Black History Month: Cross Cultural Center Highlights Great Contributions
02/12/2021
February is Black History Month, a time to celebrate and recognize the history, achievements and excellence of Black People around the globe. Each week, the Cross Cultural Center will highlight those who have made great contributions to the prospering of Black community and culture throughout history and in modern times, including those within the SLU community.
Historical Figure Spotlight
Coretta Scott King
Coretta Scott King was one of the most influential activists in the U.S. American Civil Rights movement, most known for her work and legacy in the movement to dismantle injustice alongside her husband, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
King traveled around the world speaking out on behalf of racial and economic justice, women’s and children’s rights, the needs of those in poverty and the unhoused, environmental justice and many other social justice issues. After her husband’s assassination in 1968, King founded the Atlanta-based Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Change as a living legacy and memorial of her late husband. Coretta Scott King died on Jan. 30, 2006.
Community Organization Spotlight
Ferguson Youth Initiative
The Ferguson Youth Initiative is a non-profit organization supporting the Ferguson Youth Advisory Board and the City of Ferguson to better engage youth in the community. The Ferguson Youth Initiative is a combined effort involving Ferguson youth, officials, residents and educators to find ways to help better serve the young people of the Ferguson community.
Faculty Spotlight
Karla Scott, Ph.D.
Karla D. Scott, Ph.D., is a professor of communication at SLU and has taught at the University for 26 years.
Over the years, Scott received numerous awards and recognition for excellence in teaching and advising. She served as the director of the African American studies program at SLU for 15 years and was instrumental in its growth from a certificate program to academic major.
In 2014, she participated in “Teaching Ferguson,” an open forum designed to help area teachers address questions and concerns from their students.
In addition to her work at the University, Scott is the founder and principal of Dialogue, Diversity & Dharma, LLC and a dialogue facilitator of the YWCA’s Sister Circle.
In December, Scott was honored as a YWCA 2020 Leader of Distinction Honoree.
Student Organization Spotlight
Black Student Alliance
The Black Student Alliance was founded in March 1968 and re-organized on Dec. 8, 1972, as a means for Black students to come together.
The purpose of the Black Student Alliance is to afford Black students with opportunities and a sense of community on a predominantly white campus where they can feel most comfortable and be amongst peers of similar and familiar backgrounds of their own.
The BSA is not an exclusive organization but rather inclusive, as EVERYONE is welcomed to walk through the doors and share in this movement. Students of different races, ethnicities, and all walks of life frequent BSA events.
Submitted by Luella Loseille, M.Ed., assistant director of diversity and inclusion, Saint Louis University Cross Cultural Center.