{"id":1725,"date":"2021-02-19T09:06:00","date_gmt":"2021-02-19T09:06:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/libblogs.luc.edu\/wla\/?p=1725"},"modified":"2026-01-12T21:33:58","modified_gmt":"2026-01-12T21:33:58","slug":"black-history-month-resources","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/libblogs.luc.edu\/wla\/2021\/02\/19\/black-history-month-resources\/","title":{"rendered":"Black History Month Resources"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Black History Month (or African-American History Month<\/a>) is an annual commemoration of Black achievements and acknowledgement of their central role in the history of the United States of America. Although only officially recognized in 1976, the month-long celebration traces its origins much further back to February 1926<\/a> as a week-long celebration known as Negro History Week. Since 1996, United States Presidents have also issued commemorative annual proclamations<\/a>.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In honor of Black History Month, we are highlighting three resources at the Women and Leadership Archives \u2013 documents related to the Mundelein College United Black Association (shortened to \u201cMuCuba\u201d), the annual \u201cLiving in Color\u201d issues of BROAD, a student publication by the Women\u2019s Studies and Gender Studies program, and the papers of Carol Moseley Braun, the first African-American female senator.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

MuCuba<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Student organizations have long been an important locus of student identity and community building within a college, and MuCuba was no different. Founded by Black Mundelein students in the late 1960s, MuCuba aimed to create a unified Black presence on Mundelein\u2019s campus, as well as to raise awareness among the Mundelein community of Black culture. To that end, the organization conducted various events such as talks, annual celebrations of Black History Month (also referred to as Afro-American History Month) and annual commemorations of Martin Luther King, Jr\u2019s, birthday.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Students pose with a portrait of Martin Luther King, Jr. Women and Leadership Archives.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Students watching a program on Martin Luther King, Jr.’s, life. Women and Leadership Archives.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The photographs from the Mundelein College Photographs Collection, a collection of images on student life and events at Mundelein College, give us greater information on the specific activities held at these events. Gospel singing and percussion performances featured prominently during the Afro-American History Month celebrations. MuCuba also collaborated with external performing groups during these celebrations. For instance, the \u201cAfrican Drummers\u201d street quartet and the Lane Tech High School African Ensemble were invited to perform during the 1991 Afro-American History Month celebrations.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“African Drummers” street quartet performing. Women and Leadership Archives.
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Lane Tech High School African Ensemble singing.<\/em> Women and Leadership Archives.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Apart from activities raising awareness of Black culture, MuCuba also advocated for institutional changes to address the institutionalized racism they had observed and experienced as people of color on a predominantly white campus. For details on these demands, the responses of then-College President Ann Ida Gannon, BVM, and the outcomes, please refer to this blog post<\/a>.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beyond planning events and calling for institutional reform, MuCuba also served as an indispensable resource for Black students to learn about navigating their college years and life after graduation. In the 1981 issue of PACE, a Mundelein student publication, Kathy D. Stephens wrote about how her double minority status as an educated, Black woman presented unique challenges differing from those facing a Black man and MuCuba\u2019s role in helping her negotiate those challenges. Confronted with \u201cresentment of less fortunate blacks and other opposing forces\u201d, MuCuba offered a space for Black women to seek the company of other educated Black women and form a stable identity of their own. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

MuCuba was not without its critics. Some Mundelein students criticized its policy of restricting membership to Black students a form of \u201creverse discrimination\u201d and contended that such a policy defeated MuCuba\u2019s own aim. In response, Stephens emphasized that this was not because MuCuba wanted to remain separate from students of other races, but rather that it was necessary since MuCuba needed to \u201cdiscover and know itself before it could relate to others who already had established identities.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cBlood and fire\u201d by Kathy D. Stephens. Women and Leadership Archives.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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Learn more about MuCuba by checking out the following in the Mundelein College Paper Records<\/a>: <\/p>\n\n\n\n