I sat down for an interview with Michael Nixon (VP for University Culture and Inclusion) as we discussed his ideas, experience, and plans for Black History Month.
How excited are you for Black History Month this year?
I'm always excited for Black History Month. I think I'm particularly excited because talking about our history is always important. However, we don't just do it in February, we celebrate all year. This year we picked the theme “Reclaiming our Narratives.” One of the reasons we picked that is because there are a lot of forces in the broader society, culture, and politics, that are endeavoring to muzzle our voices, and really to snuff out the teaching of our history. I mean, literally, some people want to outlaw the teaching of Black history in a lot of elementary schools around the country.
I think it's exciting to have an opportunity to respond to what the culture is saying. The culture is trying to make it seem as if talking about these topics or thinking about these things is not important, or it's too triggering for people of other cultures. I think it's important to let our entire campus know in general, but then also our Black students in particular, how valuable they are and that their history is important.
What does Black History Month mean to you personally?
I try to think in a narrative format, as a story or as a progression/journey. We have the advantage of being on this side of the historical narrative, even though we still have a lot of difficulties. History for me, in one word, would just be “perseverance,” because when I look back I can see so many contributions, struggles, efforts and consistency.
Every February, I'm always reminded of the perseverance of our people, and how we would not be here now without that perseverance. It's also challenging for me to think through how I can continue to push things forward, whether it's in the work I'm doing here on campus, or just in general. We can't do everything ourselves, but we can do a lot together. So how do we pull all of us together to make things better for the collective? When you look at the story of our history, what you'll find are people from all different walks of life, Black and non-Black, that came and put their efforts together to make things better for the marginalized and the oppressed. We are called to do the same thing.
How does Black History Month affect our campus?
It started off as just a Black history weekend. Our speaker this past weekend was talking about the history of Black History Month and how it originally just started off as Negro American week, then expanded to so much more. We used to just have a Black history Sabbath weekend here at Andrews. When I moved to this community in 1998, my dad became the chaplain at Andrews. I was in the sixth grade, and back in those days, I remember us just having a Black history Sabbath weekend, having a speaker come, and that would take place at PMC. I think that it's evolved over time to where we now have an entire month of celebrations, activities and events. I think allowing our Black students and employees to be seen, valued and empowered has meant a lot to them. But I think it means a lot to our non-Black students and employees as well. It gives them an opportunity to celebrate Black culture, to learn, to affirm, to ask questions, consider this history and then think about how they can be a part of creating a better future for all of us. It's also an opportunity for us to continue to worship in our own authentic voice and style, which is always a super valuable thing.
Additionally, at least since I've been here, I think we have expanded into having more intentional cultural celebrations for lots of other cultures. We have our Hispanic Heritage Month and Filipino American History Month celebrations. We just started our AAPI celebration, which we're going to revamp and expand this year, as well. Our hope is for more and more people to be inspired to create spaces where their full identity and selves can be seen and affirmed.
What do you consider when planning the events for Black History Month, and the goals?
From my perspective, our primary goal is to empower our students and student leaders to really shape the events for the month in their own image. I think Alyssa Palmer (Associate Dean of Student Life) does a really good job at this. We also work very closely with people like Khaylee Sands (junior, pre-physical therapy), the BSCF President, and her team, who put in an immense amount of effort and work into all the different events for this month.
Miss Jan Pickett, our faithful member on that committee, has been the one behind all the different dinners, lunches and events that have been planned. This has also expanded into Dining Services. Dining services has made a good effort on the Wednesdays of the month to provide cuisine from the Black diaspora. As someone who went here as a student not too long ago–I graduated undergrad in ‘09–we wouldn't have had that in the cafe when I was a student. I think the effort that Chef Linda and her team are putting in is really helpful.
The primary goal is to empower our students to really celebrate Black culture in a way that's relevant for them. An equally important goal is to make sure that this space for celebration continues to be protected. I think over time when things happen regularly, it's easy to just take it for granted and assume that it's going to keep happening. But a lot of effort each year has to go into making sure it happens. I see that as one of my primary roles on the committee, as an administrator here at the university, to make sure that the institution continues to be accountable and continues to support and provide resources where we can and make space for this celebration to continue to happen. Ultimately, at the end of the month, we'll look back and will see that God has done some pretty amazing things.
How are these events different from previous years?
I think that every year is different because we have different speakers. We just had Dr. Andrea Trusty King speak on campus and she did a really stellar job at not just using the theme, but also helping it to come to life for our students. I think another different thing this year is the Anthony Brown and Group therAPY concert coming this Sunday. That's something that we're going to want to do more consistently in partnership with the HPAC. Additionally, Dean DeLeon just did a really unique event this past Sunday, “The Sweet Potato Pie Journey,” and put a lot of thought and effort into it, showing students a new way to understand and remember the authentically Black dish, along with some of the history behind it.
Since we have different students and people planning events each year, it's always going to come out in a new way, even if you're still getting some of the things that are familiar to you about our celebration each year. Our short courses are different each year, but I think those opportunities for reflection and conversation on the different topics of our lives provides the opportunity for a little bit more practical talk. We also have really good social events, you get educational events, you get some food and then of course music and other different types of things. I think I've said this at other places, and I'm a little biased because I'm here, but I think our Black History Month celebration is really second to none. We do it in a way that I haven't seen a lot of other places do it. And I think part of that is because the beauty of our not just cultural but international diversity. There are so many different perspectives on what it means to be Black, because every single one of us has our own little piece of Black history inside of us. That's what this month is all about, just being your authentic, unapologetic Black self.
The Student Movement is the official student newspaper of Andrews University. Opinions expressed in the Student Movement are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors, Andrews University or the Seventh-day Adventist church.