Chesapeake College students, faculty and staff, and members of the greater Mid-Shore community gathered on February 10 to celebrate Black History Month with a special focus on the arts.

The ​Black History Month Luncheon, sponsored by the Chesapeake College Multicultural Advisory Committee and UHURU Black Student Union, was a multigenerational commemoration of history and progress. Proceeds from the annual event support the J.C. Gibson Scholarship Fund.

Dr. Sharon Pepukayi, superintendent of Talbot County Public Schools, delivered the keynote address at the luncheon. She opened with a trivia quiz about African American musicians, composers, performers and artists.

Throughout the country’s history, Black artists have used the arts to express their individual creativity and for social commentary. Through visual and performing arts, Dr. Pepukayi said, Black artists have helped guide the country on a path toward social justice.

“From the early days, arts kept the culture together,” Dr. Pepukayi said. “Music, for example, is a universal language that serves as platform for expression. The arts have brought a deeper understanding of the African American experience.”

Encouraging the arts is not the sole responsibility of those who create or perform, according to the superintendent. It’s also important to appreciate and support the arts, she said, and to do so at the community level. Throughout the Mid-Shore, many organizations work to keep the arts alive. She urged the audience to support local arts as volunteers and patrons.

The event celebrated the arts with a spoken word performance by Chesapeake student Deleon Foster and musical performance by Stefany Sofia Fernandez Hernandez, Iglesia Evangelica Emanuel, of Easton.

The Multicultural Advisory Committee honored retiring member Rev. Alice Hutchins for her exemplary service.