The BYU Office of Belonging is taking Brigham Young University's sesquicentennial theme, “Sharing Light,” and applying it in its gallery, “A Legacy of Light.”
Shana Clemence, manager of BYU Belonging Communications, and Lita Little Giddins, associate vice president of belonging, worked together to bring their idea to life.
The gallery highlights 28 lesser-known Black American historical figures — one for each day of Black History Month.
"That's one of the fun parts about it, is they might be a little bit more obscure to some of the viewers, but with things that they've done are very relatable and very helpful for just how we live our lives every day," Clemence said.
One such person is Sarah E. Goode, who invented the first cabinet folding bed for cramped living spaces.
"It kind of had some dignity and some innovation to it, but very intentional behind that invention, because it was people that she had in mind, and it started with her family’s needs,” Giddins said.
Goode is only one of the 28 people on display. Every photograph on the wall comes with a story.
"The stories that we are given an opportunity to learn about helps us to increase that understanding of our connections: of how we belong to each other because we belong to god,” Giddins said. “We belong to God — that means we belong to each other."
"Having an open heart and an open ear brings people closer to God," Giddins said.
"Each day, we light a candle underneath the next person, and we put the information, their bio, up alongside their pictures,” Clemence said. “So each day, more of these individuals are being revealed.”
On Feb. 27, the Office of Belonging will host an open house event where they light the final candle.
"We're going to celebrate their gifts of light,” Giddins said. “And as we celebrate their gifts of light, we get to celebrate our own gifts and rediscover them and discover anew."
The event will include speakers, refreshments and a musical number by BYU's Rhythm n' Soul Collective.
"It's important that we continue to do things like the gallery wall, and these identity-based celebrations, because it helps us to remember who we are and whose we are," Giddins said.
To learn more about these 28 historical figures, the gallery is open through the end of February.