Georgetown University: Black History Month

Press release from Georgetown University:

February 9, 2022

The first organized national celebration of Black history was conceived by historian Carter G. Woodson in 1925. During the month of February, Georgetown joins the nation in commemorating Black History Month.

The Department of African American Studies delivers scholarship and courses that deeply and substantively examine Black culture, history and experience throughout the Americas; study African culture, history, people and politics as pretext and context to Africans in the Americas experience; and explore the Black Atlantic diaspora.

In her Pulitzer Prize-winning book Franchise: The Golden Arches in Black America, history and African American Studies professor Marcia Chatelain meticulously researches the ways in which fast-food franchises like McDonald’s became one of the greatest generators of Black wealth in America through first-hand accounts and government documents.

New research from Georgetown faculty and the Cancer Intervention and Surveillance Modeling Network reveals that beginning screenings at age 40 would decrease disparities in breast cancer deaths for Black women.

In their new book, “Blacks and Jews in America,” two scholars invite readers to dig deeper into the history of Black and Jewish activism in the U.S., particularly after WWII.

Founded in 1979, the Black Theater Ensemble produces the works of Black artists, expands discourse related to the experience of the Black community and amplifies traditionally underrepresented voices.

Georgetown marks the 50th anniversary of the Community Scholars Program by celebrating its longtime commitment to affordability and access to higher education among first-generation and low-income college students.

Through teaching, research, artistic expression, advocacy and activism, the university calls attention to disparities in health, income, housing and more, while exploring the systematic racism, diasporas, migrations and social structures that continue to impact the lives of people of color.

Georgetown Law Professor Sheryll Cashin calls for the abolition of the entrenched system of geographic segregation that she says has been driving racial inequality for more than a century.

A new book by Robert Patterson, chair of the Department of African American Studies, examines how post-Civil Rights era rhythm and blues culture articulates competing and conflicting political, social, familial…

Liana Wallace (B’23) relied on her physical training and classes at McDonough School of Business to advance on the latest season of “Survivor” in Fiji.

Georgetown is engaged in a long-term and ongoing process to more deeply understand and respond to the university’s role in the injustice of slavery and the legacies of enslavement and segregation in our nation. Through engagement with the members of the Descendant community, collaborative projects and new initiatives and learning and research, the university pursues a path of memorialization and reconciliation in our present day.

Christopher J. King, chair of the Department of Health Systems Administration at the School of Nursing & Health Studies, led a report that illuminates entrenched health and socioeconomic disparities among residents in Washington, DC.

Students and faculty in the School of Nursing & Health Studies helped develop a new educational module on implicit bias for the District of Columbia Department of Health.

Students in the Black Georgetown Rediscovered course toured the Mount Zion – Female Union Band Society cemeteries and helped document the estimated 9,000 Black residents of Georgetown buried at the site.

This press release was produced by Georgetown University.The views expressed here are the author’s own.