Celebrating Black History Month at TU

January 31, 2023

The following message is being shared on behalf of the Office of Inclusion and Institutional Equity:

Dear TU students, faculty and staff – 

Diversity, equity and inclusion are at the forefront of our values and priorities here at Towson University. As we work on this focus together, we want to ensure that all our students, faculty and staff feel seen and heard through an inclusive environment and a collaborative and supportive community. So, while Black History Month is celebrated every February, we celebrate Black achievements, culture and history year-round.

Since 1976, every U.S. President has officially designated the month of February as Black History Month and endorsed a specific theme for that year’s celebration. The 2023 theme is Black Resistance, intended to highlight how Black Americans have fought against racial inequality. It explores how “African-Americans have resisted historic and ongoing oppression, in all forms, especially the racial terrorism of lynching, racial pogroms, and police killings,” since the nation’s earliest days.

According to PEN America, a nonprofit that advocates for freedom of expression, 36 states have introduced over 137 bills in the past year limiting what schools can teach about race, politics, American history, sexual orientation and gender identity. For some educators in those states, that's made teaching about Black History Month especially fraught. This is where this year’s theme of Black Resistance becomes so important.

Book bans and anti-critical race theory laws will not stop us from teaching Black history in February and beyond. The teaching of the struggles and the contributions of Black Americans in this country is empowering and a culturally competent curriculum is the first step towards healing. To heal the wounds of exclusion requires an honest look at how racism has shaped public policy regarding education, employment, housing, criminal justice and healthcare.

The Office of Inclusion and Institutional Equity (OIIE) is committed to advancing this important education and will continue to host and collaborate on a variety of opportunities for support, community, healing, reflection and action for the TU community. But this important work requires all of us to engage.

Today, we call on all fellow Tigers to take an active role in this journey of learning, growth and change. Visit TU's new page dedicated to Black history and culture to learn more about the origins of Black History Month and find events being offered across campus by OIIE and the Center for Student Diversity, the Division of Academic Affairs and Cook Library, and the Division of Student Affairs. Bookmark the page and check back often as the content will be updated throughout the year. 

We know the first step in promoting necessary change is acknowledging the discrepancies that are the basis for many of our systems that have led to inequitable society. Together, we can understand our history to ensure a brighter, more just future.

Patricia C. Bradley
Vice President, Inclusion and Institutional Equity