March is Women’s History Month!

Spring ’23- Upcoming events

March 8- Celebrate International Women’s Day- #EmbraceEquity Pledge Booth
Belleville Campus Liberal Arts Building- Lobby 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
Sam Wolf Granite City Campus- Commons 11 a.m-1 p.m.

March 22- HerStory Quotables- tee shirt making
Belleville Campus Main Complex First Floor Lounge 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
Sam Wolf Granite City Campus Commons 11 a.m.-1 p.m.

Celebrate Women’s History at SWIC Library

Our Women’s History online resource features the ACTIONS of women.

Women – VOTE – WORK – RISE UP – STAND UP – EXPRESS – PLAY SPORTS – FIGHT – RULE – TELL – and INSPIRE!

• Watch AND Share a variety of short, fun and interesting videos!
• Browse AND Request a sampling of our books right from your computer!   
• Finally, be sure to scroll down the page for a curated list of great web resources!

We hope you enjoy our online resource guide because…

February is Black History Month!

SWIC Diversity and Inclusion programming celebrates Black History Month!

Plan to join us for one of the informative and educational presentations offered this month.

Schedule of upcoming events

Feb. 23
1 p.m.
“Born in the Struggle” documentary film and chat with the filmmaker, Kamasi Hill, Ph.D.

The documentary digs into the roots of a generation whose voice is rising in a time of increased racial tensions from current movements such as Black Lives Matter. For more event details, visit Born in the Struggle event.
This is a virtual event. Limited, small group seating available in LA Theatre.
ZOOM meeting link for Born in the Struggle.

Past speakers & events

Black History Month

Jan. 26
12 p.m.
Clint Smith presents Migration from Slavery to the Civil Rights Movement: The Story of Black People in the United States.
This is a virtual event. Limited, small group seating available in LA Theatre.

Feb. 10
Poetry Out Loud South Central Regional Contest Finals featuring guest poet Charlois Lumpkin.
This is a virtual competition. The Champion and Runner Up will be announced and the guest poet’s performance will be live at swic.edu/poetry-out-loud on February 11, 2022.

Feb. 17
11 a.m.
Oh Freedom! Songs of the Civil Rights Movement

Guitarist, songwriter and folklorist Chris Vallillo presents Oh, Freedom- a collection of multi-instrumental performances of pivotal songs that inspired and sustained our nation’s Civil Rights Movement and resonate with audiences today. For more on the performer, visit www.chrisvallillo.com.
This is a virtual event. Limited, small group seating available in LA Theatre.
Zoom Meeting link for Oh, Freedom!

Celebrate LGBT+ Month

Hispanic Heritage Month at SWIC

Learn more about Hispanic Heritage Month@SWIC Library!

Celebrate and explore Hispanic Heritage Sept. 15-Oct. 15

Don’t miss the virtual presentation of “Latines in Illinois and the USA: Music as a Cultural History” with Catalina Maria Johnson, Ph.D. on Tues., Oct 5, 2021 at 11:00 A.M.  

Email amy.brockman@swic.edu to request the Zoom presentation link.

About the virtual presentation:

Music can be viewed and “read” as a tool that shares the cultural values, roots, and history of peoples. Over the years, numerous Latino musical genres share the concerns of Latinos throughout the years. For example, there are songs about immigrant woes of the early 20th century to today. Recently, Latinos around the U.S. commented on the 43 student-teachers murdered in Ayotzinapa, Guerrero by creating various songs in different genres. This program focuses on a broad overview of milestones the last 75 years of music in the Latino U.S. as a way of understanding the history, roots, and concerns of Latinos in this land, with a special emphasis on Mexican and Puerto Rican musicians in Illinois as Latino populations that have profoundly marked the state’s culture and music.

The presentation, paired with slides and musical samples, is lively and focused on participation, discussion, and exploration of complex topics through musical enjoyment! 

About the presenter:

Catalina Maria Johnson, Ph.D. is a Chicago-based journalist. She hosts and produces her own radio show, Beat Latino, which airs in Chicago on Vocalo (Chicago Public Media). Catalina is also a regular contributor to NPR, Bandcamp, Downbeat and other outlets and a member of the editorial board of Revista Contratiempo.

Catalina credits the tenacious insistence of a Mexican mom and a German/Swedish dad for the extraordinary gift of a bilingual and bicultural heritage. Thanks to them, she grew up between two cities named St. Louis, one in Missouri, and the other, San Luis Potosi, Mexico. Her music journalism explores the extraordinary diversity of the global music scene with an emphasis on Latin and Latino music – from the most traditional roots music to cutting-edge electronic grooves. It is also very important to her to focus on the cultural riches that immigrants bring to the country of destiny, an invaluable and often unrecognized gift.

About Us

The SWIC Diversity & Inclusion Committee is a group of faculty, staff, and student leaders who meet monthly to discuss and plan educational and social events and activities for students and the communities we serve district wide.

Our Mission

The mission of Southwestern Illinois College’s Diversity and Inclusion programming is to promote the understanding and respect for others regardless of race, creed, color, sex, religion, national origin/ancestry, disability, sexual orientation or age through education and activities programming for our students and community.

Contact Us

For questions or more information call Amy Brockman at 618-235-2700, ext. 5324
or via email: amy.brockman@swic.edu