union

February 17 – February 23

Interference: When Masculinity and Being Gay Collide
Feb. 20, 7 – 8:30 p.m., Masters 110
Wade Davis is a former NFL football player who played for the Tennessee Titans, Washington Redskins and Seattle Seahawks, as well as two different teams within the NFL Europe league. He is also an LGBTQA Surrogate for President Obama. In the role of surrogate he speaks at events on behalf of the President.
Sponsors: Office of Intercultural Advancement, Campus Activities Board, and College Life Division

Carolyn Rouse: African American Muslim Women and Citizenship
Feb. 21, 7 – 9 p.m., College Union Building 260
Carolyn Rouse is a professor of Anthropology and African American Studies at Princeton University.
Sponsor: Mellon Foundation MEIS Grant

Lecture: “Visualizing Emancipation: What did Freedom Look Like?”
Feb. 22, Reception 4:30 – 6 p.m., Lecture 6 p.m., Paul Recital Hall
University Professor and Chair of the Department of Photography and Imaging at the Tisch School of the Arts and Affiliate of Africana Studies, College of the Arts and Sciences, New York University, Deborah Willis will lecture in conjunction with the Kara Walker exhibition “Harper’s Pictorial History of the Civil War” at Schmucker Art Gallery.
Sponsors: Schmucker Art Gallery and the Department of Africana Studies

February 24 – March 2

Emerging Scholars Conference
Feb. 23, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m., College Union Building 26
AFS is pleased to present seven emerging scholars from within the field, specializing in international education, development history, public policy, English, and cultural studies. The guests will be organized into a series of roundtable discussions. Students are invited to participate in dialogues aimed at broadening understanding of the field of Africana Studies. They are encouraged to engage with participating scholars who will highlight the interdisciplinary nature of Africana Studies.
Sponsor: Africana Studies Department

For the LOVE of Music: Dinner and Listening Party of Jazz Greats
Feb. 28, 6 – 8 p.m., Diaspora House
This is a dinner and listening party for those who enjoy good music and good company. This event is free and open to all students.
Sponsors: Diaspora House, Jazz Appreciation Society, and the Black Student Union.

Musselman Library has a main floor book display with titles reflecting the College’s theme for 2013’s Black History Month on sexuality, gender, and race from the African-American perspective. There are also titles selected by English Professor McKinley E. Melton representing some of the outstanding works honoring BHM overall.

Founded in 1832, Gettysburg College is a highly selective four-year residential college of liberal arts and sciences with a strong academic tradition that includes Rhodes Scholars, a Nobel laureate and other distinguished scholars among its alumni. The college enrolls 2,600 undergraduate students and is located on a 200-acre campus adjacent to the Gettysburg National Military Park in Pennsylvania.

Contact: Mike Baker, assistant director of communications, 717.337.6521.