Griot Newsletter: February 1, 2026

Dear Colleagues, Griot Family and Friends,

First and foremost, Happy Black History Month on this sunny, cold Sunday.

This year marks two significant milestones: the 250th anniversary of the United States’s Declaration of Independence and the 50th year of Black History Month being celebrated nationally. Dr. Carter G. Woodson established Negro History Week in February 1926 to honor African Americans’ infinitely meaningful contributions, long celebrated in Black communities across centuries. Fifty years after Woodson’s action, President Johnson officially designated February Black History Month in 1976.

In the tradition of Carter G. Woodson, Harriet Tubman, and countless others, The Griot Institute has worked with many others across campus and in the Lewisburg community to ensure that the contributions of Black people in the United States and beyond are acknowledged. Following two weeks of deeply engaging and well-attended MLK Week events led by various staff, students, and faculty at Bucknell, The Griot Institute’s 2026 Spring Speaker/Artist Series, Youth from Africa and the Diasporas: Knowers, Innovators, Visionaries, and Everyday People, begins on February 4 with Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Dr. Edda Fields-Black.

Our second week in the series features a day-long set of conversations on February 11 with current students, alumni, and international filmmaker Fred Kudjo Kuwornu. Each Wednesday in February and March (except March 11 during Spring break), we host lunchtime and 4:30pm talks. These conversations provide opportunities to discuss our national and global vision for the future our students are stepping into as they leave Bucknell.

At The Griot Institute, we organize research and guest speakers on campus to tell the stories that help ensure Black people’s contributions to the US and globally are central in community conversations. It is essential to ensure campus-wide critical thought—not during a single week or month, but throughout the entire academic year—about the major and minor contributions Black people continue to make. This matters to the Bucknell Mission and to ensuring a campus designed for people of all backgrounds to succeed. 

Please join us for as many events as you can, share information with those in your circle. In addition, do not miss Black Arts Fest organized by students in BSU for the week of February 1-7 (it’s starting today and ends with Stomp Out next Saturday)!

Stay warm, and remember Spring is around the corner!

Kind Regards,

Cymone Fourshey, Professor of History and International Relations and Director of The Griot Institute

For insights, reactions and detailed information on past Griot Institute events, please read our intern-authored blogs throughout the academic year. The blogs also include many updates and reports on what is happening around campus in connection to Black lives and cultures.

Newest Blog Posts:

MLK Speech and Discussion: Remaining Awake Through a Great Revolution
MLK Week: Dissecting the Moral and Social Implications of Modern Technology
MLK Week: Bertrand Library Special Collections Celebrates 150 Years of Black Legacy at Bucknell
Those We Thought We Knew: Reimagined
Keynote Speaker for the Biff Hoffman ‘32 Lectureship in Conjunction with MLK Week at Bucknell University Presents: Business and Success

Griot intern contributors:  Debra Gonkpah ’26, Lily Hebda ’27 (graduate student and editor), Grace Ifiegbu ’26, Holiness Kerandi ’26, Jesse Leon ’28, Ahmed Omo ’28, Lucas Reid ’29, and Da’Mirah Vinson ’26.

Please see The Griot Institute Spring Series website or email griot@bucknell.edu for more details.