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Black History Month 2022: Events

Thanks to the many Massachusetts public libraries who are sponsoring Black History Month events which are open to all.

A Year of Black History: African American Women & Resistance in Nat Turner's Community

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 2

7PM Online

Waltham Public Library

In this lecture, Dr. Holden will talk about her new book, Surviving Southampton: African American Women and Resistance in Nat Turner's Community. She'll speak about Black women's roles in building and sustaining long-standing forms of resistance, their participation in the Southampton Rebellion, and their role in helping their community to survive in the rebellion's aftermath.


The Lost History of President James Madison's Black Family

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 7

6:30 - 7:30PM Online

Flint Public Library 

Join Dr. Bettye Kearse, author of The Other Madisons: The Lost Story of a President’s Black Family, as she discusses what it means to be an African American descendant of a slaveholding president and how that meaning evolved over eight generations of her family. Bettye will also discuss the obstacles - both internal and external - she confronted while becoming her family’s oral historian, determined to tell the whole story. This 45-minute talk will conclude with a Q&A.


The Black Art Market with Charles Moore

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 9

7PM Zoom

Haverhill Public Library

Join us for a Zoom presentation by art collector and historian Charles Moore. Author of The Black Market: A Guide to Art Collecting and The Brilliance of the Color Black Through the Eyes of Art Collectors, Moore introduces novice and would-be collectors to the art world, its deep roots, its connections to our pasts, and its hopes for our future.


Courageous Conversations Events

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 10 

7PM Online

Memorial Hall Library

The impacts of structural inequities in health and health care will be explored by Dr. Amy Patel, Medical Director, Phillips Academy, Dr. Cara Marshall, Greater Lawrence Family Health Center, and Albert Pless Jr., Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for the Town of Andover. They will provide historical context and share their professional experience to shed light on the burdens faced by communities of color with regard to health and health outcomes. They will also address possible solutions to these issues. 


Faith Ringgold: Quilts, Paintings, and Politics

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 22

7 - 8:30PM Online

Chelmsford Public Library

Faith Ringgold is celebrated for an artistic career exploring race in the American experience. This program will cover the breadth of her creative output, including paintings, sculpture, performance art and her beloved story quilts.


Looking Things Over with Zora Neale Hurston

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 24

7PM Online

Chelmsford Public Library

Join us for a virtual "Living History" performance, inspired by the life and work of Zora Neale Hurston.

Norman Rockwell: Inclusion, Exclusion and Evolving Views on Race 

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 6

3:00—4:15 PM Zoom

Rockport Public Library

Norman Rockwell is heralded for depicting and defining American life. He often captured bittersweet images of people experiencing universal and relatable feelings of being left out or left behind. 


The Extraordinary Story Of The Tuskegee Airmen

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 8

2:00—3:00 PM Online

Tewksbury Public Library

Learn the story of how a group of black men who were once considered of little value to the World War II war effort, proved they could take down enemy aircraft abroad and racial barriers at home. Led by Jeffrey Urbin, Education Specialist at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.


The Last Negroes At Harvard

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 10

7:00—8:00 PM Online

Tewksbury Public Library

Authors Kent Garrett and Jeanne Ellsworth will discuss their book, The Last Negroes At Harvard: The Class of 1963 and the 18 Young Men Who Changed Harvard Forever.  Part journey into personal history, part group portrait, and part narrative history of the civil rights movement, learn the remarkable story of brilliant, singular boys whose identities were changed at and by Harvard, and who, in turn, changed Harvard.

 


Black Oscars: From Mammy to Minny, What the Academy Awards Tell Us About African Americans

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 17 

7:00pm - 8:00PM

Oak Bluffs Public Library

Wonder how the Oscars have recognized black actors from the Academy Award’s beginning in 1929? Join author Frederick W. Gooding, Jr. as he presents, “Black Oscars: from Mammy to Minny, What the Academy Awards Tell Us about African Americans.” Frederick W. Gooding, Jr. provides a thorough analysis and overview of black people that were nominated for their Hollywood roles, going decade by decade in highly accessible language.


Race Or Racism -- Answers To Frequently Asked Questions

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 23

7:00—8:00 PM Online

Tewksbury Public Library

Authors Joseph L. Graves Jr. and Alan H. Goodman will discuss their new book -- Racism, Not Race: Answers To Frequently Asked Questions. These two distinguished scientists will tackle common misconceptions about race, human biology, and racism. Using an accessible question-and-answer format, Graves and Goodman will explain the differences between social and biological notions of race. 


Sybrina Fulton, Mother of Trayvon Martin, on Cultivating Justice toward Racial Equality

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 24

7PM Online

Belmont Public Library

Sybrina Fulton is dedicating her life to transforming family tragedy into social change. Since the death of her 17 year old son, Trayvon Martin, during the violent confrontation in 2012, Fulton has become an inspiring spokesperson for parents and concerned citizens across the country. Her book co-authored with Tracy Martin, Rest in Power: The Enduring Life of Trayvon Martin, shares the intimate story of a tragically foreshortened life and the rise of a movement that awoke a nation’s conscience.