Black Carpet Event celebrates Black excellence during Black History Month

By Adam Crisp

Black Carpet Event celebrates Black excellence during Black History Month

The office of Student Diversity and Social Justice will celebrate the accomplishments of Black UNLV community members with the annual Black Carpet event on Feb. 22.

The event is set for 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. in the Student Union Ballroom. There’s no charge for admission, but organizers ask attendees to register in advance. 

The theme for this year’s Black Carpet event is “Legends,” a nod to the accomplishments of Black UNLV students, faculty, staff, and alumni, said Egypt Howard, SDSJ’s Black and African-American Program Coordinator. 

“The goal of the event is to really showcase, highlight, and acknowledge the work that’s being done through students, faculty, staff, and community members, and then be able to celebrate those achievements,” Howard said. 

The Black Carpet event will present four awards during the event. A committee will select award winners from public nominations. Those awards include the following:

Audre Lorde Leadership Award: Recognizes a distinguished Black student leader at UNLV

Dr. Bert Babero, Sr. Faculty/Staff Award: Recognizes Black staff or faculty member at UNLV

The Blackprint Award: Recognizes UNLV Black registered student organization

Claytee White Community Advocate Award: Recognizes a Black community member or partner

SDSJ organized a full line-up of Black History Month-related events that will continue throughout February. Howard said the Black Carpet event is a signature part of that programming.

“It’s a fitting culmination of Black History Month … because I think it’s important to highlight and acknowledge the accomplishments that might otherwise be overlooked or just not known because of how big our campus is,” Howard said.

The Feb. 22 event will be the fourth Black Carpet event organized by SDSJ. The two previous celebrations were held virtually, so this year’s event marks a return to an in-person celebration. Howard says that as more events return to in-person formats, she hopes to expand the student engagement and advocacy work at the heart of SDSJ’s mission.  

“ Since we’re hopefully coming out of this pandemic, I’m optimistic that this will reignite some of the passion on campus to do some more programming … that it will reignite the energy that we need to come together and create new initiatives on campus for Black students in general,” Howard said.