The Umoja Diop Scholars program hosted a movie day event in the Winn Center on Monday.
The program is dedicated to increasing the academic success of African American students through community building, counseling services and courses centered around Black students. The event was one of many that the scholars program is hosting in celebration of Black History Month.
“We want a sense of community and belonging here on campus,” said Student Personnel Assistant Malik Amos, who also hosted the event.
The program decided to play the film “Love and Basketball,” a movie about childhood friends who fall in love with both each other and basketball.
Amos said the program chose this movie because of the majority of the cast being African American and because of the proximity to Valentine’s Day.
“It themed around Black History Month and Valentine’s Day is tomorrow so we wanted to showcase Black love,” Amos said.
Amos said the Umoja Diop Scholars are hoping to move forward with more community-building events in the future where everyone can grow together, said Amos.
The community the program had built was evident in the friendships between the attendees, even those who aren’t part of the program.
“I think one good thing is to make friends with people with different backgrounds from yourself and really listen when they talk,” said 24-year-old education and history major Dean Wilde.
Wilde said events like this can bring different kinds of people together and make new friendships.
The Umoja Diop Scholars will be hosting another event to celebrate Black History Month called The Black Creatives – Awaken the Creative in You on Feb. 22 from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. in WIN 103.