To kick off Black History Month, the Office of Multicultural Affairs’ Black History Month committee at Lincoln Center threw an event to celebrate Black culture on Feb. 9. The event was full of music, performances, games and prizes. 

Katelyn Figueroa, Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) ’24 and the organizer of this event, wanted to create a space where members of the Fordham community were able to feel more at home and connected to one another. 

“Our goal for all of our events for Black History Month is to not only educate everybody on campus, but to celebrate Black culture and those of us who are on campus who identify as students of color in any sort of way,” she said.  

“It is the 60th anniversary of the bus boycotts so I wanted to write something that was personal to me as well as my community.” Sam Scriven, FCRH ’25

One of the performers of the night was Sam Scriven, Fordham College at Rose Hill ’25. As Scriven took the stage with just his voice and a piano, he gave a performance of a self-written piece, conveying his experience with celebrating Black history. 

“I wrote this song because where I’m from (Tallahassee, Florida), there is celebration within my community each year recognizing the bus boycotts in the 60s. It is the 60th anniversary of the bus boycotts so I wanted to write something that was personal to me as well as my community,” Scriven said. 

The Black culture celebration event had a higher turnout than expected, according to event organizers. Held in the South Lounge by the Ram Café, students were able to come and go as they pleased. Following a slow start, students circulated through this activity-filled event throughout its duration. 

The organizers primarily used posters, Instagram posts and word-of-mouth to promote this event. 

Many of the students in attendance heard about the event from their Resident Assistant (RA) and decided to attend. An attendee, Benaëlle Benoit, FCLC ’25, heard of the event through her RA but said she also came because she supports “anything related to Black pride.”

The Black History Committee has more events during the remainder of the month. On Feb. 18 at 3 p.m. on campus there will be a trivia night event. Finally, to close out the month on Feb. 24, there will be several events held throughout the campus during the afternoon. The committee will host “Love Your Hair” events, including panels via Zoom for both campuses and an expo at Lincoln Center, which will have products from Black-owned businesses.