Siena Heights University had Common Dialogue Day on campus on Nov. 12. The keynote speaker, Oscar winner and costume designer for the film Black Panther Ruth Carter , was unable to attend due to weather. However, Siena Heights had more than just that to offer throughout the day.

Khalid el-Hakim brought his Black History 101 Mobile Museum to campus in Dominican Hall. It was open from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. The room was filled with artifacts throughout history. It featured artifacts ranging from the slave era all the way to present-day issues.

There was a lot of history in that room. There were vinyls of Martin Luther King Jr. speeches, vinyls that were autographed by Aretha Franklin, and there were posters from many black music artists like Run DMC and Michael Jackson.

There were artifacts in there from elections, and even a bathroom sign from when segregation was happening. Hakim had a lot of objects in his museum that were really fascinating and very representative of black history.

Gleo Wade, a student at Siena Heights who is studying criminal justice, stopped by the museum. Wade’s said his favorite part of the museum was the area honoring the slaves.

“It was cool to see the flow of how it all happened and to see it all manifest through time,” Wade said.

He said he also was excited to see that this museum was offered.

“It would be good for everyone to see the history.”

As for Wade’s perspective on the Black History Museum, he said he is glad that Siena is “taking initiative to show that they care about their students. I feel like it’s an opportunity to bring everyone together and the possibility to make a change on campus.”