The Bountiful Significance and Beauty of the Black Experience
by Victoria Clementino
The month of February is a collection of days that is meant to ignite a strong, collective pulse toward the souls of the black community. Cape Cod Community College’s (4Cs) Asher Hamilton, the Student Engagement Coordinator, has felt that the annual surge of love among the intricacy and resilience of black heritage is more significant this year; it has also expanded through recent tragedies. After the disheartening events of 2020 transpired, students have felt this black history month deserves more recognition and a stronger presence, which should not be forestalled as in former years. “Is black history only about one month out of the year?” said Hamilton. Hamilton and other students have decided that “The Black Experience” is more appropriate, especially given the heartache from 2020. The Black Experience is to bring the experiences, hardships, and moments of comfort from all black Americans.
This January 6th, a siege of one of the nation’s most important buildings, the Capital, the building where our legislative branch meets to make decisions that impacts our country. Many argue that the Black Lives Matter protests in the summer of 2020 had received more bias than the siege on the Capital building. Hamilton said, “How do we close the gap?” That gap, which is still tragically preserving its foothold, is the racial divide within the nation and on Cape Cod. “Its gotta more than diversity, it’s gotta be inclusion.”
All the events in February had focused entirely on amplifying awareness and enabling questions and answers for growth and knowledge. One of the events that 4Cs had hosted, called Connect the Dots, had been a strong, informative instance of collaboration. The dots, or students, had formed a listening session that had a blend of recordings alongside live student responses and inquiries regarding critical experiences and the impact of 2020. These events had been a congregation of keen dots for inclusion and the essential elevation of all voices. “You can invite someone to a party, but what happens when they sit in the corner or hold up the wall,” said Hamilton. Inclusion is more than just the invitation; it’s about poignant dedication and connections within this invitation. “It’s about compassion and empathy,” said Hamilton, “and the only way we can have compassion and empathy is getting to know each other. And that is what these events are doing.”
Some of the upcoming events that are continuing into March will be listed below. Any questions can be answered by Hamilton, via email [[email protected]].
March 3: Powerful Voices in Storytelling Spoken Word by Shaspray, via Zoom from 2p.m.–3p.m.
March 8: The Challenges of the Single Story from Negro to Black to African American, now BIPOC? via Zoom from 4:30p.m.–5:30p.m.
March 9: My Hair is on Fire, via Zoom from 2p.m.–3p.m.
March 10:Remembering the Jim Crow Brand of Fear Renika Montgomery-Tamiko and Guest, via Zoom from 3p.m.–4p.m.
March 11: The History of Black Cinema: A signpost and a reflection of the society we live in, via Zoom from 2p.m.–3p.m.
Categories: Around Campus, Events