African-American Heritage month will kick off with the importance of cultural diversity being discussed at the “Take-A-Knee Movement.”

“Take-A-Knee” is set for 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday in the University Ballroom of the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union.

The “Take-A-Knee Movement,” which will be hosted by the University Board, will feature a series of discussions of different cultural issues in America and how they are being dealt with by different politicians.

Del Marion, from the Inclusive Cultural University,based out of Des Moines, Iowa, will speak about the purpose of the movement.

“A representative from the (Inclusive Cultural University) contacted us this past fall about hosting this event, and we realized that we should do this as a great start for African-American Heritage month, and when better to do this than right before the Superbowl?” said Tess McArthy, ideas and issues coordinator of the UB.

The Take-A-Knee movement was founded by Colin Kaepernick, a former NFL player for the San Francisco 49ers, who protested against racial injustice and police brutality by kneeling during the pledge of allegiance at a game.

This movement then spread across several sports teams and soon followed to college campuses.

Tony Talley, public relations coordinator for the UB, said this discussion will be a great way to get students thinking about racial issues.

“I just think students will realize how important this is, especially now in this point of history when a lot of issues have been escalating,” Talley said. “This is one of those things where if we don’t discuss it, nothing is going to change.”

Andrew Paisley can be reached at 581-2812 or at abpaisley@eiu.edu.