Bemidji State Hosts Black History Month Celebration with Keynote Speaker

Bemidji State University held a President’s Reception last night to celebrate Black history and heritage during the closing days of February and Black History month.

The keynote speaker, former BSU professor Dr. Gabriel Warren, highlighted the importance of being a “champion of change” and spoke about how small decisions can make big social impacts. Some of the characteristics mentioned were being courageous and intentional, willing to listen to others, and never being afraid to fail. The professor also spoke about Black history.

“Hopefully it helps us to not make the same mistakes, and then it helps us to learn, ‘What are some of the good things that we can take away from there, and then how can we build upon those things?'” said Dr. Warren. “A lot of times, especially with youth today, we don’t always appreciate the lessons and the hard knocks that those people who’ve gone before us are able to teach us. So for me, I think education can be formally through school and all that, but informally, we can learn from those people in our communities who’ve had to go through a lot of experiences.”

Dr. Warren mentioned that while Black History Month is important, there is still Black history happening every day and that advocacy is important not only in February but year-round.