Step Afrika! kicks off Black History Month

Grand Valley will celebrate Black History Month with a myriad of events that kicks off on Thursday, February 6, with an international touring dance ensemble.

Step Afrika! USA is a percussive dance ensemble based in Washington, D.C., that highlights the African-American fraternity and sorority art form of stepping and its links to dance traditions around the world.

Step Afrika! will bring its high-energy show to the Cook-DeWitt Center at 6 p.m. on Thursday . Admission is free and the event is open to the public.

Founded in 1996, Step Afrika! tours to rave reviews throughout the United States, Europe, and South Africa. A reviewer in the Washington Post said, 'The performers, equally adept at complex stepping, dancing and, most vital, acting, drove the crowd to whoops and hollers.'

The show precedes Soul Fest, which will be held in the Grand River Room of the Kirkhof Center. Sponsored by the Black Student Union, Soul Fest honors the history of African people by highlighting African food adapted using resources that were available during the slavery era.

For information about Black History Month events, call GVSU's Multicultural Affairs at 616-331-2177.Other events this month include the following:

February 13: BET Comic View Comedians, 7 p.m., Grand River Room, Kirkhof Center.

February 14: Dating Game, 7 p.m., Grand River Room, Kirkhof Center.

February 15: Apollo Night, 7 p.m., Cook-DeWitt Center, features student talent.

February 19: 'What Ever Happened to Idlewild?' 12 noon, Grand River Room, Kirkhof Center. Coy Davis, Jr., publisher of 'Breakthrough Magazine,' will present a one-hour documentary on the Lake County community, which was a summer resort for African-Americans in the 1940s-60s.

February 25: Author Lawrence C. Ross, Jr., will lecture on his book, 'The Divine Nine: The History of African-American Fraternities and Sororities,' at 7 p.m., Grand River Room, Kirkhof Center. Published in 2000, the 'Divine Nine' remains the No. 1 bestseller among African-American college students. It was the first book to chronicle the history of nine fraternities and sororities. During lectures, Ross, a member of Alpha Phi Alpha, also discusses issues like pledging, hazing, and the responsibilities of fraternity and sorority members.