The Mosaic & Initiatives for Identity, Inclusion, & Belonging (i3b) join in honoring, celebrating, and bringing awareness to our Black and African American community. We recognize the incredible impact and influence on our history and country while celebrating the culture, families, love, and service of all Black and African American folx. We honor and celebrate the continued existence, representation, community, creative arts and expressions of all Black and African Americans. 

Per the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH), the 2024 theme for Black History Month is African Americans and the Arts. 

“In celebrating the entire history of African Americans and the arts, the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH) puts into the national spotlight the richness of the past and present with an eye towards what the rest of the twenty-first century will bring. ASALH dedicates its 98th Annual Black History Theme to African Americans and the arts.”

For more information about ASALH and the 2024 Black History Month theme, click here. 

Officially and nationally recognized as of 1976, Black History Month honors these great contributions while acknowledging all that has happened both past and present to the Black and African American community. The lives, culture, joy, and impact of Black history can be seen within all of our spaces and this celebration is not confined to only February but in special tribute. 

Throughout the month of February, join our UMBC community in celebrating with events and programs. 

Black Excellence Summit

Saturday, February 10, 2024 

https://besummit.umbc.edu/

The goal of the conference is to promote unity and celebrate Black culture. At UMBC, we believe in the importance of building community. UMBC’s community is especially appreciated for its diversity among the students, staff, and faculty. However, minority students, mostly those who are Black, often don’t feel a sense of community among those who share the same culture or racial identity as them. It’s time to change that. With America’s current political and social climate, it’s become increasingly important to make sure that our community is actively pursuing racial equity as well as cultivating an environment where Black students and staff feel heard and comfortable. Furthermore, we want to redefine the idea of Black Excellence, so that it is more focused on the authenticity of the Black experience, rather than appealing to societal norms.

Continue to check back for updates on programs and events. 

To further connect with our Black and Africana student organizations please check out https://my.umbc.edu/. 

Looking for a new read? Here are some recommendations by Black authors suggested by Mosaic and i3b staff members!

African American Folk Tales by Roger D. Abrahams 

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

If Beal Street Could Talk by James Baldwin

Notes of Native Sun by James Baldwin 

Abolition Feminism Now by Angela Davis, Gina Dent, Erica R. Meiners, Beth E. Richie 

They Poured Fire On Us From the Sky by Alephonsion Deng, Benson Deng, Benjamin Ajak

All About Love by bell hooks

Women of the Nation: Between Black Protest and Sunni Islam by Dawn-Marie Gibson & Jamillah Karim 

The Rise of the Beautiful Eccentric by madison moore

Beloved by Toni Morrison

Black Food Geographies: Race, Self-Reliance, and Food Access in Washington, D.C. by Ashanté M. Reese

Black Disability Politics by Sami Schalk 

Jesus and the Disinherited by Howard Thurman

Native Son by Richard Wright

UMBC and the Center for Democracy and Civic Life are featured in a new e-book, The Place Collaboratory: Higher Education, Community Engagement, and the Public Humanities. Dr. David Hoffman Ph.D. '13, is also one of the book's contributing writers. The chapter "University of Maryland, Baltimore County and and Community Precarity" begins on page 47.

From 2019 to 2022 UMBC participated in a national partnership called the PLACE Collaboratory, organized by Bringing Theory to Practice and funded by the Mellon Foundation. The partnership explored how humanities methods could be used to support community-driven social change. UMBC's Baltimore PLACE Project involved community organizing in two Baltimore City neighborhoods, Brooklyn and Curtis Bay. 

Center for Democracy and Civic Life staff played leading roles in designing and implementing UMBC's Baltimore PLACE project along with Center for Social Science Scholarship Associate Director Felipe Filomeno, also an associate professor of political science and global studies, and eight undergraduate fellows. Dr. Hoffman and Dr. Romy Hubler, former Center for Democracy and Civic Life associate director, developed and co-taught a class with Dr. Filomeno to prepare the PLACE fellows for their roles.

"The Baltimore PLACE Project was a wonderful opportunity to blend insights from the humanities with the community organizing and community-building approaches at the heart of the Center for Democracy and Civic Life's work," says Hoffman. "The work Center leaders did with Felipe Filomeno and the undergraduate PLACE fellows was deeply meaningful and empowering, as the book describes: a student affairs/academic affairs collaboration that really worked well. All of us on the UMBC team shared stories and learnings with partners across the U.S. as we adapted to the COVID-19 lockdowns and supported imaginative work toward community-identified objectives."

Learn more about UMBC's PLACE project and how it empowered students as civic actors.