The University of the Incarnate Word is proud to celebrate Black History Month 2023. Join us for a series of events featuring UIW students, faculty and community members who will recall their experiences, reflect on Black history and the current issues of social justice our country faces, and share steps we can all take to create a more just society.
Black History San Antonio River Boat Tour
Saturday, Jan. 14, 11:30 a.m. - 3 p.m.
The UIW community is invited to take a Black History San Antonio River Boat Tour from 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 14. The tour starts with light appetizers at the San Antonio African American Community Archives and Museum before traveling north on the river. Attendees will see the location of Rincon/Douglass School established by the Freedmen's Bureau, the first public school for African American children. This school was next door to where the first Incarnate Word Sisters stayed in 1869 until Santa Rosa Clinic was built. For more information, contact Sr. Martha Ann Kirk at kirk@uiwtx.edu or (210) 883-5934.
MLK Justice March “Together We Can Be the Dream”
Monday, Jan. 16, 8 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Join us at 8:30 a.m. Monday, Jan. 16, for the 36th annual Martin Luther King, Jr. March for Justice - “Together We Can Be the Dream.” Meet at the Convocation Center at 8:30 a.m. for bus transportation and return to campus by 1 p.m. Students can earn four service hours. Wear Cardinal Red to show UIW’s commitment to racial justice.
For more information, contact Dr. Arturo Chavez at aechavez@uiwtx.edu.
Prayer for Racial Justice | Our Lady’s Chapel | Noon
January - February 2023
- Friday, Jan. 20 - Martin Luther King Jr.
- Friday, Jan. 27 - Martin Luther King Jr.
- Friday, Feb. 10 - Dr. Howard Thurman
- Friday, Feb. 17 - Sr. Thea Bowman
- Friday, Feb. 25 - Mrs. Fannie Lou Hamer
Art Opening Conversations on Social Justice for Blacks and for Immigrants
Thursday, Feb. 2, 4:30 - 5:45 p.m.
The UIW community is invited to a tour of the McNay Art Museum from 4:30 - 5:45 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 2. Admission is free with a valid UIW ID card. Come see the True Believers exhibit and the Blurring Borders exhibit.
Conversation Pieces - Workshop with Jess Mahogany | SEC Ballroom
Tuesday, Feb. 21, 5:30 - 9 p.m.
UIW students, faculty, staff and CCVI Sisters are invited to hear healing speaker, actress and poet Jess Mahogany at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 21, in the SEC Ballroom. Mahogany brings magnificent and eye-opening, real-life struggles to life with her words. She will perform several of her powerful pieces and inspire participants to express their own story through the spoken word. A light dinner will be served at 5:30 pm, followed by the performance and workshop. This is a ticketed event. Space is limited so register ASAP!
Meet Shantel Wilkins, Chief of Staff at the Donors of Color Network
Wednesday, Feb. 22, 10:30 - 11:45 a.m. | Gorman Building, Room 212
UIW students, faculty and staff are invited to hear Shantel Wilkins speak at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 22, in GB 212. Wilkins is the chief of staff at the Donors of Color Network and the former chief administrative officer at the Kronkosky Foundation.
Wilkins will discuss her journey growing up with a single mom, who, along with a teacher in middle school, became her mentor and encouraged her to become a basketball player and successful student at UIW. From UIW, she became a leader in well-known organizations. This led her to a successful career at the Donors of Color Network. Wilkins will share how she navigated her path to connect with others professionally.
Wilkins is an advocate for and supporter of an inclusive culture where differences are leveraged. She welcomes uncomfortable conversations that will address and remedy institutional racism and racial and gender bias. Areas she serves in her community include early childhood education, nonprofit capacity building, and Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math (STEAM) initiatives. She is well-versed in corporate social responsibility, brand awareness, private foundations and charitable trusts.
African Arts, Significant Influences Sparking Modern Art and Dance
Wednesday, Feb. 28, 12 - 1 p.m. | Mabee Library's Reference Room
The UIW community is invited to attend the event African Arts, Significant Influences Sparking Modern Art and Dance from 12-1 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 28, at the Black History Month exhibit in the Mabee Library. Professor Miguel Cortinas will talk about the importance of African Art upon European artists of the 20th century (the moderns). Sr. Martha Ann Kirk will share on Black American dancers. Katherine Dunham and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater will be shown as examples of how Classical Ballet was de-constructed by the moderns. This is a brown bag event.