FORMER EDITOR OF ESSENCE MAGAZINE TO
DELIVER BLACK HISTORY MONTH KEYNOTE AT MOUNT HOLYOKE

SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. -- Monique Greenwood, former editor-in-chief of Essence magazine and author of Having What Matters: The Black Woman’s Guide to Creating the Life You Really Want, will deliver the keynote address for MHC’s Black History Month series on Wednesday, February 19 at 7:30 pm in Gamble Auditorium.

For three years, Greenwood served as editor-in-chief of Essence magazine, the nation’s leading publication for African American and Caribbean women. She left to devote more time to her family and to fully develop her own growing businesses. Greenwood is cofounder and national president of the Go On Girl! Book Club, the largest African American book club in the country, as well as a restaurateur, the owner of two bed-and-breakfast inns, a community activist, wife, and mother. A graduate of Howard University and an alumna of the Program for Developing Managers at Simmons Graduate School of Business, Greenwood lives in Brooklyn, New York.

“Successful in her own right, Greenwood describes her job and business pursuits as part of a ‘life mission,’ more geared toward personal satisfaction than competitive pressures,” says Booklist, the review journal of the American Library Association. “She subscribes to the belief that ‘success is personal fulfillment and satisfaction’ and encourages readers to define success for themselves.”

Greenwood’s appearance is one of a number of events being held at the College in celebration of Black History Month. Other events include:

Tuesday, February 11: John Grayson, associate professor of religion, speaks on “Malcolm and Martin” at 7:30 pm in Kendade Hall, Room 305.

Thursday, February 13: Nick Chiles and Denene Millner, authors of What Brothers Think, What Sistahs Know: The Real Deal on Love and Relationships, speak at 7:30 pm in Betty Shabazz House.

Friday, February 14: “Love, Poetry, and Chocolate,” an open mike night for guest poets, will be held at 8 pm in Betty Shabazz House.

Friday, February 21: MHC’s Association of Pan African Unity and Something Every Friday present “Ebony Theater,” an evening of music, dance, poetry, and theatrical performances, at 7 pm in Chapin Auditorium, Mary Woolley Hall.

Wednesday, February 26: Lois Brown, assistant professor of English, leads a discussion on “The Trials, Travels, and Literary Triumphs of Three Nineteenth-Century African, Afro-Caribbean, and African American Women” at 7 pm in Betty Shabazz House.

Friday, February 28: A Black History Month costume party will be held in Betty Shabazz House, at 7 pm.

All events are free, open to the public, and accessible by wheelchair. Black History Month events are sponsored by the Association of Pan African Unity; the Office of the President, the Dean of the College, and the Dean of Students; and the Office of Student Programs.