Black History Month at Albion College

 Black History Month, a pivotal moment in the annual calendar serves as a great reminder of the contributions within the Black community to the tapestry of our collective past. While this month has continued to be recognized, this project can show how the month has shape-shifted throughout the years and can highlight the many events and knowledge that the month produced. A timeline is included to display some important dates through the years to truly tell the story of how The Pleiad provided an opportunity for time in the media of Black History. 

Through the lens of journalism and storytelling, we endeavor to capture the multifaceted narratives, pivotal events, and remarkable individuals who have shaped Black history and culture at Albion College.

From the 70s to now, we can see a significant evolution in recognition of Black History Month in our campus’s newspaper. Black History Month became a time to acknowledge and appreciate minority students who participated in these events and has grown stronger to help advocate for racial equity year round. The notes of impact include an increase in events, notable speakers, and representing a larger range of voices. For instance, Black History Month is shown sponsoring events to educate individuals on a certain topic or theme for every year’s set of discussions and speakers. In this project, we will focus on the placement of the story in the paper, and the word choice, and analyze if the articles that are being given time in The Pleiad are represented to their best potential for a feature or special article on Black History Month. Examples shown in this project go into depth on certain cover pages, features that go deeper into the paper, and tucked away, scattered announcements that were in the middle. We can also consider the newsroom throughout the years that we go in-depth on, and consider if being on a primarily white campus can call for less diversity and inconsistency in media coverage that comes from The Pleiad as well as who these events called for to attend. However, there is consistent data that we highlight in this project that shows strengths in certain years of celebrating this month every February.  

Please note that the events discussed were found in The Pleiad only, meaning that there may have been other external sources for recognition of Black History Month on campus that were not mentioned in the newspaper. First, take a look at the timeline which includes just a few of the many influential milestones that compare Black History Month from then to now.

This article was published February 4, 1977, and is an interview article, and is of note as well for being featured on the cover page. This article was written and developed into a two-page part by Karen Ledbetter. This publication shows certain individuals' opinions on the problems of the separation of races on campus. Most people concluded that the issue was people were interested in being educated and exposed more than anything else. This artifact was chosen because it sticks out to one of the largest course concepts in Race in Media, which is a single story, which is a preconceived notion that white people on Albion College's campus at the time feel threatened and have stereotypes set in place on Black students that go to the same school. These individuals recognize the importance of what it means to be Black at a predominately white school. We can also relate this back to our AP stylebook, noting the improper grammar of not capitalizing "Black".

This article was written on February 16, 1990, and is an opinion statement. Lisa Marie Tillman was a Grand Rapids senior and the former president of the Black Student Alliance. She notes the gaps in the large lack of representation of minorities throughout history and in America's history books. She also connects how Black History Month is seen as a secluded activity when Black History Month explores all of history because it is America's History. This shows the impact of the Black Student Alliance's impact on Black History Month and Lisa expressed her impact by displaying her passion for racial justice.

These columns were featured in an article from February 2, 1996. "Diversity is a part of education" is a feature that represents the majority of the editorial staff and "Upholding MLK's Dream" is an opinion article. "Upholding MLK's Dream" was written by Starrett A. Bartleson, a Muncie, Indiana sophomore, and the 1996 BSA president. "as we see it" is not written by a specific position on the Pleiad in this article, but is a message that shares the consensus of the staff. Bartleson writes an inspiring article on how Albion students have a responsibility to push for racial equity, using examples from Martin Luther King Jr. "as we see it" enforces Bartleson's thought process. This artifact was selected because of the Pleiad's open willingness to learn. The importance of this artifact is how readers can view the progress that has been made compared, to see the open side by side and support of thoughts of the "Melting Pot" describing the acceptance of races, cultures, sexualities, and political views of people in the world and the bottom line - that we all live this life together.

Published February 8, 2021, this article is a feature story and contains photos. The columnist, Kendra Childress was a student who was a junior at the time. This publication is of note because even during times such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the Pleiad found creative ways to explore the online media exposure of Black History Month to those who were in their own spaces. The importance of this artifact is the moment in time that it captures, with no capability to have an in-person event, and the Pleiad's creative direction to educate others during their quarantine on still how important Black History Month is, even in a pandemic.

Leilani Casteele is a sophomore at Albion College pursuing an Integrated Marketing Communication major with a Marketing Management minor from Mason, Michigan. She is a member of the Prentiss M. Brown Honors Program, the Track & Field team, a member of Alpha Xi Delta - Phi Chapter, and a photographer for the Sports Information Department. Leilani's dream profession is to work in Public Relations at a professional sports organization. She was fortunate enough to grow up in a middle-class lifestyle, receive a college education, and she has attended predominately white institutions. She knows she is privileged because of her race, among other parts of her identity, and that Black History Month was created to educate, recognize, and celebrate the contributions and achievements of African Americans despite facing systemic racism and discrimination on campuses. She advocates for others by using her writing to encourage others and use their voice for equal representation.