Black History Month 2020 at Andrews University

From Friday, Jan. 31, through Saturday, Feb. 29

Andrews University will celebrate Black History Month from Friday, Jan. 31, through Saturday, Feb. 29. (Photo by Jason Lemon)

From Friday, Jan. 31, through Saturday, Feb. 29, Andrews University will celebrate Black History Month with a variety of activities, speakers and events. Black History Month honors—and raises awareness of—the accomplishments of people of African descent.

This year’s Black History Month celebration at Andrews will revolve around the concept of “Origins.” The historic origins of people of African descent have many roots and branches. As such, the issues of identity depend on where the story begins and the knowledge of history.

Programming will begin Friday, Jan. 31, in the University Towers Auditorium, with Impact Vespers. Black Student Christian Forum (BSCF) Spirit Week will take place from Feb. 3–8. Then, throughout the month, various speakers will share different aspects of “Origins” at short courses held every Tuesday.

Morgan Medlock, MD, MDiv, MPH, will serve as the speaker for several key events. She will explore the topic of “Origins” for Black History Chapel on Feb. 13, Impact Vespers on Feb. 14, and Celebration Sabbath on Feb. 15 in the Howard Performing Arts Center.

Medlock received her medical degree from Mayo Clinic School of Medicine. She also completed a Master of Divinity at Andrews University and a Master of Public Health from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. After completing adult psychiatry training at Massachusetts General Hospital, she matriculated through the Commonwealth Fund/Harvard Medical School Fellowship in Minority Health Policy. During her fellowship year, she completed a practicum project that focused on improving mental healthcare for justice-involved individuals.

Medlock has held a number of leadership roles regionally and nationally. Her expertise in minority health policy has led to the development of academic projects exploring the role of racial bias in mental health practice. As an outgrowth of one of these projects, Morgan was invited to serve as editor of the volume “Racism and Psychiatry: Contemporary Issues and Interventions,” published in October 2018.

Currently, Medlock is assistant professor and director of Community Engagement and New Program Development at Howard University Hospital Department of Psychiatry. Her work involves developing open access services for individuals with substance use disorders and engaging Washington, D.C., residents and their families in substance use disorder research.

Other Black History Month events include The Agora, BSCF The Blackout, BSAS Blackventist Praise, and Black Like Me (Love & Relationships). For more information about Black History Month and to see a full schedule of events, please visit the events page.