The Marshall University Society of Black Scholars will give awards 6 p.m. Wednesday to recognize African-American students who are not in the society but have excelled in  academics and extra-curricular activities on campus.
The ceremony will take place in the Shawkey Dining Room in the Memorial Student Center.
The Carter G. Woodson Distinguished Student Award is one of the awards being given.
Darius Booker, committee chair of the Carter G. Woodson Award Ceremony, said each year the society is given three new projects to undertake throughout the year.
The group of 10 scholars who created the event planned everything from choosing the students who will receive the awards to the food being served at the reception.
Members of the group handpicked students they thought excelled in classes, and  activities around campus.
“One of the great things about this is that it is not an event that Maurice Cooley created,” Booker said. “It’s not an event that the University created. It’s an event that students on campus created to honor other students.”
Woodson was chosen as the namesake for the award because he educated African-Americans about their history, and because he lived in Huntington and educated West Virginias on the subject during his stay.
Woodson established Black History Month and was one of the first African-American scholars to study African-American history.
“He’s done so much to let us, as African-American students, take pride in what we do,” Booker said. “Without him, there would be no Black History Month. He’s allowed us to have events like this to honor African-Americans.”
Caitlin Fowlkes can be contacted at [email protected].