Black History Month and Human Relations Month events scheduled

Posted Friday, February 8, 2008

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Pittsboro, NC - Several events in honor of Black History Month and Human Relations Month are scheduled in Chatham County and the surrounding areas, according to Esther Coleman, director of the Chatham County Office of Human Relations.

"We encourage residents to consider attending some of these events that will educate them on African-American history, including their departure from Africa. Other events will focus on the current status of African Americans, which comprise a vital segment of our diverse community," said Coleman.

She added that "PBS is offering tremendous educational programs, covering a wide range of topics from the inception of slavery in this country leading up to the Civil Rights Movement and beyond. Our local universities also are presenting excellent programs on contemporary human relations that impact our daily lives."

Coleman said, "I believe that when we take the time to educate ourselves on our joint histories, we move forward together to achieve common purposes."

Below is a list of events in the area celebrating Black History and Human Relations.

· Chatham County Council on Aging, Feb. 19, 6:30 pm: The Council on Aging is hosting a dinner honoring African-American History Month and We Love Seniors Month on in the Banquet Room of the Western Chatham Senior Center in Siler City. The special guest speaker is Chatham's very own, Mrs. Margaret Pollard, who will share A Chatham Perspective. Call 919-542-4512 for more information.

· N.C. Museum of History, Feb. 9, 16, and 23, 1:30-2:30 pm: Bearing Witness: Civil Rights Photographs of Alexander Rivera will teach visitors about NC's African-American community during the Civil Rights era.

· We Shall Not Be Moved, Feb. 9, 12, and 21: The film traces the history of Tillery, NC, from slavery and Jim Crow to the New Deal Resettlement Program that gave sharecroppers a chance to buy their own farms. Film will be shown at the Hayti Cultural Center in Durham on Feb. 9 at 2 pm, Feb. 12 at 11 am at Halifax Community College in Weldon, and Feb. 21 at 7 pm at the Sonja Haynes Stone Center for Black Culture and History at UNC-Chapel Hill.

· State Capitol, Feb. 9, 10 am: This Side of the River is a documentary and symposium about Princeville, NC, the first town in the United States chartered by African-Americans.

· The Heritage Center Celebrating Black History Month, Feb. 2-29: An African-American exhibit will be on display from, focusing on the impact of black educators in Johnston County over a 100-year period following the Civil War. The exhibit will be at the Heritage Center, 241 E. Market Street, Smithfield.

· HKonJ, Feb. 9: The Western Chatham NAACP will join with over 75 HKonJ partners supporting a march in Raleigh. Contact Margie Ellison for information: (919) 837-8738.

· Critical Discussion Series, Part II -- The Image of the Black Athlete: Icons, Scandal and the Business of Sport, Feb. 13, 7 pm: Inspired by recent professional sports scandals, this discussion will focus on the sociopolitical challenges and issues facing black athletes today. Panelists from different facets of professional and amateur sports will include Hanif Omar, host of WNCU’s weekly sports show Fast Break; Pam Leake, a former UNC basketball All-American; Walt Bellamy, an NBA Hall of Famer and community youth activist; and Rhonda Patterson, a UNC alumnus and attorney in an Atlanta-based sports management firm. Held at the Stone Center Hitchcock Multipurpose Room, UNC-Chapel Hill.

· Black History Display, Through March 16: The Johnston County Arts Council announces the Black History Exhibition, offering a representation of the rich history associated with African Americans and their ancestry. Allenton Gallery at the Durham Arts Council Building, downtown Durham.

· Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University: Through July 13, Hendricks â–¬ Birth of the Cool. Hendricks is famous for his bold portrayal of his subjects, mostly people of color.

On PBS

· African American Lives 2, Feb. 6 & 13, 9-11 pm: African American Lives 2 is a second episode that journeys deep into the African-American experience to unearth the triumphs and tragedies within the family histories of an all-new group of renowned participants. Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. returns as series host.

· Independent Lens "Banished", Feb. 19, 2008, 10-11:30 pm: This is the story of three counties that forcefully banished African-American families from their towns 100 years ago and their descendents who return.

February 2008, but no published date (check local listings)

· Legacy, Being Black in America: In January 2007, a special tribute dinner was held in Washington, DC, to honor the Civil Rights generation. Attended by 18 celebrated African Americans from business, politics, academia, media, and the arts, the dinner proved to be an intriguing discussion of race consciousness, integration and equity.

· Red Tail Reborn: This is the story of the Tuskegee Airmen, the first African-American fighter pilots of World War II, and of those who sacrificed to tell the Airmen’s forgotten tale.

· Slavery and The Making of America: This series chronicles the institution of American slavery from its origins in 1619 when English settlers in VA purchased 20 Africans through the arrival of the first 11 slaves in the northern colonies, the American Revolution, the Civil War, the adoption of the 13th Amendment and Reconstruction

· African American Lives: Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr. takes Alex Haley’s Roots saga to a new level. Using genealogy and DNA science, Dr. Gates tells the personal stories of eight accomplished African Americans.

· American Experience, Eyes on the Prize: The groundbreaking documentary series examining America’s civil rights years returns to public television as part of American Experience. This series covers the period from the murder of 14-year-old Emmett Till in Money, Mississippi, and the Montgomery, Alabama, bus boycott through school desegregation, the march from Selma to Montgomery, and the Voting Rights Act.

· Eyes on the Prize II, A Special Presentation Of American Experience: The second season of Eyes on the Prize returns to PBS as a special presentation of American Experience in February 2008 in honor of Black History Month. The series documents the journey of African Americans from the mid-1960s to the mid-1980s.

· Fannie Lou Hamer, Courage and Faith: Using archival footage and interviews, this program chronicles the life of Fannie Lou Hamer and introduces her to a younger generation. Hamer attended the 1964 Democratic National Convention as a member of the Mississippi Democratic Freedom Party and challenged the all-white Mississippi delegation.

· Shared History: Shared History is the intimate story of the relationship between two families whose connection was forged in slavery and has endured to the present. The filmmaker, the great-great-granddaughter of a slave owner, and a descendant of one of the enslaved families, seek to understand and reconcile.

· Sisters of Selma, Bearing Witness for Change: This program is an unabashedly spiritual take on the Selma, Alabama, voting rights marches of 1965 from some of its unsung foot soldiers – Catholic nuns. Following the violence of “Bloody Sunday,” sisters from around the country answered Dr. Martin Luther King’s call to join the protests in Selma.

COMING IN MARCH: Dismantling Racism Workshop. Call Megan Bolejack at the Chatham County Public Health Department for more information at (919) 545-8518.