Cowboys Of Color: A Multi-Cultural Legacy Volume 1 Trailer

ROCK SPRINGS – The History Department, the Hay Library and the Student Engagement Committee at Western Wyoming Community College will host the Black History Month Seminar Series each Wednesday of the month beginning Feb. 4. Each program will run from 1 – 2:15 p.m. in Room 1309. Presentations will focus on issues of race and equality specific to Wyoming and will include a film screening, a student panel, and a presentation from the Sweetwater County Historical Museum.

These events are free and open to the public. Community members are invited to bring a lunch and join our students, faculty and staff for enlightening and invigorating discussions.

Presentations in the Black History Month Seminar Series include:

Feb. 4 – “Whitewashing Wyoming: We’re Not Racist, But….”  Professor of Sociology Steve Miraglia, Ph.D., will discuss perceptions versus reality of racial equality in the Equality State.

Feb. 11 – Film Screening and Discussion: “Cowboys of Color: A Multicultural Legacy, Volume 1” – This film examines the oft-overlooked history of African-American cowboys, their lives on the range and their contributions to Western culture.  

Feb. 18 – “Claiming Their Place: African-Americans in Early Sweetwater County” – Brie Blasi, Curator of the Sweetwater County Historical Museum, will discuss the history of people of color in the early days of Sweetwater County.

Feb. 25 – “Equality in the Equality State: Modern Issues of Race” – A panel of Western Wyoming Community College students will discuss issues of race in the context of present-day Wyoming.

In addition to the presentations, each Wednesday the Sweet Memories Student Research Group will host a lunch or bake sale from 11:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. in support of the group’s upcoming trip to the annual conference of the Western Social Science Association – Rural & Agricultural Studies. There will also be raffles each week. The fundraiser schedule includes:

Feb. 4 – Lunch Sale (Sandwiches)

Feb. 11 – Bake Sale  

Feb. 18 – Lunch Sale (Fried Chicken)

Feb. 25 – Soul Food Cook-Off

Finally, visitors to campus in February should check out the Black History Month Display on the second floor at the Hay Library while they are on campus.

The Black History Month Seminar Series is sponsored by WWCC’s History Department, Hay Library and Student Engagement Committee.