As February came to an end, Black History Month concluded its month-long celebration and awareness of the history of African-Americans with the TCU National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Forum “Unsung: Other Heroes of the Civil Rights Movement.”

The forum, led by Briana Saldana on Monday in the Brown-Lupton University Union, presented information about the Civil Rights Movement, racism and how African Americans have progressed over the years, freshman strategic communication major Sarah Allen said.

Junior writing major Benjamin Williams said the NAACP, Black Student Association and Inclusiveness & Intercultural Services provided many opportunities to learn about the African culture, from movies to dances to conversations.

April Brown, assistant director of Inclusiveness & Intercultural Services, said the main goal of this month’s two “CommUNITY Conversations” was to talk about students’ experiences regarding Africa, whether they traveled there or only studied different aspects about the country.

The personal reflections from students, faculty and staff gave them a chance to discuss what they knew 8212; and thought they knew 8212; about Africa, Brown said. These conversations focused on the culture of Ghana and Ethiopia.

Because many programs usually leave out the African heritage and focus mostly on the Civil Rights Movement, Brown said the conversations allowed people to engage in a reflection about Africa.

Williams said the NAACP provided a different approach to its four events this year.

Williams said the goal was to attract a wide variety of people and incorporate awareness about more than just the African heritage and Civil Rights Movement.

“It’s the idea that it’s about everyone,” Williams said.

Allen said even though everyone has different backgrounds, all people are affected by the same issues.

Even though the NAACP and CommUNITY Conversations veered from solely the Civil Rights Movement aspect about Black History Month, BSA changed its focus in a different way, sophomore film-television-digital media major Victor Henderson said.

A networking fair and fashion show were new additions to the spring calendar, he said. While the fashion show normally takes place in the fall, it was about an hour longer than last year because it incorporated two dances, a singing section and a couple of comedic routines from the emcees in addition to the fashion show.

The networking fair was a program BSA started this year, Henderson said. The day before the fair, BSA members helped students polish up their skills on how to successfully network with others before they spoke to African-American TCU alumni the next day.

For BSA and the NAACP, both Henderson and Williams said they hope to reach out to a bigger crowd for next year’s events, while Brown said she was content with the small number of students for the two discussions.

Later this semester, the NAACP will host a fundraiser to collect money for future events.