Students prepare for Jeopardy styled Black Knowledge Bowl

A celebration of the achievements of African Americans during the month of February.
What is ... Black History Month?

The Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center is celebrating this month-long cultural commemoration with its annual Black Knowledge Bowl, a Jeopardy-style trivia competition where students have the opportunity to learn about Black literature, geography, philosophy and culture.

The event, which will be at 6 p.m. Feb. 23 in the Grand Hall of the Neal-Marshall, has been around for more than 25 years, culture center Director Audrey McCluskey said.

“The Black Knowledge Bowl began in the African-American and African Diaspora Studies Department, and eventually the Neal-Marshall took it over in the late ’80s,” McCluskey said. “Each year we strive to grow the event, and we hope to see a great turn-out this year.”

McCluskey said she, along with the help of her student staff members, has been reaching out to different student organizations on campus during the past several months, hoping to draw in participants and spectators from every corner of IU’s campus.

They have contacted leaders in the greek community and major student organizations and even enticed passers-by in the Indiana Memorial Union with teaser questions similar to the ones asked during the competition.

“We are trying to live up to the diversity that our campus advertises and embraces,”
McCluskey said.

Many teams have already committed to participating, but students have until Friday to submit their team registration forms to the administrative office at Neal-Marshall.
“Our goal is to have six teams for this year’s competition,” McCluskey said.

Tenecia Broaden, a junior majoring in Public Health and Biochemistry, participated in the Black Knowledge Bowl last year as the student coach for team Lioness, the reigning champion.

“It’s really great, and I have come across a lot of the information in my classes here at IU,” she said. “It got real intense last year and I had so much fun, but I wanted to actually compete this year.”

Broaden is joining a handful of her classmates from her Introduction to Writing and Black Literature class to form the Frederick Dougies. The students got the inspiration for the team name from the material they are studying in class about Frederick Douglass.

“The Black Knowledge Bowl is a great way to educate yourself,” said June Evans, a graduate assistant at Neal-Marshall. “Anyone who is interested in black culture is welcome here.”

McCluskey said students preparing for the Black Knowledge Bowl can find study guides at www.indiana.edu/~nmbcc, and books and sources containing the answers will be on hold for students to use in the center’s library.

First, second and third place finishers will receive cash prizes, and the winning team will get its picture on plaque in the Grand Hall.

Spectators are encouraged to attend and cheer on the participants, and there will be a reception following the competition where food and refreshments will be served.

“Students should come because Black History is American History, and if you don’t know your history, you don’t know yourself,” Evans said.