Update: Due to deteriorating weather conditions in the Northeast, NBc’s Today show weaherman Al Roker will be unable to travel to UGA to deliver the Holmes-Hunter Lecture on Feb. 8. The lecture has been postponed and will be rescheduled.
UGA will observe Black History Month with events for students and the community-at-large, including visits to campus by poet Maya Angelou, crisis manager and author Judy Smith and members of the historic Tuskegee Airmen.
The observance also will include movie screenings, museum art exhibits, performances and student-led social and academic activities.
“Student-initiated programs as well as appearances by Dr. Maya Angelou, Ms. Judy Smith and the Tuskegee Airmen, coupled with other program initiatives from across the campus, should provide everyone a meaningful opportunity to celebrate and commemorate Black History Month,” said William M. McDonald, dean of students.
Angelou, whose appearance has sold out, will speak on Feb. 5 at 7:30 p.m. in the Grand Hall of the Tate Student Center as part of the annual Week of Soul, which features events sponsored by the University Union Student Programming Board’s Committee for Black Cultural Programs.
The improv and skit comedy group FUNarios will perform on Feb. 6 at 8 p.m. in the Tate Theatre. The three-man group has developed a cult following through its online comedy videos. Tickets are $5 for the general public and free for UGA students.
Step Afrika!, the first professional company dedicated to the tradition of stepping, will perform in Grand Hall of the Tate Student Center on Feb. 7 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $10 for the general public and free for UGA students.
The Black History Month observance also will include movie screenings related to African-American history. A showing of Spike Lee’s 1989 film Do the Right Thing will be held on Feb. 7 at 8 p.m. in the Tate Theatre. The Academy Award-nominated film Lincoln will be shown at the Tate Theatre Feb. 22-24 at 3, 6 and 9 p.m. Tickets to the films are $2 each for the general public and free for UGA students.
Crisis management expert Judy Smith, whose career as a Washington, D.C., “fixer” is the basis for the ABC show Scandal, will deliver UGA’s keynote address for Black History Month on Feb. 8 at 8:30 p.m. in the Tate Theatre. Tickets are $5 for the general public and free for UGA students.
On Feb. 9, the Unity Ball will be held at 8 p.m. in the Grand Hall of the Tate Student Center. Tickets are $6 per person or $10 per couple, and formal attire is required.
The Georgia Museum of Art will host “Family Day: From Savanna to Savannah” on Feb. 16, from 10 a.m. to noon. The event, open free to the public, offers information on African art and culture and showcases a diverse collection of African objects.
On Feb. 20 from 6-8 p.m. University Housing will hold “Glory Bound: A Voyage Through the Underground Railroad.” UGA students will lead a guided interactive tour of a re-enactment of the Underground Railroad complete with student actors and actresses. The event is free and open to the public. Attendees should meet in front of Reed Hall.
The Friends of the Georgia Museum of Art will host its annual Black History Month Dinner on Feb. 21 at 6 p.m. Tickets are $45 each. GMOA also will host an Artful Conversation event on African-American painter William H. Johnson on Feb. 27 at 3 p.m. It is open free to the public.
Black History Month will close with a panel discussion by members of the Tuskegee Airmen, the first African Americans to fight in military combat during World War II. The event will be held Feb. 28 at 6:30 p.m. in the Chapel. It is open free to the public.
Tickets for events are available at the center’s cashier window, open weekdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. or by phone at 706-542-8579. A valid UGACard is required for students to receive free tickets.