In February, Coppin State University students and professors do more than celebrate black history ? they relive it.
To kickoff Black History Month at the university, renowned anthropologist John Franklin recounted untold stories of black Americans disregarded by past historians.
At the university?s annual lecture Thursday, Franklin spoke of the sacrifices black men and women made for their children and the U.S. When elementary schools did not exist for black children in rural Maryland, their parents raised money to build 248 schools, Franklin said.
Tia Beasley, a second-year nursing major at the university, attended the lecture to “learn something I never did in high school,” she said. “Of course, I know about Dr. King and Malcolm X, but I?m a little too old to not know about anything else.”
Beasley plans to participate in activities at the university throughout Black History Month. The Baltimore resident wants to pass on what she learns to her 5-year-old daughter. “I tell her there?s a lot to be learned, but you have to look for it,” she said. “Sometimes people only teach you what they want you to learn.”
Past generations of blacks pushed the U.S. to live up to the country?s democratic ideals, Franklin said. “Your job is to ask in every city, ?What African-Americans lived here and what did they do?? ” he said. “Improve what you know and what you want your kids to know.”
“Each of you has a story yet to be told,” he added. “Your role is to tell what doesn?t exist yet.”
Franklin is the son of John Hope Franklin, who wrote the acclaimed “From Slavery to Freedom” ? a reference on black history.
The influential book, published 60 years ago, is updated regularly. The eighth edition was published in 2000.
“Today was quite an occasion and inspirational,” said Dr. Sadie Gregory, provost of Academic Affairs at the University.
Gregory implored professors and students to heed Franklin?s words: “Visit museums and ask questions ? learn about our past and present, andwhat we need to do to prepare the next generation.”
Franklin hopes to unearth and present “all the different aspects of the African-American experience” at the Smithsonian Institution?s future Museum of African-American History and Culture, where he will service as program manager.
Black History Month at Coppin State University
» Feb. 15, 6 p.m., “From Slavery to Freedom: The Story of African Americans in Maryland,” Colloquium featuring Maryland’s Chief Judge Robert Bell. Parlett L. Moore Library, Parren Mitchell Room 2500 North Ave., Baltimore
» Feb. 17, 3 p.m., “Pill Hill,” Coppin Day at the Arena Playhouse Arena Playhouse, 801 McCulloh St., Baltimore
» Feb. 22, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.,
12th Annual Pan-African Unity Day and African-American Marketplace, Tawes Center, 2500 North Ave., Baltimore
» Feb. 28, 3 p.m., “African American Historiography and Intellectual Development: A Dialogue on Mirror of America, John Hope Franklin’s Autobiography,” New Dining Hall, Atrium 2500 North Ave., Baltimore
? Information: 410-951-3000 or www.coppin.edu
