Editor's note: This article was updated Feb. 2.

February is Black History Month and the University of Delaware community will recognize, engage and discuss achievements and continuing challenges through a series of events. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, some of the events will be virtual.

Experiences of women of color faculty at UD

On Wednesday, Feb. 2, at 9:30 a.m., the UD Honors College, UD ADVANCE and the UD Anti-racism Initiative will present, via Zoom, research findings on the experiences of women of color faculty at UD and have a community discussion on best practices in supporting faculty of color on campus. Rates of turnover for women of color faculty at UD outpace those of their white colleagues and faculty of color perceive their departmental climate as less positive than white faculty. Based on these findings, UD ADVANCE conducted in-depth interviews with 27 women of color faculty at UD to understand their lived experiences on campus and solicit their ideas for how to improve recruitment, retention and advancement of faculty of color. After a brief presentation led by professors Yvette Jackson and Shawn Vican, discussion moderators will open the floor to questions, suggestions and strategies to promote an inclusive campus climate.

Celebrating women’s basketball coach Natasha Adair’s 150th win

On Friday, Feb. 4, at 7 p.m., UD women’s basketball coach Natasha Adair will be honored for having won her 150th game as a head coach. Her accomplishment will be recognized before her team plays against the  College of Charleston at the Bob Carpenter Center. Adair was recently profiled in UD Magazine. Tickets for the game can be purchased via bluehens.com.

Talking African American History: a Student and Community project

On Thursday, Feb. 10, at 4 p.m., the Community Engagement Initiative will host virtually one of its Equity in Action speaker events to discuss an oral history project in which students interviewed 25 African Americans who lived nearby, attended or worked at the University of Delaware between 1960 and 2000. The project was guided by historian and adjunct professor Roger Horowitz. Horowitz worked closely with UD alumna and former community resident Denise Hayman who provided the names and contacts that made the interviews possible. In this event, Horowitz will explain their approach to using oral history to develop a collaborative project between current students and the African American community. Several students and an interviewee are scheduled to participate in the session to share some of the stories recorded in these interviews. Staff members with the UD Library, Museums and Press are processing the interviews and will make them available to the public once that is completed. This event is part of the year-long Equity in Action Speaker Series. Registration is required.

Seventh Annual African American Read-In

The writing of Black American authors wil be celebrated at the seventh annual African American Read-In, scheduled from 6-7:30 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 15. With the theme "The Stories We Tell," this virtual event will emphasize African American short fiction and oral storytelling. Those attending may participate however they feel comfortable--by listening to other readers, by reading poetry or prose by Black American writers or by sharing their own work. Featured presenter will be UD alumna Kim Graham, who will share her storytelling gifts. The free public read-in is sponsored by the Department of English and the Center for Black Culture. Registration is required.

Systemic Racism and Black Survival: A Black History Story with James M. Jones

On Wednesday, Feb. 23, at 3:30 p.m., James M. Jones, Trustees' Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Psychological and Brain Sciences and Black American Studies and director of the Center for the Study of Diversity at UD, will speak with Yvette Jackson, a senior researcher with the UD Advance Institute. The event is scheduled to be held via Zoom and in-person at the Audion on UD’s Science, Technology and Advanced Research (STAR) Campus. Jones, whose research, scholarship and professional service focused on issues of racism and diversity, was honored in 2011 by the American Psychological Association (APA) with the Award for Outstanding Lifetime Contributions to Psychology — the association's highest honor. Jackson is a professor emerita in organic chemistry at the University of the West Indies (UWI), and she served as a vice chancellor for graduate studies at UWI. Jackson joined the UD Advance Institute in September 2017. Registration is required to attend the event via Zoom or in person.

Speaks-Warnock Symposium: Self-Fashioning and the Black Portrait Tradition

On Thursday, Feb. 24, at 5 p.m., UD’s College of Arts and Sciences will host the Speaks-Warnock Symposium: Self-Fashioning and the Black Portrait Tradition, featuring artist Tokie Rome-Taylor in a virtual event. In a statement on her website, Rome-Taylor writes, “I am a photographer, interested in ethnography, identity and representation. My multimedia practice is grounded in the understanding that one’s self perception and sense of belonging in a society begins in childhood.” The panelists for the event are scheduled to be Danielle Bing, graduate student in history; Julie McGee, associate professor of Africana studies and art history; Curtis Small, associate librarian in the special collections and rare book section of UD’s Library, Museums and Press; and TK Smith, a curator and doctoral student in UD’s History of American Civilization program and 2020-21 scholar in UD’s African American Public Humanities Initiative. Registration for the event is required.

Global Leadership Summit: A Career Conference for Black Male College Students

On Friday, Feb. 25, from 10 a.m. to 4:45 p.m., the organization Leaders of the Free World will host a virtual meeting to provide Black male college students with access, information and exposure to service and employment opportunities in global leadership. The event is sponsored by the UD Career Center, UD’s Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics, the Lerner Career Services Center and the New Jersey City University Global Initiatives program. Information about the event is available on the Global Leadership Summit website.