The Black History Month celebration ended Tuesday night with a lecture on such issues as drug use in inner cities, talking negatively about others and the ongoing war with Iraq.
Keynote speaker Sonia Sanchez concluded the celebration in front of a crowd of more than 250 people in the Union.
Sanchez has authored more than 15 books, lectured nationally and internationally on black culture and women’s liberation and is a retired Temple University professor.
“I really enjoy her work,” said Eugene Chimwaza, an economics sophomore. Chimwaza has read about 20 of Sanchez’s poems and was seeing her speak live for the first time.
Sanchez has received numerous awards, including the National Endowment for the Arts, the 1985 American Book Award for “Homegirls and Handgrenades,” and she is the Poetry Society of America’s 2001 Robert Frost Medalist.
The night began with an opening performance by the MLK Dance Ensemble, followed by a Calling of Ancestors by Nomzamo Iyanu, which asked people to call out the names of the ancestors they were most proud of.
When Sanchez took the stage, she began her speech by calling for a safe resolution to an unnecessary war.
Shaun Stallworth, master of ceremonies and 2003 Mr. Imani, said the poem and words spoken by Sanchez concerning the war were excellent.
     “It really told us to not let the war get the better of us,” Stallworth said.
  Sanchez recited a poem she wrote dealing with an inner city mother who took her child to a crack house. Sanchez wondered why inner cities could have so many drugs to offer people, yet could not offer schools, quality food or adequate apartments to its residents.
In her closing statement, Sanchez gave an assignment to everyone.
“Do not twist and curl your tongue to someone for a week,” she said, meaning all should refrain from speaking negatively about others. “When you talk terrible things about people, you are at war with them and not at peace with yourself.”
After issuing the assignment, Sanchez gave the audience her home phone number and asked that anyone who completed the task call her and tell her their story.
“It was an excellent program,” Stallworth said. He added that the performance was great because it gathered a diverse group and gave everyone a chance to come together and hear an excellent speaker.
The event originally was scheduled for late February, but was cancelled because of an illness suffered by Sanchez.