MLK Esports Gaming Event
Date: Wednesday, January 30, 5:30 – 7:30 p.m.
Venue: Cabaret
In honor of Dr King’s legacy, the Office of Community and Belonging, in partnership with Marist Athletics Esports Club, and the Center for Multicultural Affairs. Participate in friendly matches alongside Marist’s Esports Team – awarded “MAAC Esports Program of the Year: for the past 5 years.

James Cannavino Library Display
Date: Month of February
Venue: James Cannavino Library
There will be a Black History Month display located on the 2nd floor of the library for the month of February. The display will feature books, graphic novels, poetry selections, films, and children's books from the library's collection, along with infographics.

Sweethearts of Black History Month
Date: Month of February
Venue: 1st Floor Champagnat Hall
On behalf of the First Year Experience team there is a display up for the month of February that highlights historic black figures in America. The details include each key figure and their personal contributions, innovations, and leadership that conquered adversity to shape a better world.

Black History Month Florence
Date: February 2 - 28, 2026
Black History Month Florence is a cross institutional network for Black cultural production that celebrates the diversity of Afro-descendent Cultures in the context of Italy. The initiative is engaged in programming, advising, and co-promoting over 50 events annually within the month of February, through a network formed and supported by the Comune, foundations, institutions, cultural associations, museums, schools, and venues dedicated to art and to music. You can find the full program here.  Follow the Instagram and Website for regular posts promoting each event, including English translations.

Black History Month Dinner – Taste the Culture
Date: Tuesday, February 3, 4:30 – 8:00 p.m.
Venue: Murray SC Dining Hall
In collaboration with Gourmet and the Black Student Union, enjoy cuisine and music inspired by some of the many traditions of Black communities. Find the Black Student Union’s table to learn more about BSU and taste the culture through a taste test.

Social Justice Conference Panel Discussion – Intersection of Identity and Mental Health
Date: February 3, 4:30 p.m.
Venue: Dyson Lecture Hall (DY1008)
The panelists include:

• Emma Fredrick, Associate Professor of Psychology, School Social & Behavioral Sciences
• Matteo Undici, BSW Practicum Coordinator and Lecturer of Social Work
• Megan Deichler, Executive Director of the Catskill Hudson Area Health Education Center. She specializes in the social determinants of access to adequate healthcare.
• Edward Antonio will moderate the discussion.

Social Justice Conference Keynote Speaker: Ebony Stewart
Date: February 4, 12:30 p.m.
Venue: McCann Arena
Ebony Stewart will be speaking; she is a contributor of the Common Read, Ab(solutely) Normal anthology on mental health. She is a poet and will be reading some of her poems and touching on identity and social justice.

Art, Race, and Labor in Latin America
Date: February 5, 5:00 – 6:15 p.m.
Venue: SC 3101
A talk exploring race and labor in Colombia and Brazil after emancipation led by Dr. Gabriel Chagas P. Souza (English Department) in collaboration with the Marist Hispanic/Latino Club and the Latin American, Caribbean, and Latinx Studies Program.

100 years of Black History Month
Date: Wednesday, February 11, 6:30 – 8:00 p.m.
Venue: Steel Plant Winter Garden
Hosted by The Silver Needle Runway and Black Student Union, the panel will center on the then, now, and next 100 years of Black History Month and what the future of black leadership and representation will look like. 
The student-led panel will feature:

• Corey Smith, the Head of Diversity and Inclusion, North America for LVMH
• Edward Antonio, Vice President of Community and Belonging at Marist University
• Justine Cole, President of the Black Student Union
• Sika Sena-Akoto, Marist Fashion Senior Designer

Metropolitan Museum of Art Trip
Date: Wednesday, February 15, 10:00 a.m. (Tickets Needed) Link to register
Venue: Metropolitan Museum of Art
Tag along with BSU and SPC for a day trip to the MET to see the “Before Yesterday We Could Fly: An Afrofuturist Period Room” art exhibition. For more information, please contact bsumarist@gmail.com or Instagram @marist_bsu

True Black History Museum
Date: February 18, 10:00 - 2:00 p.m.
Venue: Murray SC River Rooms 3103-3105
The Office of Student Activities, the Office of Community and Belonging, and the Student Programming Council will be hosting the True Black History Museum. The True Black History Museum was founded by Fred Saffold III and is a traveling exhibit showcasing artifacts from the late 1700s to the 21st century. The museum preserves African American history, educates the public on its lasting contributions, and promotes pride, awareness, and cultural understanding. We hope you will take the time to visit the exhibition which features original documents from historic figures such as Booker T. Washington, Mary McLeod Bethune, George Washington Carver, Rosa Parks, and many other great African Americans. If you have questions about the event, please contact the Office of Student Activities at student.activities@marist.edu or call (845) 575-3279.

Dyson Tabling - Desserts from Black Origins Series
Date: February 23, 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Venue: Dyson
This series educates students about the historical significance of these desserts and their place in Black family traditions. Tabling will take place from February 23 to February 26 at multiple campus locations.

Make Your Own Banana Pudding
Date: Tuesday, February 24 from 5:00 – 6:15 p.m.
Venue: Murray SC Quiet Dining Hall (No Swipes Required)
SGA DEI Board will host this event in collaboration with BSU and Gourmet. This event will provide a hands-on opportunity to make a traditional dessert from Black culture. The Dining Hall will supply the recipe and share background information on the chef who created it.
Any questions should be directed to Itati.serrano1@marist.edu. Registration opens February 16.

Champagnat Breezeway Tabling - Desserts from Black Origins Series
Date: February 25, 11:00 – 1:00 p.m.
Venue: Champagnat Breezeway
This series educates students about the historical significance of these desserts and their place in Black family traditions. 

A Celebration of the Arts with Bettina Wilkerson aka Poet Gold
Date: Wednesday, February 25, 7:30 – 9:30 p.m.
Venue: Cabaret
In collaboration with the English and Music Departments, and the Office of Community and Belonging, join us for a cultural event with a student and community poet/music showcase and performance. An exciting Spoken Word Performance by Poet Gold (Dutchess County Poet Laureate, Emirita) & an Open Mic Night. Experience a powerful night of spoken word, poetry, and community expression. Share your voice, your talent, and your story. Sign up to perform here: Open Mic Performance Sign Up Form

Library Tabling - Desserts from Black Origins Series
Date: February 26, 11:00 – 1:00 p.m.
Venue: James Cannavino Library
This series educates students about the historical significance of these desserts and their place in Black family traditions. 

Dr. Shane Vogel on The Sensuous Poetics of the Harlem Renaissance 
Date: Thursday, February 26, 5:00 – 7:00 p.m.
Venue: Cabaret
Speaker: Dr. Shane Vogel, Yale University 
Sponsored by the English Department for a lecture on poetry during the Harlem Renaissance
Celebrate the centenary of the Harlem Renaissance with this lecture that explores Black poetry of the 1920s. Such poetry became a primary location for debates over how to best depict gender and sexuality in Black literature. Dr. Vogel traces a subterranean tradition through this poetry that celebrated Black pleasure, feeling, and sensation. This “sensuous poetics” imagines new experiences of Black desire without perpetuating stereotypes.

Ayesha Rascoe Speaker event
Date: Tuesday, March 3, 7:00 – 8:00 p.m.
Venue: Dyson Lecture Hall (DY1008)
Ayesha Rascoe is an American journalist and radio host best known for hosting Weekend Edition Sunday on NPR. She previously worked as a White House correspondent and political reporter covering national politics and is a graduate of Howard University 

Special thanks to our Sponsors from the Office of Community and Belonging