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Brianna Keys, a graduate assistant for the E. Timothy Moore Student Multicultural Center at ����Թ�, spent a good amount of time during Black History Month thinking about her family.

Keys is from Tennessee, and while away from home, she tries to cook one of her favorite meals that reminds her of her mother’s cooking: Soul Food.

Her mother cooks big meals during holidays, especially during Black History Month.

“She likes to emphasize where we’ve come from and who we are as Black people from the South,” Keys said. “It’s very sentimental.”

One way Keys commemorates Black History Month is by celebrating her family and the people around her and telling them how much she loves them.

Keys said it’s important for Black people to understand their history and highlight those doing the work. “It’s important for us to recognize who is making waves, continuing legacies and making sure that we are all moving forward,” she said.

Keys graduated from ����Թ� State with a bachelor of science in fashion merchandising in 2023 and is pursuing a master of fashion industry studies degree with a focus on social justice advancement and equity.

As an undergraduate, Keys joined Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., founded on Jan. 13, 1913, and charted at ����Թ� State on May 13, 1964. She later became vice president and eventually president of the United Greek Council and founded the Element Magazine & Writer’s Association, a campus fashion magazine focused on people of color.

In her current role at the Moore Center, she assists with program coordination and advises the center’s student initiative, Sister Circle.

“Sister Circle has a special place in my heart because I get to help the already amazing leaders that are here,” Keys said. “I see them leaving a legacy here at ����Թ� State.”

As Keys grew up with only brothers, she said she values the sisterhood while working with the members of the student initiative.

Keys tries to go to as many black history events as possible in February. She said that Black United Students is doing a great job organizing and running Black History Month events.

“The student leaders and all the work they’re doing are the drivers of legacy here at ����Թ� State,” she said. “We need to do our best as supervisors or whatever role we may be to help foster that and to help them succeed in whatever they choose to do.”