Black History Month 2020

Black History Month 2020
Remembering a History of Suffrage

     

A nationwide campaign to celebrate the history of suffrage has been the focus of Black History Month this year. The 2020 theme, “African Americans and the Vote,” coincides with the 150^th year anniversary of the Fifteenth Amendment (1870) which gave black men the right to vote and the Nineteenth Amendment (1920) which granted women’s suffrage. 

Incidentally, the Holy Cross Student Government hosted last February 7 a campaign to encourage the campus community to register to vote.  Maggie Hannick (’23), one of the organizers of the campaign, described the community response to the voter registration drive as “very receptive.”  While many have already registered, Maggie notes how students still came to inquire about making sure that their votes count or asked about absentee ballots and information about their respective States.  Through the TurboVote online tool, the campaign managed to register a few first-time voters.  Maggie also reports that the SGA hopes to conduct another voter registration drive this year near the end of the semester. She envisions more collaboration with Political Science Department and the College Democrats and Republicans in spreading news and updates about the upcoming elections.  

Isabella Ramos (’22), co-organizer of the “Register to Vote” campaign reminds as well of the value of “staying informed” which allows everyone to “make an informed decision on who you decide to vote for.” “We really hope that these kind of campaigns will help in bringing the overall youth voter turnout up,” Isabella remarks.   “We wish to keep the momentum going,” she says.

For Black History Month, the Black Student Union (BSU) also hosted the 2^nd Annual Faculty of Color Appreciation Dinner last February 11.  The BSU, together with the Multicultural Peer Educators (MPEs) also posted separate social media campaigns to highlight the identity, contributions and struggles of Black Americans and their central role in building U.S. history.  BSU co-chair Feleicia Jeter warns of tendencies to “forget about the accomplishments that the generations of black people have done before us.” “They have made tremendous changes throughout history,” Feleicia said and it is up to the current generation to “make sure that we continue in the trajectory that they set us up for.”