Black Awareness Month (BAM) at the University of Miami is more than just a month dedicated to black history, but rather a time where students can celebrate their culture and share it with the rest of the UM Community. In partnership with the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs (MSA), the BAM committee planned 20 events for the month of February spanning from small get-togethers to community-wide functions. Dozens of organizations, professional and social, have been represented across the different events. Opening ceremonies, which took place on Monday, February 3 to kick off the month, featured 20 organizations and highlighted their connection to black culture. Anisa Mafarachisi, one of the vice chairs of BAM, shared their overall goal of the celebrations, “We want to make sure we are educating the community on the importance of Black culture.”
The students involved with planning BAM had a clear vision of “go big or go home.” Michael Robinson, Chair of BAM and 2nd Vice President of United Black Students (UBS), went to a high school where black culture was not really celebrated, so when given the opportunity to curate a month dedicated to who he is, he wanted to reach everyone he could. “I had a vision and wanted to showcase it. The idea of being authentically yourself and seeing what the history was and what you can bring to the future,” said Robinson. The collaborations and connections made by the BAM Committee this year has allowed them to reach more of the community than originally anticipated. They partnered with UM Athletics to have two Black History-themed basketball games with both the men’s and women’s teams. At the games, basketball fans participated in trivia and listened to members of the UM community speak on what black history means to them. An on-campus service event planned for Saturday, February 22, in partnership with Lift Our Voices, symbolizes the students' drive to give back and provide for their community and to set up success for the future of their culture.
Director of MSA, Kennedy Robinson’s, favorite part of working with the BAM committee is seeing her students celebrate their culture and being proud of who they are. “They are honoring those whose shoulders you stand on and building a bridge for those who come after you by honoring what might have been forgotten,” she stated. Kennedy is a proud African American who knows her ancestor's history. This month is an opportunity to honor her ancestors who fought for her to be where she is today as well as lead a group of young black students to be proud of who they are. Along with Kennedy, Madison Rodas, Associate Director of MSA, has acted as a support system for the students spearheading the month; her favorite part of the role has been the reactions from her students. “It’s seeing the students’ faces after an event goes well, that sense of accomplishment, I love seeing them be so proud of themselves,” Rodas added. Both Kennedy and Madison emphasize how this month has been led and executed by the students and their roles have just been to support, cultivate, and promote their students' events and ideas as the month goes on.
The students who took part in planning BAM were very intentional for what types of events they wanted to do and when they wanted them to occur. So far, 12 events have taken place spanning all types of purpose. With 8 events left to go, students can attend more professional events like a community discussion with the Black Alumni Society on Friday, February 28, as well as, participate in celebratory events like ‘Taste of the South’ which will serve traditional southern food and feature local black owned businesses on Thursday, February 20. This month's events have allowed for all points of black history to be highlighted and a chance for students across campus to learn, reflect, and celebrate the extensiveness that is black culture.
If you haven't had a chance to attend one of the 20 BAM events this month, visit the schedule here to find out when the next event is happening!
