Athens, Ga. – The African American Cultural Center (AACC), in conjunction with a number of units at the University of Georgia, will celebrate Black History Month throughout February with a wide range of events, including lectures, films, plays and readings among others.
The Niagara Movement, the theme of this year’s national Black History Month celebration, was an organization of black intellectuals led by W.E.B. Du Bois that called for full political, civil and social rights for African Americans. The Niagara Movement was the forerunner of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
Black History Month events at UGA begin on Tuesday, Feb. 1. A complete list of events is available at the AACC Web site at http://www.uga.edu/msp/bhm2003.html; a selection of events follows:
Author John Blake will discuss his new book Children of the Movement on Feb. 1 at 7 p.m. in room 141 of the Tate Student Center. Blake’s book examines the civil rights movement through the children of the movement’s most powerful figures, including Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Elijah Muhammad, George Wallace, Andrew Young, Julian Bond, Stokely Carmichael, Bob Moses, James Chaney, Elaine Brown and others.
Following a Feb. 2 screening of Marlon Riggs’ film “Ethnic Notions,” UGA associate professor of psychology Kecia Thomas will present “Ethnic Notions: Are They Still with Us?” on Feb. 3 in Adinkra Hall at 12:30 p.m.
The Honorable Otis Johnson, mayor of Savannah, will recount his days as a student at UGA as well as his life’s successes during a talk on Feb. 7 at 6 p.m. in room 101 of the Student Learning Center.
Derrick Alridge, an associate professor in the UGA College of Education, will discuss the Niagara Movement and its impact on the civil rights movement and the formation of the NAACP, with particular attention being given to DuBois’ role in the organization. Alridge, who was recently named one of ten rising stars in academe by Black Issues in Higher Education, will speak on Feb. 8 at 12:30 p.m. in Adinkra Hall.
Catherine Packer, a doctoral candidate in counseling psychology, will present a lecture titled “The Impact of Maternal Messages Given to Single, Educated African American Women about Relationships.” Packer’s talk will take place in room 350 of the Student Learning Center on Feb. 18 at 12:20 p.m.
The UGA Alumni Association will hold its Multicultural Alumni Conference in Athens Feb. 4-5 to focus on ways of involving more UGA minority alumni in university programs and activities. Speakers will include a number of noted UGA African American alumni including UGA athletics director Damon Evans, professional comedian Mia Jackson, Atlanta radio host Royal Marshall and Mary Francis Early, the first African American to graduate from UGA. Several discussion sessions will be held led by UGA admissions officials and representatives of the Career Center, Minority Services and Programs, the African American Cultural Center and Empowered Youth Programs.
A number of dance performances and plays will be featured during UGA’s Black History Month program. More than 1,500 participants will take part in the All-Greek Step Show Competition at the Classic Center in downtown Athens starting at 7 p.m. on Feb. 5. A concert version of “Porgy and Bess,” with an orchestra, chorus and soloists, will be performed at the Hodgson Concert Hall on Feb. 19 at 8 p.m. “Plantanos and Collard Greens,” a play fusing African-American culture with Hispanic heritage, will be performed on Feb. 21 at 7:30 p.m. in Georgia Hall of the Tate Student Center.
A number of readings are also a part of Black History Month at UGA. Eric Jerome Dickey, author of Friends and Lovers and The Other Woman and one of the most popular authors of contemporary urban fiction, will read from his work on Feb. 8 at 8 p.m. in Georgia Hall of the Tate Student Center (tickets are available for purchase beginning Feb. 4 at the Tate Student Center). Mark Anthony Thomas, a UGA alumnus and former editor-in-chief of The Red & Black, will read from his new book The Poetic Repercussion on Feb. 24 at noon in Adinkra Hall. A book-signing, reception and raffle will follow.