February 2007

Thursday, February 1
Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration
Remember... the Journey, Celebrate... the Spirit of King, Act...on His Legacy

Read-In 10:30 a.m.
Johnson Center, Robeson Room, 240A
Join an open discussion about Martin Luther King Jr.'s life and work facilitated by Marilyn Mobley, Rutledge Dennis, and Richard Rubenstein. This year's book selection is Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community? by Dr. King.

Symbolic Unity March 1:30 p.m.
George Mason statue to the Johnson Center, Dewberry Hall

Main Program
1:30-2:45 p.m., Johnson Center, Dewberry Hall
Guest moderator: Maureen Bunyan, newsanchor for television station ABC7.
Featured Mason panelists: Hazel McFerson, Richard Rubenstein, Solomon Wondimu, and Shaoxian Yu
Musical selections by the Anointed Voices of Unity, Mason's gospel choir, and Patricia Miller, professor and international operatic artist.

Martin Luther King Jr. and Black History Month Book Display - Campus Bookstore Display Table and Window
Sponsored by the Office of Diversity Programs and Studies (ODPS), University Life, and the Martin Luther King Jr. Planning Committee.

 

Thursday, February 1
Cuisine of the African Diaspora

Soul Food Dinner, Ciao Hall
Meal Plan, Mason Money, and discounts for faculty and staff. Sponsored by ODPS and Sodexho.

 

Friday, February 2
Provost and University Life Tea (invitation only)

1 p.m., Mason Hall
This dialogue with student leaders will focus on African and African American student affairs at Mason. Provost Peter Stearns and Vice President of University Life Sandra Hubler will facilitate the discussion. Sponsored by the Provost's Office, University Life, and ODPS.

 

Tuesday, February 6
ASA Refugee Youth Speak Out

4-6 p.m., SUB II Ballroom
Children Affected by War: Transcending Victimhood to Active Peace Building with featured guests: Chief peace mediator for Uganda, Betty Bigombe, internationally acclaimed child reights activist Kimmie Weeks, Grace Akello, John Leek, and Mason's Monique Bagirimvano. Sponsored by the African Student Association.

NAACP Lecture Series
Financial Management Workshop

6 p.m., Johnson Center, Robeson Room, 240A
Sponsored by the George Mason University Chapter of the NAACP (that's us!).

 

Thursday, February 8
National Coalition Building Institute (NCBI) Training

2-5 p.m., SUB II, Rooms 5-6
Join us to inderstand the personal impact of discrimination through storytelling, claim pride in our group identities, identify and heal from internalized oppression, recognize misinformation we've learned about various groups, and celebrate our similarities and differences. Contact the Multicultural Research and Resource Center (MRRC).

 

Friday, February 9
Guided Tour of the National Great Blacks in Wax Museum in Baltimore, Maryland

Noon-4:30 p.m.
Admission is $8 with student ID. Sponsored by IMPACT Movement Ministries.

 

Saturday, February 10
Developing Future Leaders: Our Passport to Success

Noon-5 p.m., Johnson Center, Assembly Rooms E, D, and C
This half-day student leadership training conference will prepare student leaders to effectively guide their organizations toward success. Workshops will include strategies for managing daily operations, as well as opportunities to discuss long-term needs. Contact the MRRC at 703-993-4003 to register. Sponsored by the MRRC.

 

Sunday, February 11
Harlem Night: A Tribute to the Harlem Renaissance

6 p.m., Johnson Center, Bistro
Come out and celebrate the many achievements and contributions of black Americans to the arts when the we personally honor the Harlem Renaissance. Sponsored by the George Mason University Chapter of the NAACP (that's us!)

 

Tuesday, February 13
Annual W.E.B. DuBois Lecture and Dennis/Weathers Award Program

10:30 a.m., Harris Theatre
Frank Harold Wilson, a sociologist from the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee, will present the keynote address. His areas of speciality include gentrification, community life, music, and sports. Sponsored by African American Studies.

Cuisine of the African Diaspora
Southern Food Lunch, Ciao Hall

Meal Plan, Mason Money, and discounts for faculty and staff. Sponsored by ODPS and Sodexho.

NAACP Lecture Series
Higher Education: The Graduate School Process
6 p.m., Johnson Center, Robeson Room, 240A

Sponsored by the George Mason University Chapter of the NAACP (that's us!)

 

Thursday, February 15
Film: Catch a Fire

6 and 9 p.m., Johnson Center, Cinema
Sponsored by the Program Board Film Club and JC/UL Programs.

 

Friday, February 16
Performance: The Drum Beat for Freedom: A Celebration of African American Art, Culture, and Music (Annual Collaboration between African American Studies and the Department of Music)

8 p.m., Center for the Arts, Concert Hall
Featuring the 2007 Black History Month keynote spreaker Bernice Johnson Reagon. Other guests include the Duke Ellington School of the Arts Choir and Mason faculty and students. Spondored by the Department of Music, African American Studies, University Life, ODPS, and the Provost's Office.

 

Sunday, February 18
Soweto Gospel Choir

4 p.m., Center for the Arts, Concert Hall
This riveting 26-member choir has the rare ability to transcend cultural boundries and connect with diverse audiences through their music. Tickets: $38, $30, $19. Reception to follow. Resception sponsored by the African Student Association.

 

Tuesday, February 20
NAACP Lecture Series
Darfur: The Struggle Continues

6 p.m., Johnson Center, Robeson Room, 240A
Sponsored by the George Mason University Chapter of the NAACP (that's us!)

New Orleans and Gulf Coast Multimedia Forum Celebrating CommUnity/Undoing Oppressions
7-9 p.m., President's Park, Media Room

Facilitated by Doug Calvin. Sponsored by the MRRC and Mason's Youth Leadership Support Network.

 

Wednesday, February 21
Vanadium Poisoning in South Africa: A Global Call to the Beloved Community

African American Studies Scholar-in-Residence Program
1 p.m., Johnson Center, Robeson Room, 240A

The 2007 Scholar-in-Residence is Marsha Coleman-Adebayo, known as the Mother of the First Civil Rights Law of the 21st Century. Coleman-Adebayo will deliver a series of three stimulating and informative lectures during the spring semester (2/21, 3/28, 4/18). Sponsored by African American Studies.

 

Thursday, February 22
Cuisine of the African Diaspora

Caribbean Dinner, Ciao Hall
Meal Plan, Mason Money, and discounts for faculty and staff. Sponsored by ODPS and Sodexho.

Performance: Platanos and Collard Greens
7 p.m., Johnson Center, Dewberry Hall

Between the Lines Production Company presents "Platanos and Collard Greens," based on David Lamb's book "Do Platanos Go Wit' Collard Greens?" It is an intellectual, romantic comedy that examines stereotypes and cultural differences and similarities between Blacks and Latinos. Sponsored by the Black Student Alliance and Hispanic Student Association.

 

Friday, February 23
Conference on Africa

8:30 a.m.-4 p.m., Room 244, Original Building, Arlington Campus
The Africa Working Group of the Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution (ICAR) presents a highly interactive one-day conference on the changing face of peacekeeping in Africa. To preregister, please RSVP to awg@gmu.edu. Sponsored by ICAR.

Safe Zone Training
9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Johnson Center, Robeson Room 240A

This seminar is designed to train faculty and/or students to be effective allies to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transvestite, and questioning community at Mason. Contact ODPS at 703-993-2700 to register. Sponsored by ODPS.

Comedian: Rene Hicks
9 p.m. Johnson Center, Bistro

Rene Hicks has performed in countless clubs and at more than 500 colleges and universities across the United States and internationally. The first African American woman ever nominated for an American Comedy Award for "Best Female Stand-up", her many TV appearances include "Comedy Central" and "Politically Incorrect". Sponsored by the Program Board.

 

Monday, February 26
Cuisine of the African Diaspora

African Lunch, Ciao Hall
Meal Plan, Mason Money, and discounts for faculty and staff. Sponsored by ODPS and Sodexho.

 

Tuesday, February 27
NAACP Lecture Series
Where Do We Go from Here: The State of Peoples of the African Diaspora

6 p.m., Johnson Center, Robeson Room, 240A
Sponsored by the George Mason Chapter of the NAACP (that's us!)