In 1926, African American historian Carter G. Wilson established Negro History Week. The observance took place during the second week of February to include the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. Since then, the commemorative week has grown into a full month dedicated to celebrating Black culture and advocating for the widespread study and teaching of Black history.

Utah Valley University (UVU) observes Black History Month and celebrates the achievements of African Americans and other members of the African diaspora. Black Americans are a fundamental part of United States history and culture, and our Black students are a fundamental part of UVU. Black Wolverines are making strides across campus and our broader community all year long as part of UVU’s diverse student body.

This Black History Month, we hope to highlight the resources, opportunities, and support available for Black students at UVU. We encourage all Wolverines to learn more about Black history and how they can get involved or support our vibrant, active Black student community.

About the African Diaspora Initiative

The African Diaspora Initiative (ADI) was founded in 2020 as part of Multicultural Student Services. ADI seeks to serve as an African-centered home away from home and an oasis for students of diverse African and Black identities.

Our work is rooted in African principles and philosophies, such as ubuntu (South African/Nguni Bantu term for interdependence and recognition of humanity) and the nguzo saba (the seven principles of Kwanzaa developed by Dr. Maulana Karenga). We also recognize our historical and social collaborations with other BIPOC communities.

Our programming includes African-centered celebrations, networking, and leadership development. We seek to ground our work in African and African diaspora realities, philosophies, practices, and language.

 

Get Involved

Black Student Union

The Black Student Union (BSU) at UVU strives to foster a sense of community for Black students. It provides an opportunity for students to express their views concerning current events, academics, culture, arts, and campus life. We envision the Black Student Union to be more than just a club, but a family. Being away from home and family is never easy, so we hope that the Black Student Union can give students an outlet for anything they're dealing with while away in college. Our main focus is on providing a safe space for all Black students of the diaspora.

Although we're starting small, we envision great things for the future. In order to promote a better atmosphere for Black students, we, the Black students of UVU, have created this organization to serve the overall well-being of the black student body in the UVU community. We aim to serve as a voice for Black students and to establish a sense of identity, community, and pride. Black Student Union will focus on bringing our diverse culture to the campus, allowing all students to be exposed to our way of life.

Cultural Envoy Leadership Program

Cultural Envoy is a UVU-sponsored leadership program that validates students' cultures and supports their pathways to completion. As a student in the Cultural Envoy Program, you will learn to navigate and negotiate your experience at UVU, your community, and other critical spaces that you may celebrate as important.

Cultural Envoy has a thriving African diaspora section. The program is open to all students who want to understand and refine facets of their culture, identity, and lived experiences to facilitate their development as scholars, change agents, and stewards of a globally interdependent community.

Multicultural Student Services

Multicultural Student Services strives to teach and provide intentional programs and services that embrace and validate multicultural education; promote opportunities for intercultural learning, exchange, and appreciation; and cultivate an atmosphere of inclusion, diversity, equity, and social change.

We are committed to creating spaces of not only inclusion and diversity but also equity and justice and ensuring that our students, staff, and faculty know that UVU welcomes and incorporates their voices and lived experiences into our campus community.

Explore Black History

At UVU, we honor the rich history that the African diaspora has brought to the education system. Black history is American history, with depth and complexity that are not focused on within mainstream historical narratives. Even as we focus on African Americans in education and culture, it is impossible to include a comprehensive history here. We encourage you to seek out Black history and learn how Black trailblazers have contributed to your interests and field of study.

1865: Increase in historically Black colleges and universities

The first higher education institution dedicated to Black students was Cheyney University of Pennsylvania, founded in 1837. Only a handful of schools primarily served African Americans until the Civil War ended. The number of historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) grew exponentially after 1865.

1868: First African American museum opened

Hampton University, then known as Hampton Agricultural and Industrial School, was founded in 1868 in Virginia. The campus is home to the Hampton University Museum, the oldest museum in the U.S. dedicated to the African diaspora. Today, the museum features art and artifacts that honor a range of diverse cultures and heritages.

1896: Plessy v. Ferguson

Homer Plessy was arrested in 1892 for sitting in a white-only train car in New Orleans. The U.S. Supreme Court decided his case in 1896 in a 7-1 ruling. Plessy v. Ferguson was the landmark case that decided racial segregation laws, also known as Jim Crow laws, were not unconstitutional so long as the facilities for each race were “separate but equal.”

1918: Harlem Renaissance started

In the 1910s, the New York City neighborhood of Harlem had the most concentrated population of Black people in the U.S. as African Americans moved away from the South. African American art, literature, and music flourished during this period, and new political theories and philosophies formed. Prominent figures of the Harlem Renaissance include poet Langston Hughes, jazz singer Billie Holiday, and novelist Zora Neale Hurston.

1926: Negro History Week created

Negro History Week was the precursor to Black History Month and was observed the second week of February. Historian Carter G. Woodson created the observance to advocate for Black history to be treated as a formal field of study and to urge educators to highlight and celebrate African American contributions to education and culture.

1954: Brown v. Board of Education

Brown v. Board was the Supreme Court ruling that overturned Plessy v. Ferguson. Oliver Brown’s daughter was barred from attending the school closest to her home and required to attend a segregated Black school instead. The Browns and 12 other families filed a class action lawsuit against the Topeka Board of Education. The Supreme Court ruled unanimously that “separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.”

1965: Higher Education Act passed

Initially passed in 1965, the Higher Education Act (HEA) provided additional federal funding for higher education institutions. The legislation was amended in 1986 to include a funding stream dedicated to HBCUs.

1976: Black History Month founded

Black educators and students at Kent State University proposed expanding Negro History Week into a month-long observance in 1969. Black History Month spread across the country, both in educational institutions and in Black communities. The observance was recognized by President Gerald Ford during a celebration of the United States Bicentennial, 50 years after Negro History Week was created.

2021: Utah’s first Black History Museum opened

Utah did not have its own Black history museum until 2021. The Utah Black History Museum is currently housed in a repurposed, painted school bus. The traveling exhibit houses images, artifacts, and stories of Black Americans and Utahns.