Nebraska Athletics celebrates Black History Month with Showcase, Lunch and Learn and Black Husker History Series.

February is Black History Month, which serves as a time to remember, reflect and celebrate the many contributions people of the Black Diaspora have made throughout American history. Annually, Nebraska Athletics celebrates Black History Month with a number of observances and educational opportunities for athletes, staff and fans alike. To start the month, Huskers celebrated Black History Month with the 3rd annual Arts Showcase, in collaboration with the Office of Academic Services and Intercultural Services (OASIS). The show features local artists, providing an opportunity to celebrate black excellence in the arts. Typically an in person event, the program was held virtually and featured Women's Basketball student-athlete Mi'Cole Cayton as an emcee, along with Jayven Brandt, a student ambassador for OASIS. Musical and dance artists performed their acts via video, while photographers and drawing artists were featured live via zoom. To close the program, Cayton and Brandt competed in a Verzus Battle. A Verzus battle is an American webcast series, which was introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic as a virtual DJ battle, with Timbaland and Swizz Beatz facing off in its first iteration through an Instagram Live broadcast in March 2020.
 


For athletes that attended, it was a great way to pause and enjoy entertainment, while learning about Black culture in the arts. "I've never been so entertained in a zoom meeting before, thanks emcees! Y'all killed it," said Sam Haiby, a women's basketball student-athlete. Attendees enjoyed the variety of acts, which included the Lincoln Southeast Step Chain, Jada Loro, Tut Kailech, Kat Wiese, Brannon Evans, Abiola Kosoko, and Dr. Darryl White. Each performer's original performance video is below.




Lunch and Learn allows staff and students to learn about Black History in Athletics
Following the Arts Showcase, Nebraska Athletics hosted a BHM Lunch and Learn about the history of black athletes in Nebraska Athletics. The Office of Academic Success and Intercultural Services (OASIS) and Nebraska Athletics co-hosted the lunch and learn in observance and celebration of Black History Month. Mike Babcock, editor of Hail Varsity Magazine and Drake Keeler, Senior Sports Editor and Diversity and Inclusion Internal Chair for the Daily Nebraskan, reviewed the history of black athletes in Husker athletics, highlighting stories of athletes who participated long ago. In addition, Keeler provided the perspective of a current student, who is sharing and discovering these stories for the first time, giving his perspective on why it is important to tell the story to students today. Keeler, a junior journalism student, has led a number of black history month related content over the past few weeks, and had an opportunity to share this work with the staff of Nebraska Athletics directly.



Huskers celebrate Black Husker History
Lastly, Huskers closed the month with Black Husker History, a series of videos that current student-athletes shared to tell the story of former Nebraska student-athletes. The posts continue the trend of telling the story of Nebraska Athletics from an inclusive lens. Current Black student-athletes read the stories of former huskers, while they got to hear directly from the former athletes following their story.

Men's Basketball | Narrated by Trey McGowans


Women's Gymnastics | Narrated by Racine Smith


Baseball | Narrated by Brice Matthews


Softball | Narrated by Courtney Wallace


Wrestling | Narrated by Jevon Parrish


Bowling | Narrated by Amara Smith Speights


A number of additional activities throughout athletics emphasized the importance of Black History Month, including a Black Lives Matter home meet with Women's Gymnastics, a weekly post from Sport Psychology, and acknowledgement across multiple teams such as football. As we close Black History Month, stay tuned as Nebraska Athletics turns the page to Women's History Month in March 2021.