Community members wear T-shirts honoring Martin Luther King Jr. during the Jan. 22, 2024, campus convocation. Photo by Glenn Asakawa/CU Boulder.
February is Black History Month, and with recent and upcoming commemorative events happening on campus and in the broader community, David Humphrey, assistant vice chancellor for diversity, equity and inclusion, discusses why it is important to keep history relevant and alive.
In his role within the Office of the Senior Vice Chancellor for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Humphrey supports signature events open to the campus and the broader Boulder community, including the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Day Convocation in January and Indigenous Peoples Day in October.
Humphrey and his team also support the campus’s Employee Affinity Groups program and the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Impact Grants program, which support academic and administrative units in deepening their progress on diversity, equity, and inclusion goals in support of the academic and career success of students, faculty and staff.
Assistant Vice Chancellor for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion David Humphrey
MLK Day convocation: Why is it important to hold these commemorative events? What’s the importance of keeping King’s legacy alive?
Holding commemorative events such as the recent convocation is important because they remind us that our present struggles are not new. Rather, they are an echo of past struggles. The past is alive. The past is constantly moving through us. We sit in its wake and we reckon with its impact whether we realize it or not.
The work of Michel-Rolph Trouillot in “Silencing the Past: Power and the Production of History” and Christina Sharpe’s “In the Wake: On Blackness and Being” are instructive in this regard. Curating sacred space to reflect on and evaluate the legacy and wisdom of past liberationist leaders such as King is critical to developing the strategies and dispositions needed to navigate our present struggles and situations—which are not that different from what our ancestors and elders combated.
Importantly, building spaces like the MLK Day convocation provides community-building opportunities, where humans from across campus who represent different disciplines, identities and worldviews can meet each other and hopefully leave with a greater sense of purpose and vocation and stronger connections with others both in and outside of CU Boulder.
As civil rights leader and human rights activist Ella Baker is credited with saying about King: “...the movement made Martin rather than Martin making the movement.”
For me, King’s legacy is bigger than the man. It is an enduring prophetic representation of what justice could look like in public. It is a reminder that liberation cannot be achieved unless all are free. That every human is worthy of dignity and respect. His legacy is a continual reminder that, as civil rights activist and philosopher Angela Davis once said, “Freedom is a constant struggle.” It is imperative that we are constantly reminded of that.
What can individuals do on their own during Black History Month and year-round to learn more about the experiences of Black Americans?
Commit to a personal journey of critical consciousness. The Shared Equity Leadership resources—our institutional approach to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion goals and strategies here at CU Boulder—can help clarify exactly what I mean by this.
We do not have to wait for special occasions or heritage months to read books or discuss issues that are about particular groups of humans. So make it a point each month to read or listen to a book or podcast that centers around a community of people that you are unknowledgeable about.
For Black History Month, start with researching the genealogy of the history of the month. The labor of historian, author and journalist Carter G. Woodson to establish recognition for African-ascendant humans is critical, especially as we face the continued assaults, erasure and censoring of Black history happening across this country.
After doing that, I challenge people to read books and literature, watch movies and documentaries and visit art installations that center Black and African American, woman-identifying, transgender and nonbinary humans. No advancements for African-ascendant humans have occurred without the tireless effort and brilliance of humans such as Marsha P. Johnson, Ella Baker, Anna Julia Cooper, Lorraine Hansberry, Stormé DeLarverie among others.
Start your Black History Month from the margins.
From which Black leaders, philosophers and activists do you take the most inspiration?
So many! First, I have to acknowledge my ancestors, both all those known to me and those who I do not know formally, but whose wisdom and witness are intimately woven into my heart, mind and spirit. My most notable ancestors being my grandmother Gladys Santina Hall and my aunt Theresa Lowery.
Other inspirations include Cynthia B. Dillard, W .E. B. Du Bois, Katie Geneva Cannon, Fred Moten, Willie James Jennings, Emilie Townes, Saidiya Hartman, Stacey Floyd-Thomas, Paulo Freire, Octavia E. Butler, bell hooks, and the incomparable James “Jimmy” Baldwin.
What are some of your favorite films, TV shows or fiction novels that center Black identities and narratives?
Any of Octavia E. Butler’s fiction novels are a go-to. Favorite films—anything with Denzel Washington, especially “Malcolm X.” Other favorites include “The Harder They Fall,” “Judas and the Black Messiah,” “Black Panther,” “Moonlight,” “Brown Sugar,” “School Daze” and “Coming to America” (the original version).
Upcoming events
- CAAAS Day Black History Month Celebration, Feb. 1
- Black History Month at the International Film Series, Feb. 1–28
- Hearst Speaker Series: The Manifesto: On Media, Blackness, and Fatphobia with Clarkisha Kent, Feb. 7
- Inclusive Sports Summit, Feb. 13
- Women’s Leadership Symposium, Feb. 29
Use the campus Events Calendar to find more ways to stay connected.
In case you missed it
- New exhibit opens at the CU Art Museum from the creators of The Museum for Black Girls
- Understanding the full legacy of MLK
- CU Boulder expands English language and academic culture support on campus
- Legal rights and legal reality diverge for single women in Nepal
- Anthropologist finds that South American cultures quickly adopted horses
Sustaining our practice of inclusion
Campus efforts and investments to address pressing and painful inequities at CU Boulder are only a beginning. Creating a culture of belonging will take each member of our community practicing sustained personal work to truly embrace and support diverse perspectives and intersectional identities in our community.
Chancellor Philip DiStefano and other campus leaders urge every member of our community to join in learning more about diversity, equity, inclusion and anti-racism, and to work continuously together to address these challenges more actively and in ways that can help authentically transform our campus culture.
Campus resources
- CU Boulder Diversity, Equity and Inclusion website: Find more information about the campus’s work to create and sustain a more inclusive campus community and how we’re implementing the Shared Equity Leadership model to advance the campus’s five diversity, equity and inclusion goals.
- Center for African and African American Studies (CAAAS): Provides a focal point for Black community and culture at CU Boulder and a multipurpose space where scholars, students, artists, activists and allies come together to study Africa, African Americans and the African diaspora.
- Center for Asian Studies (CAS): Strives to be a space of community, curiosity and respectful engagement with Asia, views the area studies endeavor as a necessary yet distinct complement to disciplinary knowledge, and recognizes the historic and geographic centrality that Asia has and continues to play in the human venture.
- Center for Native American and Indigenous Studies (CNAIS): Promotes collaborative research focusing on local and global Indigenous knowledge and fosters projects that aspire to open conversations in Colorado and the world.
- Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL): Offers programs focused on creating inclusive classrooms and supports CU’s community of educators through free consultations, teaching resources, programs, seminars, workshops and other events.
- CU Boulder History Project: Seeks to share CU Boulder’s history based on intersectional perspectives to demonstrate our commitment to inclusive excellence and to deepen our institutional memory.
- Latin American and Latinx Studies Center (LALSC): Provides an institutional space for research, teaching and discussion on Latin America and Latinx/Latina/Latino studies.
- Research and Innovation Office (RIO): Offers resources focusing on diversity, equity and inclusion in research and innovation.
- University Libraries: Provides a rich assortment of diverse reading materials and other resources, events and initiatives for students, faculty, staff, alumni and Colorado residents.
CU Boulder Today regularly publishes Q&As with our faculty members weighing in on news topics through the lens of their scholarly expertise and research/creative work. The responses here reflect the knowledge and interpretations of the expert and should not be considered the university position on the issue. All publication content is subject to edits for clarity, brevity and university style guidelines.
