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GLENVILLE, WV – As a part of Black History Month celebrations, Glenville State College hosted Dr. Cicero Fain on February 7 for a presentation on Black history in West Virginia, specifically the Huntington area.
Glenville State’s Department of Social Science hosted Fain, who is currently a visiting diversity scholar at Marshall University and author of the award-winning book, Black Huntington: An Appalachian Story. He spoke to an audience of 90 in the President’s Auditorium on the topic of “Black Entrepreneurial Spirit, Black Huntington, WV, 1871-1929.”
His presentation examined the strategies and tactics utilized by Black Huntingtonians to blunt the corrosive impact of segregation, industrial racism, and political impediments during the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries. Not content to remain at the bottom of Huntington’s white controlled occupational and political structures, Black Huntingtonians, embracing the Racial Uplift philosophy of the era, employed increasingly sophisticated entrepreneurial strategies to build economically stable households and inter-generational wealth. Foremost was property acquisition to move up the economic ladder, build community institutions, and to advance the race.
“This was one of the most enjoyable presentations I’ve ever given,” Fain said. “Not only was it the largest audience I’ve ever had, but the quality of student engagement was top-notch. Their interest was gratifying and their questions thought-provoking. Kudos to all involved for arranging this wonderful event.”
“I really enjoyed how he went in-depth with a topic that does not seem to be talked about very much. Dr. Fain was quite knowledgeable about Black History in Huntington, West Virginia,” said Jacob Price, a senior History and Political Science major at Glenville State College. “When giving a lecture, people who come to those events want depth and excitement…not just to sell books. And I feel that he knocked the lecture out of the park.”
Fain’s was the second discussion hosted by the Department of Social Science in the 2021-22 academic year, and the department aims to continue the series into the future. During Glenville State College’s Day of Giving, the department will be raising funds to expand upon the guest speaker series.
For more information about the event, contact the Chair of the Department of Social Science, Dr. Kaitlin Ensor at Kaitlin.Ensor@glenville.edu or (304) 462-6281.
