THIBODAUX, La. — Nicholls State University will celebrate African-American History Month with special public programs including concerts, film screenings, book talks and other presentations that span the month of February.
Keynote speaker, Dr. Cleveland Hill, will kick off the month-long series at 9:40 a.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 1 with a town hall discussing “The Crisis in Education,” this year’s national theme. Hill was the first African-American student-athlete at Nicholls and later became the dean of the College of Education at his alma mater, retiring in 2006. The event will be held LeBijou Theater in the Bollinger Memorial Student Union and is free and open to the public.
Throughout the month, other notable campus guests will include John DeSantis, a local author and journalist who will discuss his recently published book, “The Thibodaux Massacre: Racial Violence and the 1887 Sugar Cane Labor Strike”; Sha’Condria “iCon” Sibley, an award-winning spoken word poet; Ellis L. Marsalis, a renowned New Orleans jazz pianist; and Clarence Becknell, Zulu historian.
This year’s program will close with a presentation by the Nicholls NAACP Chapter Black History Program, which will recognize and celebrate the accomplishments, heritage and culture of African-Americans through monologues, poetry and musical performances.
For a full list of events, visit www.nicholls.edu/news/african-americna-history.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Jan. 27, 2016
CONTACT: Jacob Batte, Media Relations and Publications Coordinator, 985.448.4141 or jacob.batte@www.nicholls.edu
