Indiana University Bloomington holds more than 560,000 audio and video recordings and film reels, many of which are historically significant, all of which are actively deteriorating. And the window of time to save these materials is closing fast.

Cultural centers at Indiana University have joined efforts to create a brown bag discussion series this fall, "Choice of Colors," which will address issues of diversity, identity and cultural awareness. The first event takes place Thursday (Sept. 24).

The third annual Black Student Orientation at Indiana University Bloomington will take place on Sept. 18, with a focus on academic excellence and service to the community. The event will include representatives from more than 30 campus and community organizations and businesses.

As South Africa continues to move away from its apartheid past, its film culture has taken a similar path of reflection on the past during the country's first decade as a democracy. Audrey Thomas McCluskey, an Indiana University professor, writes about the changes in a new book featuring interviews with 25 South African filmmakers.

Filmmaker Aishah Shahidah Simmons will be the next speaker at Indiana University's Critical Issues Lecture Series, a collaboration between IU's Department of African American and African Diaspora Studies and the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center.

Indiana University graduate Ebony Utley will inaugurate the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center Alumni Lecture Series at IU. The event is part of the center's 40th anniversary celebration this year.

Indiana University Bloomington will celebrate Black History Month with a diverse calendar of events, including a Feb. 23 lecture by one of America's most provocative intellectuals, Cornel West.

The Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center at Indiana University will present its pre-Kwanzaa event, "A Celebration of the Arts of the African Diaspora," on Dec. 4.

The Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center at Indiana University will present the second annual Black Student Orientation on Friday, Sept. 12.

Two upcoming events at the Indiana University African American Arts Institute will focus on music, dance and scholarship by IU faculty members.

IU Bloomington will observe the 20th anniversary of the first celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Jan. 16 with a special theme, "The Power of One: Commitment, Challenge and Change," and also will remember contributions made by another civil rights pioneer, the late Rosa Parks.