Author: Eleftheria Giannopoulos

Marilyn Mobley was close friends with Toni Morrison, so it was particularly fitting for her to give the Sojourner Truth Lecture at George Mason University on Feb. 18, which would have been Morrison’s 89th birthday.

Mobley, a Toni Morrison scholar and former president of the Toni Morrison Society, was close to the late Nobel Prize-winning author and told the audience in Harris Theater that each year she would send Morrison orchids and call her on her birthday. Mobley said that although she is still grieving the loss of her friend, she took solace in the fact that Morrison “was now dancing with the ancestors.”

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The 2020 Sojourner Truth Lecture will also be a celebration. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the lecture, as well as the 30th anniversary of the creation of Women and Gender Studies Program (WGST) at George Mason University, one of the organizers of the event.

The lecture was started 20 years ago as a collaboration between what was then the Women’s Studies Program and the African American Studies Program, now the African and African American Studies Program. According to Mason School of Integrative Studies professor Wendi Manuel-Scott, the two programs cosponsored the annual event, which bridges Black History Month in February and Woman’s History Month in March.

Read More about the Sojourner Truth Lecture

George Mason University is celebrating Black/African Heritage month with a host of events all throughout the month of February.
This month’s theme is “Lucid Dreams of Our Ancestors.” In recent years, the quote “We are our Ancestors’ Wildest Dreams” became very popular and was seen and adopted by peoples of many cultures and backgrounds. This year, our students honor the rich,regal, wonderfully powerful, and deeply moving LUCID DREAMS OF OUR ANCESTORS; by being visible, taking up space, producing programs, exercising artistic self-expression, all while collectively working towards excellence and oneness.

The History of Black History Month
Founded by Dr. Carter G. Woodson, the United States began its recognition of black history in 1926 with the celebration of “Negro History Week” The week was initially created to recognize the birthdays of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln, both of which are in February. In 1976, the celebration was expanded to be inclusive of the entire month of February. George Mason University proudly upholds the celebration of what we call Black/African Heritage Month by hosting annual events that are educational, inspirational, and inclusive of the diversity of the George Mason University Community.

VISIT odime.gmu.edu/BAHM or click the attachment to find the list of programs. Please note that there are several events happening during the month of February, not just those listed on our calendar. If you would like our office to share or promote any of your already planned programs during Black/African Heritage Month, please email [email protected] with a graphic and a brief event description. We will be happy to share on our social media outlets. Please come out to support our students!