On Feb. 7 at the University Center, an intimate celebration and recognition of Black History Month took place.
“Talk about it S’more” is a biweekly cultural event organized by the Office of Student Involvement. The first S’mores night coincided with the annual celebration of black history.
Students gathered in front of the STAC building to hear musicians and speakers, plus a mix of both.
The night started with Rey Perez singing and playing guitar. He sang a positive message to the small gathering of students who ate while enjoying the tunes. He sang solo, as well as played guitar for the feature band.
Senior Jason Alce attended the event after finding out about it on Facebook.
“It’s my history. The more I learn about it, the more empowered I feel,” Alce said. “As a black man, it’s an honor to me to realize how people who look just like me have impacted our society more than most of us ever even know. If you go through the public education system, you’ll never know what you need to know about black history. It’s a shame that you have to go outside of that.”
The evening’s keynote speaker was sociology and anthropology Lecturer and civil rights activist Jose Villarreal.
He made the important connection between the plight of the black struggle and the similar troubles that Hispanics have faced.
“Well, especially considering the current situation and the leadership of the United States,” Villarreal said. He mentioned the current political climate and suggested ways to combat injustice.
“We should learn from the black activism of the ’60s and ’70s and learn that it was about resistance,” he said. “It was about coming together, it was about envisioning a new society where everybody was equal.”
Villarreal’s words were powerful and evoked lots of nodding in agreement. His speech was the most substantial part of the night considering the focus of the event.
The evening ended on a lighter note with local band, the Vangoes. The members come from Florida and the Valley but all are local residents now.
Lamar Jones is the frontman of the group. His life has taken him from New Jersey to Miami and now he’s lived in the Valley for eight years. He connected expression, the black community and the platform artists have.
“When I was a kid I didn’t have anyone to really talk to, so music became my outlet,” Jones said. “When it comes to music in the black community, music a lot of time was the only time when you were able to let everything go and just enjoy the moment and be happy and be in that moment and in that song.”
Jones also echoed Villarreal’s words on resistance, but from a musical standpoint.
“Definitely, you use the music,” Jones said. “That is a form of resistance, because in music and being an artist, you can write what you feel. You can write those things you want to talk about, those issues of the world. There’s definitely a connection.”
UTRGV will continue to honor black history with films and events throughout February.
