Bluefield College Celebrates Black History

Bluefield College has been celebrating Black History Month in February with a series of events, including guest speakers and workshops.

“Black history is American history,” said Anne Pelchar, director of student engagement. “It is as important and crucial a part of our history as anything else that you have learned or will learn in American history. These events celebrate our diversity and unite us as a campus.”

Among the events in February have been a series of guest speakers during the weekly chapel service, including Rev. Garry Moore, BC alumnus and longtime pastor of Scott Street Baptist Church; Paul Hurckman, executive director of Venture, an organization seeks justice for the un-reached; and Sherelle Morgan, BC’s coordinator of belonging. The speakers also participated in a question-and-answer forum with students following their chapel remarks.

Other BC events in the Black History Month celebration included the showing of the film “The Hate U Give,” a relevant movie about a high school student who witnesses a police shooting; a leadership workshop hosted by the Baptist Student Alliance; a BC’s Got Talent poetry slam; and a guest lecture by Virginia senator Jennifer McClellan.

Pelchar added that the events were designed to help students learn more about black history.

“We all have something to learn,” she said. “I am not as young as you are, but I am already learning from attending our Black History Month events. I hope that all of our students will do the same.”