From hair to body image to heritage, black women are considered by many to be interesting and complex. In honor of Black History Month, Wallace Community College-Selma wants black women to embrace who they are and celebrate their place in history.

Sponsored by Wallace’s Black History Observance Committee, the free event themed “Black Women in American Culture and History,” will showcase multiple events throughout the month of February.

Wallace director of performing arts Godfrey King believes the event is a must for black students.

“Simply because we serve a large area — people from Uniontown, Marion, Wilcox County, we want to let them know their heritage is something they should be proud of and embrace,” King said. “There are a lot of African American women that have made great contributions.”

From symposiums to book reviews to movie viewings, King said he hopes the extensive schedule will inspire and encourage students.

“Hopefully it will give them the opportunity to see people who took what they had to get what they needed,” King said. “Like quilting … it was originally a skill and a craft made out of the need to be warm. Quilts were made out of stuff the whites no longer wanted.

“We want our students to see (if they) open up your mind, creativity and our ability to be innovative, we’ll be able to take the ‘stuff’ given to us, leftovers, and create, build or make, something that is worth more than what we had in the beginning,” King said.