STARKVILLE — Mississippi State is hosting a variety of programs on the Starkville campus to commemorate Black History Month, including a series of interdisciplinary conversations on race, racism and class, and a lecture by a former president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, or NAACP.

The 2014-2017 president of the NAACP, Cornell William Brooks, is a special guest for The Orators Lecture Series at 4 p.m. Feb. 21 in Colvard Student Union’s Fowlkes Auditorium. Brooks is the professor of Practice of Public Leadership and Social Justice at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. The series, begun by MSU’s Shackoul’s Honors College, invites speakers that represent various campus disciplines and topics to engage the university community in research, course work, and public forums.

The AAS program also is hosting an MLK Oratory Contest in collaboration with the MSU Speech and Debate team, with applications due Feb. 16. Preliminary competitions are held Feb. 23 in the Colvard Student Union, and finals are Feb. 25 in Dorman Hall. To apply, contact Cheryl Chambers at [email protected].

Black Alumni Weekend is Feb. 17-20, with a Black Alumni Career Mixer from 1-4 p.m. Feb. 17 in the Union, and the Gospel Brunch from 9-10:30 a.m. Feb. 20 at the Mill at MSU. To register, visit bit.ly/34wJp1V.

Other events during the month include:

• Today, “Challenging the Myth of Racial Homogeneity among Mexicans in the U.S.” by Guadalupe Marquez-Velarde, an assistant professor of sociology at Utah State University, part of Race in America: An Interdisciplinary Lecture Series, 4 p.m., Griffis Hall, Honors Forum Room.
• Wednesday, Snack & Chat “Health Disparities,” 2-4 p.m., Colvard Student Union, Dawg House.
• Saturday, “Gender, Capitalism and Slavery” by Associate Professor of History Sasha Turner of Johns Hopkins University, 4 p.m., The Mill, Ballroom C.
• Feb. 16, “The Under Development of the Needmore Community” by Jerry Boyd Jones, local artist, photographer and retired educator, 6 p.m., Old Main Academic Center, Turner A. Wingo Auditorium.
• Feb. 17, Black Faculty and Staff Social, 5:30-7 p.m., and Black Graduate Student Social, 7:30-9 p.m., Harvey’s.
• Feb. 26, Journey Through Black History Trip to Mississippi Civil Rights Museum and Jackson State University, all day, Jackson. Registration is available at https://msstate.campuslabs.com/engage/submitter/form/start/524637.
• Feb. 28, Black History Roundtable Discussion, 6 p.m., Colvard Student Union, Foster Ballroom M.

Additionally, a Black History Month exhibit in Mitchell Memorial Library is open to the public throughout the month.

For information on Black History Month events at MSU, contact the Holmes Cultural Diversity Center at 662-325-2033.

Learn more about MSU’s African American Studies program and the Society of African American Studies at www.aas.msstate.edu; Department of Philosophy and Religion at www.philosophyandreligion.msstate.edu; Holmes Cultural Diversity Center at www.hcdc.msstate.edu; and Office of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion at oidi.msstate.edu.