The New Mexico State University Black Student Association has a full schedule of events for Black History Month.
The Black Student Association at NMSU held a living Wax Museum, students and faculty dressed up like historical figures and provided information about why they were influential. Vice President Meligha Garfield says it was a fun way to bring the historical figures to life.
“We wanted to kind of present historical figures throughout time,” Garfield said. “But kind of show them that these are some historical figures, so we provide knowledge to show them that hey we have these historical figures presented, you should learn about these new people because they are important throughout history.”
Garfield portrayed a historical radio host.
“I am Melvin Lindsey,” Garfield said. “He’s a radio broadcaster from the 1970s and early 80s. Unfortunately he died from AIDS later on in his life in the 1990s, but he’s the person who kind of invented the programming of R&B soul, which is a quiet storm, where they play slow jams at night, and it was kind of translated throughout the country as far as radio programming.”
Garfield says they wanted to portray lesser known figures, as well as the well known ones to teach people something new.
“We wanted a range to show that Black History wasn’t just Martin Luther King,” Garfield said. “It wasn’t just Malcom X, it was all types of kind of pioneers in history that presented music, presented arts, presented intellectual conversations, and they brought it to the table.”
Garfield says they made an effort to invite members of the community, especially children.
“We usually don’t branch out to the community,” Garfield said. “And I wanted to kind of push that as well as my executive team, pushing that to have a connection with a community and the black community, as well as the Las Cruces Community bringing children here to the show. But we also have children who are coming here to see these human wax figures, to see oh well I didn’t know about this person, I didn’t know about Martin Luther King, or the kind of guy he was, or how he presented himself.”
For more information on Black History Month Events visit the Black Student Association Facebook page.
