Milwaukee Area Technical College will hold a variety of Black History Month activities in late February at the Downtown Milwaukee and Oak Creek Campuses. Free, public events include presentations by prominent speakers, a panel discussion, a luncheon, movies and sales by African- American vendors. A Soul Food Dinner featuring nationally known author Michael Eric Dyson will be held at 5:30 p.m. Friday, March 2, at the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts. Tickets for the Soul Food Dinner are $50.
All events are sponsored by MATC’s Black Student Union and Office of Student Life. The schedule is as follows:
- Tues, Feb. 21, Movie screening: “School Daze,” 10 a.m., Room S120, Downtown Milwaukee Campus Student Center, 700 W. State St.
- Tues., Feb. 21, Presentation: Mikel Holt, associate publisher, The Milwaukee Community Journal, will speak on “Our Spiritual Journey: From Kemet to Keefe Ave.” on the history of the Black Church., 1 p.m., Room S120, Downtown Milwaukee Campus Student Center, 700 W. State St.
- Wed., Feb. 22, Movie screening: “500 Years Later,” 10 a.m., Room S120, Downtown Milwaukee Campus Student Center, 700 W. State St.
- Wed., Feb. 22, Panel discussion: “Have You Been Psychologically Lynched?” Addressing The Willie Lynch Letter: The Making of a Slave, 1 p.m., Room S120, Downtown Milwaukee Campus Student Center, 700 W. State St.
- Tues.-Thurs., Feb. 21-23, Vendors Week: an opportunity to purchase wares from African-American vendors, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., 2nd floor Atrium, Downtown Milwaukee Campus Student Center, 700 W. State St.
- Tues. Feb. 28, Movie screening: “Malcolm X,” 10 a.m., Room S120, Downtown Milwaukee Campus Student Center, 700 W. State St.
- Wed., Feb. 29, Black History Month Luncheon: featuring a presentation by Rev. Don Darius Butler, pastor of Tabernacle Community Baptist Church, Milwaukee, speaking on “How Has Our Past Shaped the Present, and How Will it Reflect the Future?” 11 a.m. – 1 p.m., Lecture Hall A, Room A241, Oak Creek Campus, 6665 S. Howell Ave. RSVP to (414) 571-4654, allenm@matc.edu.
- Fri., March 2, Soul Food Celebration: featuring presentation by Michael Eric Dyson, American Book Award recipient and two-time NAACP Image Award winner, speaking on “Embrace the Spirit of Your Ancestors, for Their Spirits Cannot Survive Your Silence,” 5:30 p.m. reception, 6 p.m. dinner/program, Marcus Center for the Performing Arts, 929 N. Water St., Milwaukee. $50; advance tickets available in Room M322 in the Main Building and in S303 and S123 (Cashier’s Office) in the Student Center at the Downtown Milwaukee Campus; and at the cashier’s offices at MATC’s Mequon, Oak Creek and West Allis campuses. A limited number of tickets will be available at the door.
For more information on the Soul Food Celebration and all Milwaukee Campus events, please call (414) 297-7373. For information on the Feb. 29 luncheon at the Oak Creek Campus, please call (414) 571-4654.
Wisconsin’s largest technical college and the most diverse two-year institution in the Midwest, Milwaukee Area Technical College is a key driver of southeastern Wisconsin’s economy and has provided innovative education in the region since 1912. Approximately 50,000 students per year attend the college’s four campuses and community- based sites or learn online. MATC offers affordable and accessible education and training opportunities that empower and transform lives in the community. The college offers 200 academic programs; nearly 400 transfer options leading to bachelor’s degrees; and a Pre-College Education division that assists people to complete high school, prepare for college or enter the workforce. Overwhelmingly, MATC graduates build careers and businesses in southeastern Wisconsin. The college is accredited through the Higher Learning Commission, the national standard for academics and student services.
