Keynote speaker Eboné Bell spoke to the Central Connecticut State University campus on the importance of knowing Black history on Feb. 4.

The event, “Black History is American History,” was hosted in Alumni Hall by the Student Activities and Leadership Development and the Mosaic Center as a part of Central’s celebration of Black History Month. Bell spoke to Central students about how Black history is a core part of American history outside of what is commonly taught in school.

Bell said from the very beginning of the founding of this country, Black people have been intimately involved, and that deserves acknowledgment. She said that we should not ignore the uncomfortable parts of history, as knowing everything lets us improve the present.

“It’s important we know everything so we understand what got us here today,” Bell said.

Bell shared stories of lesser known events in Black history that have helped to shape how America is today. These stories included that of the first self-made female millionaire Madam C.J. Walker, the 1921 Tulsa race massacre, LGBTQ activist Marsha P. Johnson and the Freedom Riders. With each story, Bell described how they relate back to subjects like personal achievement, individualism, progress and material comfort. She said she wanted to highlight these stories through the lens of American values to better relate them to American history as a whole.

“Even though I know that it’s not necessarily upheld, but it should be said that despite how oppressed Black people were and are, [they] still uphold American values, still to this day,” Bell said.

Bell encouraged everyone in the audience to continue to educate themselves about Black history and engage with it more, saying that there is so much more to it than what is typically presented. She said that all aspects of it contribute in some way to who and what we as a country are today and can be. Afterwards, Bell took questions from the audience about the topics she talked about.

Aimee Pozorski, an English professor and coordinator of the Racial Justice Certificate program at Central, said the event gave a significant look at the contributions of Black Americans in the context of U.S. history. She said that she liked hearing about the contributions of Black women and transgender women in regards to how it affected U.S. history. Pozorski said that when we examine our history, we cannot solely look at the accomplishments of white men, but have to consider all people.

“It shows how we contradict ourselves when talking about American values without making room for everybody,” Pozorski said.

Ashley Tanguay, a student at Central, said the event created a strong emotional connection for her. She said the topics that were discussed are not taught every day and she wasn’t aware of most of it until now. Tanguay said she appreciated how Bell focused the event on people’s stories instead of statistics, and she is now more open to things going on in real life.

“I came for a class and I’m leaving more aware things,” Tanguay said.