The crew at Andrews University in Berrien Springs is taking advantage of both an early start and a leap year longer month of February to bolster their celebration of Black History Month.
From today, Friday, January 31st, through Saturday, February 29th, Andrews will celebrate Black History Month with a variety of activities, speakers and events, honoring—and raising 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, and as such, the issues of identity depend on where the story begins and the knowledge of history.
Programming begins today, Friday, January 31st, in the University Towers Auditorium, with Impact Vespers. Black Student Christian Forum Spirit Week will take place next week from February 3rd to the 8th, and 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 February 13th, Impact Vespers on February 14th, and Celebration Sabbath on February 15th in the Howard Performing Arts Center on the Berrien Springs Campus.
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 of 2018.
Currently, Medlock is Assistant Professor and Director of Community Engagement and New Program Development at the 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
- Black Like Me (Love & Relationships)
For more information about Black History Month and to see a full schedule of events, you are invited to visit the events page at the link below:
https://www.andrews.edu/life/blackhistory/events/index.html
Founded in 1874, Andrews University is the flagship institution of higher education for the Seventh-day Adventist Church and offers more than 200 areas of study, including advanced degrees. Its main campus is in Berrien Springs, however the University also provides instruction at colleges and universities in more than 25 countries around the world.
Laura Fierce, University Communication student writer prepared much of the material for this story, with contributions from Morgan Medlock.
The photo accompanying this story on Moody on the Market is courtesy of Jason Lemon.