February is Black History Month, and this year’s theme is “Black Legacy and Leadership: Celebrating Canadian History and Uplifting Future Generations.”
We invite the UWinnipeg community to celebrate, learn, and participate in the numerous activities happening in our communities.
Visit Black History Manitoba’s website to learn about local activities, including a craft and bake sale, night market, a Conversation with Black Women in Leadership, fashion demonstration, and more.
UWinnipeg-supported events
This year, UWinnipeg has partnered with the Afro-Caribbean Mentorship Program (ACMP)—along with the UM Black Alliance, RRC Polytech, and the University of Manitoba—for their 2025 Black History Month event “Empowering Voices: Amplifying Black Narratives in Leadership”.
The event takes place from 5 to 9 p.m. on February 28 at RRC Polytech, and features a keynote address by Uzoma Asagwara, Manitoba’s Deputy Premier and Minister of Health, Seniors and Long-Term Care.
UWinnipeg is also supporting the third annual “Anti-Black Racism As A Mental Health Concern” on February 7 at RRC Polytech, which features a keynote address by Dr. Wendell Adejetey, Associate Professor in the History Department, McGill University.
UW community members can register or RSVP for both events, as well as other events hosted by ACMP, by visiting their website.
Events and resources on campus
UWinnipeg’s BIPOC Lounge will host a Business Market in Riddell Hall atrium and Centennial Hall on February 11 and 12, as well as an Art Exhibition in the UWSA Boardroom from February 25 to 27. The BIPOC Lounge will also be hosting “Painting with Laura Iboje” in the UWSA Hive on February 27 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. For more information please visit the BIPOC Lounge web page.
The library will have a book display following this year’s Black History Month theme, which will be on display during the month of February. You can also view the library’s reading guides on Black Lives Matter, Colonization, Decolonization and Postcolonialism, and Race and Racialization.
The UWinnipeg Archives has two collections directly related to Black History in their BIPOC Collections.
The first is the Congress of Black Women of Manitoba Inc. fonds. This organization was formed officially in 1981, along with several other provincial chapters, after the National Congress of Black Women in 1980. The material in the fonds reflects the activism and outreach of the Congress and includes textual records as well as photographs.
The second is the Frances Atwell collection in the Western Canada Pictorial Index. Frances Atwell donated 12 family photographs dating from 1905 to 1940 to the WCPI. The oldest from 1905 depicts her grandmother Nellie Bell-Johnson, who came to Winnipeg from St. Paul’s, Minnesota. The photographs depict the family and other Black people in Manitoba.
