In response to the fight against systemic racism in the United States, Danville Area Community College is offering a free, three-credit Black History course.
HIS-190, titled “African-American History”, will examine the socio-economic struggles that African-Americans have experienced in trying to achieve fair and equal treatment in the United States. The historical perspective spans from the times of African slave trade through the current rise of the “Black Lives Matter” movement.
Dr. Dwight Lucas II will be teaching two sections of the class on the Danville campus and one section at the Hoopeston Learning Center. Dr. Lucas suggested offering this class free to the public so that DACC “can do something local to stop this pandemic and deadly virus of racism.”
HIST 190 complies with Illinois State law that requires higher education and public schools to provide a historical and sociological course on African-American history. By offering the class for free to both college students and dual-credit high-school students, DACC expects the three sections to fill quickly with degree-seeking college students and community members who are seeking enlightenment.
Dr. Lucas says he feels privileged to teach the class. Besides possessing a Ph.D. in humanities, Dr. Lucas says he has other important credentials. He says, “I am also a Black Danville native familiar with the local problem of racism. (I’ve) felt the pain of too many lives lost to racism in the United States.”
Dr. Lucas is also hopeful that the success of this course will serve as a springboard to developing an African-American studies program as well as what he calls “other African-American awareness initiatives.”
For the Fall semester, the three DACC classes are split between in-class lecture and online in order to maintain social distancing and keep class sizes under 10. On the Danville Campus, one section takes place Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 11 a.m. to 11:50 a.m. The other section takes place Wednesday evenings from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. The section at the Hoopeston Learning Center is 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Thursdays. To register for any of these free sections, call 217-443-8750.
