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A public university in DeKalb, Illinois, hosted a segregated graduation event for black students.

The Center for Black Studies at Northern Illinois University hosted a “Black Graduation Recognition Celebration” on May 5, marking the 35th time this event has been hosted.

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In addition to the segregated graduation ceremony, the Center for Black Studies hosts many other identity-based events throughout the year, including “Black Heritage Month” in February and a “Pre-Kwanzaa Celebration” in December.

On April 3, the Center announced “Black Studies Course Offerings” for the Fall 2024 semester. The courses announced included “Racism in American Culture and Society,” “Social Philosophy of Hip Hop Culture,” and “Issues that African American students face.”

On April 3, the Center hosted a panel discussion on the intersection of race and gender called “What’s the Difference? Feminism, Black Feminism, and African Womanism.” Featured panelists were LaVerne Gyant, formerly director of NIU’s Center for Black Studies, and Katy Jaekel, ACUE Distinguished Teaching Scholar at NIU.

NIU also hosted a “Lavender Graduation Celebration” for students who identify as LGBT on May 9. “We will celebrate graduates whose identities include: lesbian, gay, bisexual, pansexual, transgender, asexual, agender, queer, non-heterosexual and non-binary. /gender nonconforming and additional ways people can describe their gender/sexual identities,” the school’s Gender and Sexuality Resource Center announced.

“We will celebrate graduates whose identities include: lesbian, gay, bisexual, pansexual, transgender, asexual, agender, queer, non-heterosexual, and non-binary/gender non-conforming and additional ways people can describe their gender identities/ sexual”. she wrote.

The registration page for the event asked participants to provide their preferred pronouns.

This year’s segregated graduations are not the only case of NIU hosting identity-based events.

In June 2023, the school hosted a “Social Justice Summer Camp for Educators” that included discussions on “Critical Race Theory,” “LGBTQ Advocacy,” “Understanding Social Justice Education,” and “Multicultural Children’s Literature.” “, among other topics.

(RELATED: ‘The Power of Queer Community’: Colgate University Hosts Segregated ‘Lavender Graduation’ for Students Who Identify as LGBTQ)

In the spring 2023 semester, the university hosted social justice workshops that focused on topics such as “white fragility” and “racial battle fatigue.”

Campus reform has contacted Northern Illinois University for comment. This story will be updated accordingly.