On Feb. 29  Black student unity (BSU) and office of multicultural student services (OMSS) will be hosting “Reflections of Ebony” in the Bluffs room of the Student Union at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.   

“It [Reflections of Ebony] has basically become our only Black History Month celebration at the University,” said UWL senior and president of BSU, Amber West. “It’s a Black History Month celebration that has morphed into honoring our students, our community members, each other, OMSS and just a space where we can gather and celebrate Black excellence.” 

Civil rights activist, JoAnne Bland will be the guest speaker for the event.  

“This year we have JoAnna Bland speaking. She was only 12 years old when she marched with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., on ‘Bloody Sunday,’” said West. “She is one of the youngest Freedom Marchers, her and her sisters actually. Now she does a lot of work in rebuilding Selma, Alabama. So we asked her to speak and she happily obliged.” 

West expressed her opinion on the importance of hosting “Reflections of Ebony” on campus. 

“We don’t have that many diversity events anyways, and the events that we do have are usually coming from a privileged perspective, just uplifting and honoring whatever the marginalized community is,” said West.  

“This though, is Black students putting together a Black history month event for Black people, for Black students, for Black faculty for us. This is really for us but for our community, it is more or less just an opportunity to learn and witness what community looks like.” 

Doors to the event will be opened at 5:30 p.m. as the event starts at 6 p.m. Tickets for the event are now sold out.  

“Tune in next year, though,” said West. “Keep selling us out every year.”  

To learn more about JoAnne Bland visit, https://www.iamjoannebland.com/about.