On Wednesday February 1st, 2023 an event led by the Black Student Union was held at the Connelly Center on Villanova University’s campus. The ceremony was held to kick off Black History Month on campus, and celebrate the raising of the BLM flag in the Connelly Center. There was a large group of students, faculty and community members there to support the movement and the ceremony.  A lot of emotions were felt, given recent events, as the ceremony and flag raising touched many.

The Black Student Union issued the following statement about the event: “On February 1, 2023, the Black Student Union at Villanova University made history within the Villanova community.  We made a dream into a reality by fighting for a simple but major way to be seen.  With the unveiling of the Black Lives Matter banner, our hope is for all individuals who are a part of the Black community at Villanova, understand that they are heard, seen, loved, and supported.  We also want the Black community to know that they will always have an organization who will work tirelessly to ensure that Villanova never falls short in those areas, while exemplifying our university’s core values: unitas, caritas, and veritas.  But, more importantly we want those within the Black community at Villanova to know that you are important and your life does matter.  We look forward to the future of Villanova University and its Black community.”

The Black Student Union worked very hard to put this ceremony together and to have the Black Lives Matter banner hung in the Connelly Center for the whole community to see. This was an important milestone for the University to show members of the Black community on campus that they are in a safe place, and will be seen and heard.

At the ceremony, the associate dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Dr. Crystal Lucky, gave the speech and led a prayer to the entire community prior to unveiling the Black Lives Matter Banner.  Dr. Lucky began, “For these kinds of events, the prayer I would want to pray would be one that sounds more poetic, but today I just want to pray,” she said. “We are asking the Lord to continue to give us the ability to show love, to show wisdom, to show solidarity because Lord you are the God of justice and you are the God of peace. It is time for this flag to be included with the other flags in the Connelly Center to acknowledge that Black lives do matter. We are dedicating this flag not to offend anyone, but to declare that we matter, that we matter to you [Lord], that we matter in this world, that we matter on this campus.”

The ceremony and the hanging of the Black Lives Matter banner was a meaningful and important event to Villanova’s community.  The flag now hangs in the Connelly Center, one of the most popular places on campus, to show how much meaning it holds at Villanova.