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'Black Panther' actor to host Black History Month event at SIC

HARRISBURG - A popular annual Black History Month event at Southeastern Illinois College will have a brush with celebrity.

The TRIO/Student Support Services program staff and students at Southeastern Illinois College is hosting their Fourth Annual Black History Month Step Show at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 27 in the B126W Lecture Hall at SIC, 3575 College Road, Harrisburg.

Hasaan Rasheed, who played a king's guard warrior in Marvel Studio's 2018 "Black Panther" movie, is the event's celebrity guest. Rasheed is a cum laude graduate of Morehouse College. He also is an Oprah Winfrey Scholar who appeared as a special guest on the Oprah Show finale, according to IMDB. He also is CEO of two different businesses, Total Body Fitness Training LLC and Dunk Doctors LLC. The first company is a physical fitness company that provides personal training services to clients. Dunk Doctors is an acrobatic dunk company that features Rasheed and his team doing halftime acrobatic trampoline slam dunk shows at Memphis Grizzlies halftime performances. Rasheed's nonprofit is called All My God's Children Inc. Its goal is to positively impact K-12 youth through an after-school fitness program.

Greek Life organizations and community organizations from the historical black Greek-lettered organizations at Southern Illinois University Carbondale and from the St. Louis area also have been invited to perform step routines in a cultural performance.

Stepping is a form of dance and body movements used to create sound and art in a cultural aspect. Stepping has been displayed in movies such as "Stomp the Yard," "Drumline" and a more recent movie titled "Step."

One of the community organizations that has been invited to perform is the Gentlemen of Vision group from St. Louis. These young men range from elementary school to high school and are national step champions.

"We are excited with how big this show has grown over the past four years and hope we have a good crowd to witness this year's talent," SIC TRIO Director Lolita L. Mack said.

The event is free and open to the public. TRIO programs from other institutions have also been invited to attend. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.

In addition to this event, the "Through the Times in Black History Display" is currently set up in the Dana Keating Student Success Center at SIC for Black History Month. Visitors receive a bookmark or diversity pin.

The TRIO Student Support Services program is a federally funded program to provide academic and mentoring support throughout a student's academic career at SIC. Its goal is to increase retention and graduation rates of first-generation, low-income, or disabled students. This program aids qualified students with tutoring, academic, financial aid advising, and mentoring.

For more information about the SIC TRIO program, visit www.sic.edu/trio, or contact director Lolita L. Mack at (618) 252-5400 ext. 2432 or lolita.mack@sic.edu.