Alpha Phi Alpha presents 'The Take Back'
It will also sponsor the event, 'Evolution: Black Man's Think Tank.'
Published Feb. 9, 2010
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Brian Hamilton, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. member, and sophomore Maggie Schneider look over the organization's booth Monday in the Student Success Center. Alpha Phi Alpha is taking back three days for Black History Month because February is three days shorter than other months.
The Zeta Alpha chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. aims to extend Black History Month to a full 31 days with its presentation, "The Take Back", which takes place from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Monday, Wednesday and Friday from Feb. 1 to March 1 in the Student Success Center.
"It's educational for our chapter and the people who stop by," Alpha Phi Alpha member Brian Hamilton said. "It's amazing being able to teach people something."
Each week, the fraternity highlights 10 new black figures with a poster board presentation, while welcoming any questions visitors might have.
Hamilton said it tries not to cover the typical Rosa Parks, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. personas but rather important black figures not a lot of people have heard of. This includes the first black NFL coach, Fritz Pollard, and the first black female astronaut, Mae Jemison.
"I really liked how they introduced new people each week that weren't well known by most people," freshman Kaitlin Conroy said. "They seemed very engaged and were excited about being able to share this information with others. You could stop by for even five minutes and still learn something new. I definitely learned a lot by coming to their presentation."
Hamilton said since the presentations began, the Alpha Phi Alpha seen friends of the fraternity brothers, students and faculty who are curious stop by. They expect larger turnouts as the month progresses and encourage anyone and everyone interested in learning something new to come and listen to what they have to say.
"Any other time of the year the only thing about black history that you learn is about slavery, kind of negative things, but during Black History Month a lot of the good things that black people do are highlighted and you get to learn about all the contributions that different black people have made to help the rest of society," freshman Tobi Williams said.
The fraternity uses Twitter as a means of introducing new “black facts” for each presentation day and grabbing more people's attention throughout the month.
"People check Twitter a lot, so it's another way to educate the masses about Black History Month," Hamilton said. "They have been grateful, and many posted positive feedback."
The Alpha Phi Alpha brothers are also sponsoring an event, "Evolution: Black Man's Think Tank" on Feb. 15, where they invite all students to partake of an open forum discussion about the generation and its secular relationship with the church, with participants debating both sides of the issue.
Although it is the only fraternity on campus to sponsor these presentations, many other organizations are hosting various educational experiences throughout the month that are worth a visit, such as music performances, readings of famous speeches, movie nights and charity and volunteer opportunities.
"Black history is American history, and we want people to know that," Hamilton said.
