Community Column: Celebrating Black History Month at 帕洛阿尔托 大学

已故的博士. Martin Luther King, Jr., wrote in a 1947 article for Morehouse 大学's Maroon Tiger, "It seems to me that education has a two-fold function to perform in the life of man and in society: the one is utility and the other is culture.“什么博士?. King says is what I believe to be true at 帕洛阿尔托 大学: that we teach our students the knowledge needed to successfully complete a degree or certificate, but more importantly, we provide the tools and resources for our students to become well-rounded individuals that will change the trajectory of their lives.

In celebration of Black History Month, 帕洛阿尔托 大学 will provide our South Side community with free exhibits, musical performances, cultural events, and literary readings. We kicked off Black History Month on Tuesday, with a live performance from Dr. James Polk, a world-renowned jazz musician and two-time Grammy nominee.

帕洛阿尔托 大学 will host a free reception and book signing on Feb. 21, with Morgan Jerkins, the award-winning author of "This Will Be My Undoing: Living at the Intersection of Black, 女, and Feminist in (White) America," a collection of essays on her experiences of being a black woman in America.

The Ozuna 图书馆 will host a traveling exhibit through Feb. 28 titled "Opening Doors: Contemporary African American Academic Surgeons," which profiles pioneers in medicine such as Dr. Daniel Hale Williams, who performed the world's first heart surgery in 1983. All Black History Month events are open to the community, and a full list of events are at holinginvestmentgroup.com/pac/BHM.

With 83 percent of 帕洛阿尔托 大学 students identifying themselves as part of an ethnic or racial minority group, we encourage our diverse community to draw inspiration and guidance from the past to help shape our future. By recognizing the achievements and remembering the struggles faced by individuals who came before us, students at 帕洛阿尔托 大学 and our community will gain a better perspective of our nation's history to help guide our future.

This column by Dr. 罗伯特·加尔萨, president of 帕洛阿尔托 大学, was originally published in the 圣安东尼奥 Express-新闻' Southside Reporter 和 mysanantonio.com.