DANBURY, CONN. — In recognition of Black History Month, Western Connecticut State University will present Steven Fullwood, associate curator since 1998 at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, for a discussion about “Whose Harlem Renaissance is This Anyway?” at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2017, in Room 218 of the Classroom Building on the university’s Westside campus, 43 Lake Ave. Extension in Danbury. Fullwood’s talk is expected to focus on why resistances are not merely momentary distractions or agitations, but a centuries-long attempt to secure full access to constitutional rights that have never been fully available to the peoples for and about whom the work of the Harlem Renaissance was created. A question-and-answer period will follow the talk, which is free and open to the public.

Professor and Chair of the English Department Dr. Donald Gagnon was involved in the planning of the university’s Black History Month program. He said, “When WCSU Interim Chief Diversity Officer Daryle Dennis mentioned that the theme of this year’s Black History Month observation would be the Harlem Renaissance, I immediately thought of Mr. Fullwood. His work is driven by the care for and proliferation of important documents and artifacts that often include works created during the Harlem Renaissance. The Schomburg Center is one of the primary cultural products of the Harlem Renaissance and Steven Fullwood has worked enthusiastically with WCSU students on repeated visits to the center, arranging exhibitions of documents and artifacts not generally available to the public.”

Fullwood currently assists in managing reference services and collection development for the archival collections and rare books while overseeing the “In the Life Archive,” a project devoted to acquiring and preserving historical materials created by and about queer life of people of African descent. He is co-editor of the recent anthology, “Black Gay Genius: Answering Joseph Beam’s Call.”

Also scheduled for Black History Month, the WCSU Department of History and Non-Western Cultures and the WCSU Archives will host historian Ryan Bachman for a discussion about “Rights of Freedom: African American Property Rights in the Antebellum South” at 3 p.m. on Feb. 22 in Room 122 of White Hall on the university’s Midtown campus, 181 White St. in Danbury. The talk will be free and the public is invited. For more information about this event, call (203) 837-8484.

The university’s Jazz Ensemble and Frankensax will perform the music of the Harlem Renaissance at 8 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 24, in the Veronica Hagman Concert Hall of the Visual and Performing Arts Center on the Westside campus, 43 Lake Ave. Extension in Danbury. For tickets, visit www.eventbrite.com/e/wcsu-frankensax-jazz-ensemble-tickets-30294542793.

For more information about Black History Month at WestConn, contact the Office of University Relations at (203) 837-8486.

Western Connecticut State University offers outstanding faculty in a range of quality academic programs. Our diverse university community provides students an enriching and supportive environment that takes advantage of the unique cultural offerings of Western Connecticut and New York. Our vision: To be an affordable public university with the characteristics of New England’s best small private universities.