Indiana University East continues to celebrate Black History Months with events on February 18 and February 27. Events are free and open to the public.

Yemi Mahoney talks during IU East’s Martin Luther King Jr. community panel held in January on campus. Mahoney will present on emerging national trends impacting African-American college students on February 18.

The State of African-American Students in Higher Education will be presented by Yemi Mahoney, chief diversity officer and special assistant to the chancellor, from 3-4 p.m. on Tuesday, February 18, in the First Bank Richmond Community Room in Whitewater Hall.

Mahoney will discuss emerging national trends impacting the African-American college student experience, highlight sociocultural and institutional barriers African-American students face accessing higher education, and offer best practices to facilitate their persistence and success.

On Thursday, February 27, speaker Tom Hamm will present “African Americans in Wayne County: 1820-2020” at 6 p.m. at the Wayne County Historical Museum, 1150 N. A St., Richmond.

Tom Hamm

African Americans have had a presence in Wayne County from the beginning. Hamm will chronicle some of their experiences over the past 200 years in this region.

Hamm is professor of history and director of special collections and holds the Trueblood chair in Christian Thought at Earlham College, where he has taught since 1987. He is also among the world’s leading experts on Quakers in America. He has written and published extensively on Quaker history, particularly on their work in antislavery and for racial justice.