Hostos Celebrates 2024 Black History and Futures Month

Hostos Community College celebrated 2024 Black History and Black Futures Month with an array of interactive and educational events inspired by the theme set out by the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH): African Americans and the Arts. 

The celebration kicked off on February 6 with a standing-room only presentation on hip-hop feminism in the 21st century, presented by Dr. Anamaría Flores, Lecturer in Hostos' Black Studies Unit. Hip-hop feminism is a term coined by hip-hop journalist and cultural critic Joan Morgan, and since its inception more than two decades ago, has become the focus of academic studies, conferences, anthologies and scholarly books. In her dynamic and impassioned discussion, Dr. Flores explored key elements as laid out by hip-hop feminist scholars, educators, and activists, and delved into the five pillars of hip-hop — knowledge, graffiti, DJing, MCing, and breakdancing — through the lens of hip-hop feminism. 
 
Members of the Hostos community were also invited to learn and celebrate Black History and Futures through dance. Alvin Ailey Extension dance instructors and Silva Dance Company co-founders Janete Da Silva and Mestre Alegria Leandro Silva offered physically and mentally stimulating Afro-Brazilian-inspired workshops in Hostos’ dance studio. On February 14, Da Silva, an esteemed dancer, choreographer, performer and educator led an Afro-Brazilian dance workshop, which featured her professional training in traditional Afro-Brazilian dances, capoeira, modern dance, and more. Mestre Silva led a capoeira workshop on February 20. The interactive session introduced participants to the Afro-Brazilian martial art and dance form, which incorporates acrobatics, dance, percussion, and songs in a rhythmic dialogue of body, mind, and spirit. The immersive workshops fostered supportive, communal environments in which participants were able to move their bodies and expand their understanding of Afro-Brazilian dance forms. 
 
The series closed out on February 26 with an African American Read-In, moderated by Professor Cynthia Jones, of Hostos’ English Department. In 1990, the Black Caucus of the National Teachers of English (NCTE) instituted the event, and ever since then Hostos has joined the nationwide community of readers to participate in the annual event which celebrates the richness and depth of African American literary tradition. We had the great privilege and pleasure of welcoming Kay Bell, poet, educator, Hostos alumna and 2023-2025 Bronx Poet Laureate as our keynote speaker. Bell, author of “Cry Sweat Bleed Write” and “ Diary of an Intercessor” read a selection of her original poems and shared with participants her journey to becoming the Bronx Poet Laureate. Students, faculty and staff also shared their favorite Black poetic works, which included pieces by Rita Dove, June Jordan, Audre Lorde, Amiri Barka, Langston Hughes, Elizabeth Acevedo, and an original poem about the late reggae singer and guitarist Bob Marley written by Professor Teresa Gray, titled “Ode to Bob.” 
 
Organized by Black Studies Unit faculty members Dr. Ana Ozuna and Dr. Anamaria Flores, and English Professor Cynthia Jones, in collaboration with the Black Student Union and Student Government Association, Hostos’ 2024 Black History and Futures Month program was designed to empower students with emancipatory knowledge and inspire an appreciation for the power of Black artistic and cultural expression. 

“How do we challenge systems of injustice? With emancipatory knowledge,” explained Dr. Ozuna during her opening remarks for the program’s first event. “Art courses and programs empower our students to think proactively, to affirm their agency by studying the ways African-descended people have challenged systemic racism and expressed individual and collective power by utilizing emancipatory knowledge.”

Professor Ozuna encouraged participants to create art as an act of resistance and means of challenging limiting narratives. “So many of our artists have done that in visual art, in music, literature, and I want all of us to be part of that movement,” she said. “Arts connect us to each other, to our ancestors, to the divine — participate in art.”

The 2024 Black History and Futures Month program was sponsored by the Educating for Diversity Grant through the Ms. MacKenzie Scott’s Gift President’s Initiatives, the Office of Student Activities, and the Student Government Association.