February is Black History Month. The yearly observance gives people an opportunity to celebrate the achievements of Black Americans and their role in United States history, and reflect on where there can be improvements towards equality for African-Americans. The University of Oregon will host a number of events in the remaining days of February.
“I believe that the recognition of Black history is the recognition of American history,” said Assistant Director for Alumni Engagement Mike Smith, a co-chair for the “Voices: Black in Oregon” event, “because a lot of what has happened in the country has been influenced by Blacks and have influenced Blacks and affected Blacks in a way that is very profound.”
Voices: Black in Oregon — Thursday, Feb. 16, 6 p.m. – 10 p.m., Ford Alumni Center Ballroom. 
The UO Division for Equity and Inclusion will hold an event educating the public about the Oregon Black pioneer, along with African-American history and activism at UO. There will also be spoken word performances, dance and music. Although the Division of Equity and Inclusion website displays a passed registration deadline, organizers say that anyone can still turn up to the event.
Ducks After Dark: Loving — Thursday, Feb. 16, 8:30 p.m. – 11:30 p.m., Ford Alumni Center Guistina Ballroom.
The movie night event will screen the 2016 historical drama “Loving,” about an interracial couple, Richard and Mildred Loving, who were the plaintiffs of a 1964 U.S. Supreme Court case which ruled against states prohibiting interracial marriage.
Wiley Griffon Signage Dedication and Forum — Friday, Feb. 17, 5:30 p.m., EWEB Headquarters (500 East 4th Ave).
There will be a unveiling of a historical marker, commemorating the life of Wiley Griffon, one of the first African-Americans to live in Eugene during a period where exclusion laws prevented nonwhites from living there. Griffon was also the first Black employee at the University of Oregon, working as a janitor in Friendly Hall, which was a men’s dorm in the late 1890s. Griffon is buried at the Eugene Masonic Cemetery, but somebody removed his tombstone. Eugene residents and students raised funds to erect the marker at the site of his home.
Art Exhibit: You Must Never Look Away From This, continuing until March 29, 200 Lawrence Hall (A&AA Library) Room 200.
There will be an art book exhibit in the Architecture and Allied Arts Library. The artwork focuses on themes conveyed in this year’s UO common reading, “Between the World and Me” by Ta-Nehisi Coates; themes such as, race, identity, privilege and family.
Tell A Story: Make and Explore Artists’ Books at A&AA Library — Friday, Feb. 17, 12:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m., 200 Lawrence Hall (A&AA Library) Room 200.
During the A&AA’s “You Must Never Look Away From This” exhibit, community members will be invited to work on their own art book. Construction and binding techniques to create the book will be provided, but it is recommended that they bring photographs, paper and drawing supplies.
Gender, Sexuality, and Leisure in Africa symposium — Friday, Feb. 24, 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m., Knight Library Browsing Room.
A discussion feature scholars who have put together a book about the leisure and expressive culture of people from African countries. Contributors speaking come from Ghana, Malawi, Nigeria, Zambia, Belgium and the U.S.
The Twelve Tribes of Hattie — Friday, March 3, 3 p.m. to 4:40 p.m., Ford Lecture Hall of the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art. 
The author of New York Times bestseller “The Twelve Tribes of Hattie,” Ayana Mathis, will speak at a panel discussion about her novel. The book is about a 15-year-old matriarch, Hattie Shepard, who left Georgia during the 1920s Great Migration to settle in Philadelphia. The novel tells the story of her children leading up to the 1980s.