This February, The Daily Pennsylvanian spoke with several Penn student leaders about how their organizations are commemorating Black History Month.
From cultural celebrations to educational discussions, students discussed the importance of hosting events honoring Black culture and history. The events are part of Penn’s annual on-campus celebration — which includes programming across schools, academic centers, and college houses at the University.
Black Student-Athletes at Penn kicked off the month with a Super Bowl watch party. According to College senior and BSAP President Angeludi Asaah, members discussed what they appreciate about Black History Month and their hopes for the club’s future programming.
On Feb. 22, BSAP will host a minute-to-win-it game night — held in collaboration with the Temple University Black Student-Athlete Association at Huntsman Hall — where members are encouraged to meet other athletes and “foster community” in a “competitive atmosphere.”
The group is also starting a BSAP #GivesBlack Challenge, encouraging student-athletes to support Black-owned businesses in Philadelphia, ranging from soul food to Ethiopian restaurants. The sports team with the most points will win a prize.
At the end of the month, BSAP is planning to have club members visit a local Philadelphia library to read to children. Asaah said the initiative reflects the group’s commitment to community engagement — particularly in West Philadelphia.
“Our main mission is to get as many Black student athletes and allies in a space and just celebrate our community as often as we can, regardless of what the event is,” Asaah described. “This month really shows how being a Black community of solidarity with each other is really uplifting, and it's just a celebration of being Black, regardless of where you come from.”
“Black History Month is a time to acknowledge many of the contributions of Black people, no matter the area they came from, whether they’re athletes or not athletes, and continuing to make society intellectually and culturally and socially aware of these people and their significance,” she said.
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Descendants of Afro-Americans at Penn is celebrating the month with a series of events, such as “Trap and Paint” and “Murals and Memories.” The club also introduced a “Not Just Black” series — a month-long educational celebration — honoring Black History Month through a series of Instagram posts.
On Thursday, DAAP hosted an event — titled “Bridging the Diaspora II: Memories of Migration” — in collaboration with Grupo Quisqueyano and Penn Africana Undergraduate Advisory Board at Dubois College House, where students discussed migration and “life in America.”
DAAP is set to host “Braid and Breakdowns” on Feb. 24 to “unpack Black hair stigmas” and discuss Black hair in the workspace. The group will also organize a braiding workshop in partnership with Campus Curlz.
“DAAP was founded because there wasn't a space for specifically African Americans to get together, and we're within a minority at Penn, so we thought it was important to have those spaces for us to have conversations,” College junior and DAAP Co-President Jourdan Wright explained.
College junior and DAAP Co-President Mikal Banks echoed Wright’s sentiment, emphasizing the importance of “finding space for African American identifying students on our campus.”
“I feel like just empathizing with the community and just recognizing black culture and things that just aren't recognized, I just feel like that's probably a common theme across all of our lives,” Banks said.
Wharton junior and Undergraduate Assembly president Nia Matthews — who also is a current DP staffer — expressed her wish for the University to celebrate Black History Month on an institutional level.
“Long-term change means embedding black history into all of Penn, into the curriculum, to the archives, and into leadership messaging,” Matthews said.
“It shouldn't have to take a student group to want these things to be recognized,” she added.
Matthews explained that at the moment, there are no University-wide efforts to recognize Black history at Penn. Harvard University, she cited, has a website honoring and celebrating Black History Month.
Harvard’s initiative inspired Matthews to start her own project at Penn — designing and creating banners to highlight “trailblazers throughout Penn’s Black history.”
“This is the second year that it’s been put up,” she said. She added, in the long term, the UA “still would like to see something done by the school, and not something that is being spearheaded by the UA.”
According to Matthews, the project was entirely led by the UA and received little support from the University.
“We paid for the banner entirely by ourselves, which kind of also just speaks to how hard it is to get institutionalized recognition,” Matthews said.
On Tuesday, BSAP, DAAP, and the Black Pre-Law Association participated in Black Wharton’s third annual Black History Trivia Night — alongside six other clubs — for a quiz on Black history.
Asaah said it was “amazing getting to be in a space with all these groups that represented black student-athletes in different areas on campus.”
This month, the Black Pre-Law Association also began marketing its Sadie Alexander conference this month.
College sophomore and BPLA’s Vice President of External Affairs Jedrek Kumi said the organization was “very intentional about beginning marketing in Black History Month” because Alexander was “a very prominent figure during Black history.”
Kumi also criticized 1968 Wharton graduate and President Donald Trump’s “attacks” on diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.
Black history is American history, and I think in today’s day and age, when that’s trying to be convoluted, it’s so important to spotlight,” Kumi said. “I think the current administration’s attacks on Black history are just very telling of how important it is because people don’t go after things that don’t mean anything.”
This month, BPLA will also spotlight prominent Black historical figures on social media and host a “Lunch and Learn” informational session designed to provide students with resources on immigration.
“Black history shouldn't be a flip of a switch that’s … turned off once March comes around,” Kumi said. “I think that we owe it to the historical figures of our past — the ones celebrated and the ones forgotten — to continue doing the work that we’re doing.”
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Staff reporter Rachel Erhag covers student government and can be reached at rerhag@sas.upenn.edu. At Penn, she studies philosophy, politics, and economics. Follow her on X @RErhag.
Senior reporter Amy Liao covers clubs and societies and can be reached at liao@thedp.com. At Penn, she studies philosophy, politics, and economics. Follow her on X @amyliiao.
