LeMoyne-Owen College President Dr. Johnnie L. Watson grew up in a housing project across the street from the historically black liberal arts college he now leads at 807 Walker Ave. in South Memphis.

He said he’s regularly invited to speak at local elementary, middle and high schools, where he shares his story along with those of other successful African-Americans who may not be listed in history books.

“I still feel that African-American young people have not taken full advantage of the opportunities that the civil rights movement presented for us,” Watson said. “That’s a part of the message that I deliver. … I want students to see that no matter how poor they were born, they can rise above those levels.”

Black history is part of the core curriculum at LeMoyne-Owen, but the contributions of African-Americans are in even greater focus this month as the college joins academic institutions across the country in celebrating Black History Month.

In accordance with this year’s theme centered on black women in American culture and history, LeMoyne-Owen on Wednesday, Feb. 1, brought historian Dr. Tiffany Ruby Patterson, acting director and associate professor of African-American and Diaspora Studies at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, to nearby Metropolitan Baptist Church, 767 Walker Ave., to discuss the cultural and literary contributions of southern African-American women.

LeMoyne-Owen history professor Dr. Elton Weaver said the college will show several films, including one on the life of writer Zora Neale Hurston, Feb. 13, and “Mooz-lum,” a film co-starring Danny Glover that depicts Muslim African-Americans in the wake of 9/11, on Feb. 20.

Former LeMoyne-Owen College history professor Dr. Randolph Meade Walker on Feb. 16 will deliver a presentation highlighting the contributions of African-American women, and college librarian Dr. Catherine Johnson on Feb. 23 will discuss the literary writings of Jessie Redmon Fauset.

The festivities will wrap up Feb. 25 with the college’s second annual Harambee Festival, featuring speakers, outside vendors and a community health fair. All events are open to the public.

“I’ve taught at the University of Memphis and now I’m teaching here, and I’ve taught white students, Latino students, Asian students and African-American students,” Weaver said. “And all the students I’ve taught are hungry for the truth about history. I don’t know if that means we’ve made progress, but I do know that the students I have contact with are eager, open-minded and want to know more.”

Weaver said some would argue that Black History Month, founded by historian Dr. Carter Woodson to commemorate African-American freedom, has become more commercialized in recent years.

Weaver said it was originally established as a weeklong celebration in February to coincide with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass.

“Black History Month isn’t just about Hallmark cards and black celebrities in Hollywood,” Weaver said. “It’s about the whole nation coming together and putting away their differences and remembering that there was a time in our country when African-Americans were not free. They weren’t even considered citizens of the United States. So that was (Woodson’s) aim for Black History Month.”

Watson, a former high school history teacher, has seen firsthand that history books are frequently outdated and largely lacking in information about African-American contributions to society.

“I found that textbooks, a lot of times, were structured depending on the area of the country you lived in,” Watson said. “In the South, there might just be three or four pages on the Civil War, but in the northern part of the country, you might have 20 more pages on it. I learned that the purpose of that was that as the South was going through segregation, the textbook publishers didn’t want to do anything that could incite. We are still underrepresented in many of the textbooks that are still printed in 2012.”

Watson said state and federal governments have mandated numerous changes and implemented demands for high accountability for teachers that pose obstacles to spending more time on black history.

“Almost any teacher at any school in this city would have absolutely no problem with finding time to talk about the contributions and the history of African-Americans in the classroom,” Watson said. “But when they look at the accountability demands that have been placed on them, they have to raise the question, ‘Do I take 15 minutes from this day to talk about the contributions of African-Americans or do I use that time to improve reading or math skills to prepare them for a test that’s going to be part of my evaluation?’ It’s a dilemma.”

He said that for the same reason, today’s students have fewer field trip opportunities, and he’d like to see more students and their families take an interest in local historic sites – such as Elmwood Cemetery and the National Civil Rights Museum – with significant ties to African-American history.

Watson also said one of the stories he plans to highlight this month is the contribution of Dr. Julius LeMoyne, a white Pennsylvania doctor and abolitionist who in 1870 donated $20,000 to establish the school that would eventually become LeMoyne-Owen College.

“That’s a significant bit of history that I’ll highlight this month,” he said. “A lot of people don’t know that this college is here today because of a white abolitionist.”