Southeast Missouri State University will hold a series of events to celebrate Black History Month in February, highlighted by the 21st annual Michael Davis Lecture.

The lecture will be at 6 p.m. Feb. 15 at Dempster Hall’s Glenn Auditorium.

Zerlina Maxwell, a lawyer, writer, political analyst and activist against rape culture and sexual assault, will be the featured speaker.

She served as director of progressive media for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign.

The lecture honors the late Michael Davis, a journalism student who died as a result of a fraternity hazing incident at Southeast in 1994.

The lecture, which is free and open to the public, recognizes the contributions of blacks in the media.

Activities for Black History Month will begin with “Campus and Community Connections” at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Crowe Gallery at 13 S. Spanish St.

Southeast’s Black Faculty/Staff Alliance and the school’s Academic Support Centers will host the networking event for black people on campus and in the community to discuss “issues critical to the development and success of the African American community overall,” according to a news release from the university.

A guided discussion titled “All Politics Are Local” will be at 6 p.m. Feb. 8 in the University Center Tribute Room.

It will focus on the idea the “future belongs to those of us that remain aware and vigilant,” the university stated in the release.

At 5 p.m. Feb. 13, a panel discussion titled “Where We Stand?” will be in the Redhawks Room at the University Center.

According to the university, the event is designed to cultivate an “ongoing exchange of ideas among black males on campus and in the community.”

Black alumni will lead the panel and facilitate the discussion.

Black History Month activities will conclude with two events Feb. 28.

The second annual “Sisters Doing It for Themselves” event will be at noon at the University Center. The event celebrates black women who are members of the university’s faculty and staff.

A National TRIO Day celebration will be at 5:30 p.m. in the Show Me Center meeting rooms.

The federal TRIO programs seek to further access to higher education for low-income, first-generation students, students with disabilities and veterans.

Morris Jenkins, dean of Southeast’s College of Health and Human Services, said Wednesday the nation is at a “crossroads” with civil rights and social justice.

Jenkins said it is “very, very important” to involve both the campus and the community in discussing such issues.

“The university is just one component of the community,” he said.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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