In celebration of Black History Month, Village in the Valley (ViVa) and the UTRGV Library will hold events and have resources available throughout the month of February to honor the culture, heritage and achievements of African Americans.
Village in the Valley, a nonprofit organization founded in 2019 and located in McAllen, focuses on elevating and uniting the Black community in the Rio Grande Valley through community engagement, social and cultural connection.
Alphonzo Gatling, a co-founder and treasurer of Village in the Valley, said the organization has several hundred members.
“We are engaged in a variety of community activities and events to help unite the Black community with the other cultures and communities that are here in the RGV,” Gatling said.
Village in the Valley will host several events to commemorate Black History Month.
Gospel Fest will take place from 6 to 9 p.m Saturday at the Old Church Winery, located at 700 N. Main St. in McAllen. The event will feature different forms of artistry, such as artworks, music, dance, painting and spoken word.
Gatling wants to give Gospel Fest attendees an opportunity to experience Black culture.
“We’re just putting on several events that give people an opportunity to plug into the Black culture, see what it’s all about, learn more about it and enjoy the experience,” he said.
ViVa has a community closet that allows the organization to provide gently used clothes to families in need.
“We’ve had families whose houses have caught fire … we’ve had some asylum seekers … we’ve helped families that just could not afford to buy school clothes for their kids,” Gatling said.
The closet is open from 10 a.m. to noon on the second Saturday of every month, and is located at 2208 Primrose Ave., Suite J1, in McAllen. The organization will open for an emergency situation on request.
Samantha Bustillos, a library assistant, told The Rider that the UTRGV Library has resources and events for Black History Month on both campuses.
“Here at the library, we have a LibGuide that is specifically for Black History Month,” Bustillos said.
She said the LibGuide is an excellent resource for research topics.
“It’s a really excellent resource because it covers the library information and resources including ebooks, pamphlets, databases and journals, which is excellent for research topics that are associated with Black History Month,” Bustillos said.
There will be a film screening of “Women in Motion” at 10 a.m. Friday in University Library Room 3.117 on the Edinburg campus. The film is about Nichelle Nichols, “Star Trek” actress, and the “four-month campaign to recruit the first Black, Latino and Asian men and women to fly in space,” according to its website.
There are poster displays for educational resources and book displays on the second floor of the University Library on the Edinburg campus and on the third floor on the Brownsville campus.
The African Students Association at UTRGV is an organization that is committed to creating a supportive community for African students.
Bukola Awotoye, a political science sophomore and historian of the African Students Association, said “It’s a group of Africans … on the UTRGV campus here in Edinburg that help educate people about the African culture.”
Students who would like to join must be of African descent.
The association was created in Fall 2023 by Jeffery Opoku, a second-year doctoral candidate in mathematics and group president.
“Black History Month is, like, a time for people to get to share about their experiences about being … a Black person,” Awotoye said. “And just celebrating Black people in general, like Black art, music and Black writers.”