Event cancellations curse history month

By Krisse Mansfield

African People’s History Month didn’t get the justice it deserved as events were cancelled and had low turnout, a committee member said Tuesday.

“ It’s been rough,” said Courtney Weathersby, who has a seat on the African People’s History Month committee. “I guess it’s (the low attendance) because students aren’t as involved this year as they have been in previous years.”

Weathersby said even the step show, normally the biggest event for African People’s History Month, had a smaller turnout than previous years.

“ It was during All-Star weekend down in L.A., so a lot of people didn’t come up because of that,” Weathersby said. “Plus, it was on Valentine’s Day.”

The step show sold out the Satellite Student Union for the past several years and draws people from all over California and Nevada, Weathersby said.

Other events, such as the gospel choir concert and the educational forum, were cancelled.

Weathersby added that the lack of promotion contributed to the low turnout.

“ It’s hard because for each event, there’s normally only one person who’s promoting it,” said Weathersby, “but I think it depends on what the event is. The political forum should have brought more people in, just because of the prominence of the speaker in the African-American community.”

Kellie Foster, a physical therapy and Africana studies junior, said if the community was more educated, more people would turn out at events.

“ The black community would have a better sense of self if they knew their history, as far as their ancestors being forerunners in the country, be it educational, social or political,” said Foster.

Foster said the highlight of the month was hearing Dr. Molefi Kete Asante speak.

Asante, a professor and former department chair of African American studies at Temple University in Philadelphia, delivered the inaugural lecture for the new Africana and American Indian Studies program at Fresno State.

“It would have been nice if more people would have come out to hear him, especially after he took time to come out here,” Foster said. “He could have spoken anywhere, could have gone to a place where more people would have come, but he chose to come here. I would have paid to hear him speak.”