NEIU and the Pedroso Center kicked off Black History Month with its third annual Soul Food Dinner held on Feb. 4, 2025 at Alumni Hall. For the event, the Pedroso Center invited Dr. Obari Cartman and his brother Ayide Cartman, both of whom played hand drums, and the musical band The Windy City Ramblers, a nonprofit band dedicated to youth development in Chicago.
Introduced by Dr. DeWitt Scott, Director of the Angelina Pedroso Center for Diversity and Intercultural Affairs, Dr. Cartman talked about the importance of this year’s theme, African Americans and Labor, with an emphasis on the perception of how African Americans are lazy. This year’s Black History Month works to shape the perception to emphasize the amount of work African Americans did in the past as well as the work they still have to do. That theme works to recognize the struggles of the past as well as the fight against racism happening today.
Dr. Cartman emphasizes the importance of this fight through the work he does. As president of the Chicago Association of Black Psychologists as well as his work with Healing Empowering & Learning Professionals, he works to reach out to African Americans to help empower them.
As an artist, Ayinde Cartman works to express his experiences through various mediums. Ayinde Cartman read an excerpt from one of his poems, “Corpse dug out of wombs, opportunity knocked out of the park. It’s only one path to choose, catch that fly ball and fair till this catch 22 starts behind the score. Can’t play by the rules. Options far in few situations lose work till you die with no living proof or run bases in the mud.”
The last of the musicians were The Windy City Ramblers, who performed through use of band instruments such as trombones and trumpets. Their goal is to emphasize the importance of fine arts as a form of expression for students. Between the two groups, the message was clear that expression comes in many forms.
Guests had a variety of soul food options, such as pounded chicken smothered in gravy, fried chicken, pork chops, mac and cheese, salad, and yams.
One student in attendance, Angel Daluge, said after the event, “I would say the biggest takeaway was how important it is to acknowledge each other and to spend time with each other and the community and understanding how that in itself is powerful.”
