Howard Payne University honored Black History Month with three major events focused on gaining knowledge and inspiration from African American alumni, music and films.

The Black History Luncheon was held on Wednesday, February 19 in the Newbury Family Welcome Center. The event included three panelists from the African American Alumni Chapter, Rev. Ernest Kirk, Otis Fields and Rev. L.J. Clayton, Jr. ’78. The panel focused on work and labor to coincide with the national Black History Month theme of “African Americans and Labor.”

Kirk played for HPU’s football team, as well as the Edmonton Eskimos and the Houston Oilers. After retiring from football, he worked for the Texas Youth Commission and the Transportation Division of Brownwood ISD. Kirk served as the pastor of Mt. Moriah Baptist Church in Brady for 27 years.

At the luncheon, he urged the students to face every problem that comes their way with courage. “There is no easy way out,” Kirk said. “It’s right in your face. You have to deal with it.”

He added that he loves the verses in the Bible that speak about putting on the armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-18).

“If you notice in those verses, there is no protection on the back,” he said. “You should face everything head on. It took work to get where I am, and it took work to stay where I am.”

Fields has served two terms on HPU’s alumni board and previously worked for Footlocker and The Container Store. He encouraged students to focus on improving their skills, not how much money they make.

“If you are good at what you do, the money is going to come,” Fields said. “So, stay true to yourself. Don’t worry about chasing a buck because the money will always be there. Just be good at what you do.”

Clayton, pastor of Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church in San Antonio, and member of the HPU board of trustees, played for the Yellow Jacket football team, the Philadelphia Eagles and the Toronto Argonauts. He was also a teacher and a coach for 28 years, among other accomplishments. He added that a follower of Christ should be faithful over the work they have been given, whether that be a small number of responsibilities or many.

“At the end of the day, there’s a question we all have to ask ourselves,” Clayton said. “That is, ‘am I satisfied with what I did or how I did it?’ In the scriptures, it says, ‘my good and faithful servant has been faithful over a few things,’ (Matthew 25:21). So, it’s not about a lot of things, but am I being faithful over those few things?”

Another event was a movie night hosted by HPU’s Student Association of Social Work and the Department of Social Work, on Feb. 18 in the Mabee University Center.

After the movie, Ciera Ray, assistant professor of social work and field director in the department of social work and sociology, led a short discussion focused on diversity and how every person bears the image of Christ.

“The movie shown was Woodlawn,” Ray said. “It is the journey of a football team in Birmingham, Alabama during the civil rights movement when schools were de-segregated. The entire football team comes to faith as well as their coach. It tells the story of how faith can unite fellow man and truly show what it means to love one another as Christ loves us.”

On February 20, the faculty jazz recital was held in Mims Auditorium. The event was presented by Stephen Goacher, professor of music. The music performed was composed by various African American musicians and the theme was “Music of the Church Influences the Direction of Jazz.”

Goacher and Rev. Henry Smith presented a pre-concert interactive on the topic of “Music of the Church Influences the Direction of Jazz.” Rev. Smith has served as minister and music minister of Mt. Zion First Baptist Church in Abilene for 50 years. Goacher and Rev. Smith were joined by five other area musicians in their performance.

“Jazz is a unique contribution of African Americans to world culture,” Goacher said.

Alumni interested in joining the African American Alumni Chapter can contact the HPU Alumni Office at alumni@hputx.edu or 325-649-8818.