February is not only a month full of love and the celebration of relationships but it is also a time to commemorate Black Heritage. On Feb. 4, the Texas A&M University-Kingsville kicked off Black Heritage Month, also known as African American History Month, with the Unity Walk along University Boulevard and followed up with a Multicultural Event held at the pavillion.
Students, faculty and staff members participated in Unity Walk to symbolize the collaboration and unification of cultures and beliefs. Members from Unity, Student Activities, PEP Talk (Peer Education Program) and the Association of Indian Students all walked along University Boulevard hand in hand while the TAMUK Dhol Tasha Drummers played on.
“I think this is what they’re [the university] looking to establish, they want to make it a common theme to where we have these events where we can all come together and actually show the different cultures we have here,” Alberto Oliveira III, secretary of Unity Club, said. Unity Club promotes and advocates for the LGBTQ+ community and its supporters.
At the pavillion, Unity and the Association of Indian Students promoted their organizations, PEP TALK informed students about upcoming events like GYT (Get Yourself Tested), and Student Activities passed out Black Heritage Month T-shirts.
PEP Talk members informed passersby on how to be safe and healthy on campus. The organization educated students and the community about safe sex, dealing with alcohol, drowsy driving, drunk driving and harassment.
“I think [this event] is a good idea because if you don’t inform someone then they will never know. They’ll never be like ‘oh I could’ve prevented that mistake if only I had known.’ So we should tell them now,” Alexander Soliz, a public relations officer for PEP Talk, said.
Throughout the month of February other events like A Taste of Culture on Feb. 7 at the Turner/Bishop Dining Hall, the Tunnel of Oppression on Feb. 12 to 14 in the Memorial Student Union Building, and Step Afrika on Feb. 25 in the Jones Auditorium will allow the university to pay tribute to Black Heritage. And although Unity Walk and the Multicultural Kickoff was meant to celebrate the beginning of Black Heritage month, Student Activities believed it would be a great way to showcase more than one specific culture.
“When we came to the U.S. we found out that our university had the Dhol Tasha Drummers so we loved to represent our country and something with our culture here, and we also saw that people here also do like those drums, so they were really welcoming for us. Representing different cultures is like representing ourselves and who we are, so it’s very good to see so many people came in and they participated in this culture at the university so it’s good to have various cultures, and to show them, and get a chance to display [them] to the whole community,” Shweta Kudale, an electrical engineering graduate student and vice president of the Dhol Tasha Drummers, said.
