BAAC Leads Collin College Black History Month Events Across Campuses

Collin College’s Black American Awareness Committee (BAAC) is leading a districtwide slate of Black History Month programming in February, anchored by a traveling Douglass Visions exhibit, campus art displays, panel discussions and a community film screening. The schedule, published by Collin College Cougar News, places events at Celina, Wylie, Farmersville, Frisco and McKinney campuses and includes specific dates, times and room assignments.

Collin College announced the programming in a Jan. 29 release, saying, “Collin College will celebrate Black History Month with a series of events hosted by the Collin College Black American Awareness Committee (BAAC) throughout the month of February. This year’s national theme is ‘A Century of Black History Commemorations.’” The college lists the Celina Campus North Lobby at 2505 Kinship Parkway for an art posters display on Feb. 2 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. The Douglass Visions’ African American Museum Exhibit will appear Feb. 9 at Celina (Room 110), Feb. 10 at the Wylie Campus Student Center Atrium, and Feb. 12 at the Farmersville Campus Atrium, all scheduled from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. An Instagram post tied to Douglass Visions promotes the exhibit, saying, “Enjoy Douglass Visions' African American Campus Museum, on display at Collin College campuses across Collin County during Black History Month!”

Programming also includes a Feb. 10 panel on African American fraternities at Frisco Campus Founders Hall, Room 249, 9700 Wade Blvd., from 3 to 4 p.m.; a Feb. 12 screening of Ava DuVernay’s “A Wrinkle in Time” at the McKinney Campus Conference Center, 2400 Community Ave., from 7 to 9:45 p.m. followed by a panel led by Collin College staff and faculty, and a Feb. 24 retrospective at Frisco’s Founders Hall hosted by Dr. Chris Redgraves. The college states, “This event is in collaboration with the Collin College Office of Student Engagement, the Collin College BAAC, the Credit Union of Texas, and the Douglass Visions’ Committee, Inc.” Collin College also noted, “The Ava DuVernay film, ‘A Wrinkle in Time’ will be presented followed by a panel discussion led by Collin College staff and faculty. Free pizza and soft drinks will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.”

Local coverage shows one discrepancy on the national theme. A local Star Local story referenced “African Americans and Labor” as the theme; Collin College’s Cougar News uses “A Century of Black History Commemorations.” The difference highlights the need for clear messaging when institutions coordinate public programming across multiple outlets.

For Collin County residents, the BAAC events expand access to cultural programming and civic education across suburban campuses, bringing museum exhibits and curated discussions into neighborhood settings. The lineup also signals institutional partnership between the college, a local financial institution and a community exhibit curator, which can broaden participation beyond students to families, educators and civic organizations.

Collin College campuses were operating under a CougarAlert notice that campuses would open for business and classes on Jan. 30. For residents planning to attend, the college’s published schedule provides campus addresses and room numbers for each event. The programming offers immediate opportunities to engage with local history and campus civic life, and it invites follow up from the college on panel participants, library display locations and exhibit content as the month progresses.