Celebration or Placebo?

This article reports on the questions that have been posed in recent years about the relevance of Black History Month and related celebrations, particularly those in institutions of higher education as of February 2006. According to Audrey T. McCluskey, associate professor of African and African American diaspora studies and director of the Black Film Center/Archive at Indiana University, over the years, she has grown increasingly disenchanted with Black History Month, even as she reluctantly participates in some of the festive activities. INSET: A MISSION, A THEME AND A MONTH.