With Black History Month winding down, Dr. Debyii Thomas spoke last night on African Consciousness Celebration 2001: "Restoring the Village by Raising Consciousness" in the HUB-Robeson Center's Heritage Hall.

Her lecture mainly addressed the needs of the black community, including the village and obstacles it needs to overcome. She said it is up to the whole village and every person in it to work to reach the goal of bettering every aspect of that community.

"I'm here not as someone who has all the answers to all problems," Thomas said.

Thomas focused on the negative image projected on the black race as a whole and the way children are being raised. She explained how violence, drugs and disease often infect the children.

"I hear Tupac (Shakur) quoted more than Malcolm(X)and (Martin Luther) King," she said.

Thomas added that people can't just blame the children.

She said the troubles have been "symptomatic of a greater problem — they've (the children) been raising themselves."

"There's something wrong with the village," she said. "We do need to restore the village. We need to reconstruct, revitalize . . . We need to freshen our villages, put value back in the village— we've got some work to do."

Thomas focused on the individual's conscience and collective groups' consciousness.

"To be able to restore the village, we need to understand the village," she said.

Thomas also said many people hold grudges from the past.

"Some of us are still angry," she said. "We've got to let go of anger and bitterness."

She said if there are enemies, there must be allies and the members of the village must stand up to raise the standards of the people.

Thomas quoted Martin Luther King Jr. by saying, "If you will not stand up for something, we'll all fall for anything."

Thomas explained the importance of faith and belief, and the roles they play in restoring a village. She referred to a song by the performing artist, R. Kelly.

"If you believe it, you can achieve it. If you believe you can fly — you can build a village," Thomas said.

Thomas also discussed the importance of love.

"If anything you get from me tonight, try to love somebody, even your enemies. Pretty soon, they'll be your friends," she said.

Although the turnout was a small one — with only about 15 people — most were inspired by Thomas' speech.

Jarvis George (graduate-fine arts) said the subjects of Thomas' lecture are usually only discussed in classes about racism or African-American studies.

"I don't think it needs to be in here at Heritage Hall, but on commencement day," he said.

LaShawne Long (senior-kinesiology) said she was touched by Thomas' lecture.

"We are the village. While it is sick today, we hold the key to sickness, to healing it — love is how to cure it," she said.