United Black World Month

The Student Life Center for Belonging and Social Change, in collaboration with various departmental offices and student organizations, annually celebrates United Black World Month (UBWM).

Each year, The Student Life Center for Belonging and Social Change (Formerly known as the Multicultural Center) publishes a University calendar of events to commemorate Black History Month, known to The Ohio State (OSU) community as, United Black World Month (UBWM). This celebration reflects on the experiences and acknowledges the contributions of persons of African descent.

Are you hosting an event for United Black World Month? Let us know! Submit your event, and we'll add it to this calendar!

Calendar of Events February 2023

Center for Belonging and Social Change Events:

UnDesign the Red Line
Date: February 1-15, 2023
Location: Hale Hall

Undesign the Redline is an interactive exhibit that explores the history of structural racism caused by the 1938 redlining maps and how this inequality continues to impact our communities today, focusing on the ways in which we can come together to “undesign” these systems with intentionality.

Systemic challenges today, like inequalities in housing, education, income, criminal justice, and health are far from separate issues. These challenges are rooted in a deep and entangled history of policies, practices, and processes that remain hidden and misunderstood.

Undesign the Redline explores these challenges, reframes them as opportunities, and grounds discussions about race, wealth, opportunity, and power in an honest context that is not about guilt and blame. This allows everyone to contribute value to the design and development of new projects, partnerships, and decisions that seek to transform communities and move beyond the challenging – and often clouded – situation of our entangled past.

The Undesign the Redline exhibit travels nationally to cities, towns, and communities. It has been localized for Columbus by a committee of local experts and historians, and it will be here for the next several months so that we can learn together, activate, and mobilize into a strong “we” capable of transformation. The Exhibit is viewable during regular business hours at the Frank W. Hale Black Cultural Center.

https://www.ywcacolumbus.org/get-involved/attend-an-event/aanda/undesign-the-redline-exhibit/

For more information contact: Charity Martin-King, Social Change Program Director at Martin-King.1@osu.edu

CBSC Student Conference
Date: Saturday, February 4, 2023 10 a.m.- 4 p.m.
Location: Ohio Union
Description: Join us on February 4, 2023 for the Center for Belonging and Social Change Student Conference!
Register NOW at: go.osu.edu/cbscconference

Participate in student led workshops, interactive "power ups", and discussion groups. You don't want to miss this!
Opening Speaker: Dr. Donna Ford, Distinguished Professor in the College of Education and Human Ecology
Lunch Keynote: Roy Hall, OSU Alumnus, Retired NFL, Motivational Speaker & Executive Director of the Driven Foundation
The conference is FREE and participants must have an Ohio State email address. See you there!

Contact: Charity Martin-King at Martin-King.1@osu.edu

Black Lives Matter: A conversation around culture and community in white spaces

Date: February 15, 2023

Location: Ohio Union, Suzanne M. Scharer Room

Time: 3pm-4pm

Description: #BlackLivesMatter was founded in 2013 in response to the acquittal of Trayvon Martin’s murderer. Since then, many movements have occurred throughout the nation to ensure the culture and community of Black people were protected from the inflictions of white supremacy and acts of violence, while creating spaces that celebrate Black imagination, innovation, joy and collective work. This workshop will explore #BlackLivesMatter from a global perspective in connection to how it has impacted the movement and experiences of Black people on OSU’s campus and the local Columbus community. Participants will engage in learning experiences around #BlackLivesMatter and critical conversations that impact how they can continue navigating culture and community within white spaces.

For more information or special accommodations, please contact Seneca Crump.77@osu.edu.

Bounce Back: Self-Care and Community Care (DICE)
Date: Thursday, February 16, 2023, 6 p.m. - 8 p.m.
Location: Barbie Tootle Room, Ohio Union 3rd Floor
Registration: go.osu.edu/ubwmbounceback

Description: Megan Thee Stallion’s song Anxiety has resonated with so many who have had their mental health dismissed, invalidated, and struggle to find the support that they need. Whether you have already started your mental wellness journey or are just starting to get curious, this workshop is for you! We will be centering the black experience to discuss the cultural, societal, and historical barriers to mental health care, the differences between self-soothing, self-care and community care, and how to create sustainable mental health habits in your life. The program structure will include a presentation, small group discussion, and interpersonal interaction. Dinner will be provided and registration is required!

This program will be led by Madison Eagle, Center for Belonging and Social Change, and Dr. Darreon Greer, PhD, Embedded Clinical Therapist with Counseling and Consultation Services.
If you are looking for mental health services and resources please check out ccs.osu.edu.
This workshop is eligible for one DICE credit.
For more information please contact Madison Eagle at eagle.41@osu.edu.

The Language of Food
Date: February 21, 2023, 6 p.m. - 8 p.m.
Location: Ohio Union, Basement Level, Instructional Kitchen

Description: Join The Center for Belonging and Social Change in an evening of cooking and conversation about food. For many of us, food IS our love language, as well as the primary transmitter of our family’s traditions and heritage. Student organizations from across campus will be cooking up cherished family recipes and sharing their stories of love and tradition that surround each dish.

For more information, please contact Indra Leyva Cook at leyvacook.1@osu.edu.

Campus-Wide Events:

Blackballed: The Black and White Politics of Race on America's Campuses
Sponsored by Greek Programming Board and Frank W. Hale Jr. Black Cultural Center
Speaker: Lawrence Ross Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.
Date: February 1, 2023 7:00 pm-8:00 pm
Time: RSVP Here

Disrupt the Culture
Date: February 20th, 2023 8 p.m. – 9 p.m.
Location: Ohio Union, CBSC, Alonso Family Room

Disrupt the Culture is a conversation with college students who identify as or part of a marginalized group; aimed at changing the social context around substance use in a healthy and holistic way. Substance use on college campuses has become a ritual that students often see as an integral part of their higher education experience. Many students come to college with established habits, and the college environment can exacerbate those habits as well. Additionally, 1 in 4 college students report academic consequences from substance use, including missing class, falling behind in class, doing poorly on exams or papers, and receiving lower grades overall. Factors related to college environments are significant indicators of high-risk behavior.

The Student Wellness Center and the Center for Belonging and Social Change hopes to provide context around campus social norms, storytelling, and development of systemic plans to help our campus community change the landscape of substance use on our campus.

This event is hosted by The Student Wellness center. For more information contact Brandon Horton Horton.410@osu.edu

Double and Multi-Voicing Our Lives: An Explorative Writing Workshop
Date: February 23, 2023 12 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Location: Hale Hall 110B

Double-voicing is a technique used to lessen criticism and confrontation in communication. It appears in all areas of life: professional, personal, political. If you’ve found yourself tailoring your speech to reduce the skepticism of your audience, you’ve engaged in double-voicing. Double-voicing is useful in communicating across cultures and genders but can also undermine the clarity and power of your message. Multi-voicing, on the other hand, is a feature of Africana identity that accommodates multiple narratives and perspectives.

Join CSTW's Writing Center for a United Black World Month writing workshop on double and multi-vocality. We will use explorative writing to consider the spaces in our lives where we engage in double and multi-voicing, how it is working for and against us, and ways in which we can confidently communicate in the future.

This event is hosted by The Center for the Study and Teaching of Writing (CSTW). For more information contact Njoki Mwangi mwangi.13@osu.edu

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WANT TO SEE YOUR EVENT HERE?

Our team is excited to accept program submissions for UBWM.

We invite you to join in the University celebration of United Black World Month by sponsoring lectures, programs, or activities that promote student belonging, support, empowerment, education, community outreach and social change. We encourage you to be creative in identifying topics for programs that relate to your particular unit, student organization, or mission.

You can submitt your program proposals for the campus wide calendar by clicking here. We will be updating this caledar througout the month.

Thank you for your contributions to The Ohio State University’s celebration of United Black World Month. If you have any questions or concerns regarding United Black World Month or how your organization can be involved, I invite you to contact us at 614-688-8449 or email Indra Leyva Cook