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Editor’s note: This event was moved from its original location in Macky Auditorium to the University Memorial Center Glenn Miller Ballroom.

Students, staff, faculty, alumni and community members are all invited to the first annual Center for African and African American Studies (CAAAS) Day Black History Month celebration on Feb. 1 from 4 to 6 p.m. in the UMC Glenn Miller Ballroom.

In 2023, Colorado Governor Jared Polis proclaimed the first day of Black History Month each year, Feb. 1, as the CAAAS Day in recognition of the center as a resource to not just the university but to the state. 

Established in May 2021 by Reiland Rabaka, along with student leaders Audrea Fryar, Ruth Woldemichael, Karia White and Isaiah Chavous, the CAAAS is a new center at ºÚÁÏÉçÇøÍø that was created to serve as a hub on campus. The center researches, promotes, preserves, interprets and disseminates knowledge about the histories, cultures and arts of Africa, African Americans and the wider world of the African diaspora. It does this through creating a space for learning, meditation and community.

This event, which will feature food, music, dance, poetry and other Africana cultural expressions, is free and open to the public, but registration is required.

More information about the CAAAS and its mission is available on its website.