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The documentary “Do You Know That You Have Black Friends?: A Re-education on Race for White Americans by Black Americans” headlined a night of BLACK—A Celebration of Black Research at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville on Wednesday, Feb. 19 in Morris University Center. Filmmaker, author and SIUE associate professor of political science and director of Black Studies Timothy E. Lewis, PhD, hosted the film’s debut during a program that included inspiring speeches with revelatory data, a documentary film screening and an awards ceremony “honoring the lives and narrative of Black triumph.”

Lewis’ honored guests included Emmitt Riley, III, PhD, National President of the National Conference of Black Political Scientists (NCOBPS), Sherice J. Nelson, PhD, author of “The Congressional Black Caucus: Fifty Years of Fighting for Equality,” Sheila Caldwell, PhD, SIU System’s Vice President for Anti-racism Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Chief Diversity Officer, and SIU System President Daniel Mahony, PhD.

WSIE 88.7 The Sound’s Robin Boyce emceed with welcome remarks from Nicole Franklin, SIUE Director of Communications.

The documentary profiled rarely discussed historical figures, first-person accounts of individuals who experienced racial discrimination during the Jim Crow era and on-camera appearances by Lewis who presented video commentary and analysis.

“Nothing in society compels white people to learn anything about their Black friends except that their skin tones are different,” shares Lewis in the film.

Mahony, who described himself as both a researcher and an accountant, offered remarks after the film screening.  
 
“What Dr. Lewis did was give us the data and then talked about how the stories came into that data, and I think that is one of the things we need to repeatedly do,” said Mahony. “It is important that we keep sharing those stories, sharing even more recent stories and things that are happening today, because we need to keep moving forward.” 
 
Irma Lewis, one of the night’s awardees, is the mother of nine children. Her son, Dr. Lewis, is the second to last in birth order. When Ms. Lewis was asked how she felt about her son’s premier event and powerful presentation, she recalled him being inspired by Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. “When he was young, he made a statement: ‘I'm going to be a gospel preacher.’”  
 
The evening’s sponsors included SIUE’s Department of Mass Communications, the Department of Political Science, the College of Arts and Sciences Dean’s Office, SIUE Graduate School, the Student Social Work Association, the Black Faculty and Staff Association (BFSA), the SIUE Foundation, the Kimmel Belonging and Engagement HUB, University Marketing and Communications, and SIUE’s Division for Anti-Racism, Diversity, Equity, and SIUE’s Office of Community Engagement. 
 
Lewis’ film “Do You Know That You Have Black Friends?” is a preview of his forthcoming book. 
 
The evening’s celebration of Black research invited audience members to invest in the next generation of Black researchers by contributing to the SIUE Black Studies Program and/or the Black Faculty and Staff Association Scholarship Fund. 

Photos by Howard Ash