The Black Student Union will kick off its celebration of Black History Month tonight with its annual opening ceremony.
The theme of this year's Black History Month is "The Essential Thread of a Timeless Legacy."
The ceremony begins at 7 p.m. tonight in the Grand Ballroom of the Reitz Union. The event is free and open to the public.
"It's basically a kick-off event to start everybody off and introduce the calendar to everyone and formally introduce my committee as well," said Le'Asia Lundy, director of the Black History Month Committee.
Lundy, a 22-year-old English senior and executive director of BSU, expects some of this year's events will attract hundreds of people.
Lundy's committee is in charge of an event called The Essence of Culture, which celebrates Black History Month with food and drinks on Feb. 16.
Students can find a list of events at www.ufblackhistorymonth.com.
The Institute of Black Culture will host its first event of the month, the 10th annual James E. Scott Black Student Leadership Conference, on Feb. 4. The conference begins at 8 a.m. in Ustler Hall, said John Johnson, director of the IBC committee.
The conference will feature workshops, speakers, networking opportunities and presentations, and it is full.
Sonia Sanchez, scholar, poet and professor, will speak at 6 p.m. on Feb. 23 in Smathers Library Room 1A, an event hosted by the African American Studies program.
One of the last events of the month is the showing of "The Black Power Mixtape" on Feb. 24 at the Reitz Union.
