To commemorate Black History Month, DU’s Black Student Alliance is hosting its third annual tribute to black entertainment, called “Dances through the Decades,” Thursday at 6:30 p.m. in the Driscoll Ballroom.

Several dance ensembles, including those from local high schools, will perform, said Paige Clarke, BSA president.

The program will also feature the African Heritage Drum and Dance team and cheerleaders from East High School. Clarke said the dancers from DU will chose between Michael Jackson, James Brown or Prince for their performances.

Last year’s tribute was to famous black actors and actresses through various movie eras.

USG’s Diversity Committee is co-sponsoring the event as well as several more events during the month, including a lecture next Thursday.

The speaker at next Thursday’s lecture is author and race relations expert Daryl Davis, an African American who has made efforts to understand racism from first-hand experiences and accounts with several Ku Klux Klan members.

His speech will concentrate on challenging individuals to better understand different races, cultures and religions.

“This year, our mission is focusing on race relations, having better understanding between all organizations, opening up communication and breaking down social barriers. His talk targeted that,” said Clarke.

Clarke suggested Davis as a speaker after she heard of his “phenomenal” presentation.

BSA’s Black History Month participation commenced at DU Feb. 3 with a spoken word performance that drew a crowd of nearly 150 people.

The diversity committee and BSA have also collaborated to organize a formal unity celebration event, scheduled for Feb. 24.

“The final two weeks of February will have a unity theme, so we organized an event to help merge groups [specifically including] Greek life, athletics and first year students,” Stuart Portman, chair of the USG diversity committee.

Clarke and Portman agree the events over the course of the month present an opportunity to celebrate diversity and culture overall at DU.

“A lot of students do not feel like there is a lot of diversity on campus,” Portman said. “One of our goals is to refute that point through the events throughout the month of February.”