Activist speaks; programs held

Events ranging from talent expositions and speakers to discussion forums and academic competitions are among the opportunities available to students on the IU campus to celebrate Black History month. \nThis year's Black History Month keynote speaker is Dr. Angela Y. Davis, an avid activist who has worked to combat oppression in the U.S. and internationally. In 1968, Davis joined the Black Panther Party. She is the third woman to ever appear on the FBI's most wanted list. After being charged with conspiracy, she was eventually arrested, jailed and subsequently acquitted on charges of murder and kidnapping. Davis spoke yesterday at Alumni Hall in the Indiana Memorial Union.\nDavis has devoted her life to political and social activism and become an accomplished cultural theorist, publishing books and speeches about racism, sexism and classism. She is a tenured professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz in the department of History of Consciousness. Davis spends much of her time touring the nation to deliver her inspirational speeches, according to a press release by the Office of Multicultural Affairs.\nThe women of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority presented E.P.I.P.H.A.N.Y, a step program, Friday night. Various black sororities and fraternities showcased both difficult and easy steps, dances and sayings representing their individual traditions. Fifteen girls performed for 45 minutes before an audience that consisted of both IU students and students from other universities. \nThe event, which started at 11:22 p.m., benefitted AKA community events and covered the costs of production, AKA Vice President Carrie Lea Thomas said. The "22" symbolizes the year 1922, when the sorority's IU chapter was founded. \nThe Black Student Union presented a program at 7 p.m. yesterday about symbolism, addressing the the Benton Murals and the swastikas in the School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation building in a discussion format in Woodburn Hall 101.\n"I think this campus needs a program like this so that the University is constantly challenged in its way of thinking, viewing and being sensitive to different cultures," said Shannon Walden, political action chair for the Black Student Union. "It allows people to realize that we still have a reason to feel passionate about our rights and our ideas."\nBlack History Month concludes with the Knowledge Bowl Feb. 28. Teams of students will showcase their knowledge of African-American culture and history as they answer questions in competition. Black Student Union President Marshawn Wolley said the Knowledge Bowl gives students the chance to brush up on the history of their ancestors for personal enjoyment.\nThe Knowledge Bowl begins at 7 p.m. Feb. 28 in the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center Grand Hall.