Florida State University Panama City invites the community to celebrate Black History Month with a pair of events in February that explore the African American experience.

On Feb. 21, Dr. Alma Littles will speak on how to “Impact Tomorrow: Becoming a Champion of Change” during a luncheon event from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Littles is the Interim Dean of the FSU College of Medicine and served as senior associate dean for medical education and academic affairs at the medical school for nearly 20 years.

After graduating from the University of Florida College of Medicine, Littles completed her family medicine residency at Tallahassee Memorial Hospital. Having grown up in Quincy, she returned there following medical school to provide primary care in an area where medical providers were scarce. In 2000, not long after FSU College of Medicine was created, she became the acting and then founding chair of the college’s Department of Family Medicine and Rural Health. 

In addition to Dr. Littles’ address, the event will include selected readings by FSU PC graduate student Madison Kent and performances by the Northside Elementary School Step Team. Lunch will be served.

From 6-8 p.m. on Feb. 23, visiting professor Hadia Mubarak, Ph.D., from Queens University in Charlotte, N.C., will present “America’s First Muslims: From Chains to Civil Rights.” The discussion will focus on an overview of the history of Muslims in the United States through the historical accounts of enslaved Muslim Africans.

Mubarak teaches courses on Islam, comparative scriptures, women and gender in the Muslim world, the history of Islam in America, and religious representation in popular culture, among others.

Both events will take place in the St. Joe Community Lecture Hall at the Holley Academic Center, 4750 Collegiate Drive, Panama City. Admission is free and open to the public. The events are part of the ongoing Illumination Series at FSU PC, which provides opportunities to hear different viewpoints and learn from unique experiences. For more about the Illumination series, visit PC.FSU.edu/students/events-programs/illumination.

Throughout February, the Student Affairs office and Student Government Council will also host themed events for students to commemorate Black History Month. For more on these events, see the calendar at PC.FSU.edu/students.