The Archives at NMU will host an event called “Black Pride, Billy Clubs, and Broken Promises: Student Protests at NMU.”

The event will detail records of a student protest that happened at Northern in the 1960s, including the demands of the protestors, and will take a look back from a modern-day point of view at how well those demands were met by the university.

The event is free to the public, and refreshments will be provided.

Marcus Robyns, Northern’s Archivist, will be introducing the event’s speaker, Kyleigh Sapp. Robyns said we need to be “vigilant” in regards to civil rights in the modern day.

“Given our current political atmosphere, It’s really timely to have this presentation,” Robyns said. “This is extremely relevant.”

Robyns said this will be a scholarly presentation based on evidence from the archives. The goal is to present the information without any “spin.”

Sapp, is an employee of the archives and an active member of the Black Student Union. She will be drawing parallels not only to the events of distant past, but also to presentations made at the university more recently.
“Previous presentations gave evidence of administrative progress,” Sapp said. “My presentation will focus more on the atmosphere of what things were like here in Marquette.”

This is one of a limited number of events focused on Black History Month.

The Black Student Union will also be hosting a few events around campus, including a “Let’s Talk About It” forum later this month. The goal of this event it to openly discuss big issues in a constructive way.

“It really all comes down to being open,” Sapp said. “Listen to the opinions of people you might not always agree with and try and educate yourself.”

The event will be held at the Archives at NMU at 7 p.m. this evening. It is a free event, open to students and the public.