Black History Month Events: From museums to churches, a complete guide of events in New York City
Monday, February 14th 2011, 4:00 AM
Better Than Fiction Productions
Dawn and her eight Hampton siblings formed a jazz band, but later split. Check out her story and more this month.
Black History Month 2011 is being celebrated throughout the city – in colleges, cultural institutions, libraries, churches and on TV.
Here are some of the events taking place around town:
BROADCAST
WNET TV - CHANNEL 13
Thirteen's annual "UMOJA!" Black History Month festival examines the contributions of African Americans through films. PBS hostsTavis Smiley and Alison Stewart will introduce the films.
Documentary: Independent Lens features "Adjust Your Color: The Truth of Petey Greene," a documentary about outspoken black shock-jock Petey Greene, who became an activist during the 1960s.
Date: Feb. 15 at 10 p.m.
Place: WNET- TV, Channel 13.
Documentary: "Searching for Buxton" documents a filmmaker’s search for his family past in a long-
closed Iowa coal mining town. Film is narrated by opera star and Iowa native Simon Estes.
Date: Feb. 17 at 10:30 p.m.
Place: WNET- TV, Channel 13.
Documentary: "Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson." The Ken Burns’ film follows the life of Jack Johnson, the first African-American heavyweight champion.
Date: Feb. 20 at 10:30 p.m.
Place: WNET- TV, Channel 13.
Info: Visit www.thirteen.org for a full schedule of programs.
WLIW - CHANNEL 21
Broadcast Premiere: "The Unforgettable Hampton Family" documentary explores Deacon Clark Hampton, a son of slaves, and his 12 children who became successful musicians. Jazz trombonist Slide Hampton was one of his children. The documentary was produced written and directed by Julie Cohen.
Date: Feb. 14 at 10:30 p.m.
Place: WLIW21
Info: Visit www.wliw.org.
HBO
Broadcast Premiere: See Laurence Fishburne's Tony-nominated performance in "Thurgood," the one-man Broadway play about Thurgood Marshall, the civil rights attorney who became a Supreme Court justice.
Date: Feb. 24 at 9 p.m.
Place: HBO
Info: Visit ww.hbo.com.
BUSINESSES
HUE-MAN BOOKSTORE
TALK: Noted author Donald Bogle discusses the subject of his new book – singer/actress Ethel Waters.
Date: Feb. 17 at 6 p.m.
Place: Hue-Man Bookstore and Café, 2319 Frederick Douglass Blvd. in Manhattan.
Info: Visit www.huemanbookstore.com and call (212) 665-7400.
COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITIES
NEW YORK CITY COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY (CITY TECH)
City Tech, 300 Jay St. (at Tillary St.) in Brooklyn, celebrates the month with a number of events.
Exhibit: "African Cultural Survivals in the Americas: The Legacy of Harriet Tubman," a poster exhibit by City Tech Advertising Design and Graphic Arts students, is on display.
Date: Through Feb. 28, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily, when college is open.
Place: City Tech, Atrium Building, 4th floor.
Special Event: City Tech celebrates the 22nd Year of the National African American Read-In with a piano jazz cantata performance by Professor Ahnee Freeman and the Black Male Initiative presentation on African American painter and sculptor Elizabeth Catlett, narrated by Professor Diane Wilson.
Date: Feb. 22 at 1 p.m.
Place: City Tech, Atrium 632 (the faculty and staff lounge).
Performance/Talk: Abolitionist Harriet Tubman is the focus of this event. Sundog Theatre actress Christine Dixon will perform "Harriet Tubman Herself," Professor Tshombe Walkerwill examine the legacy of Tubman as the embodiment of African cultural survival, and cultural anthropologist Sherrill Wilson, founding director of the African Burial Ground ‘s Office of Public Education and Interpretation, will deliver the keynote address. There will also be a performance by the City Tech Community Choir.
Date: Feb. 24, from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Place: City Tech’s Atrium Amphitheater.
Info: For more on the City Tech Black History Month events, call Hazel Gibbs at (718) 260.5205 or send email to hgibbs@citytech.cuny.edu.
LEHMAN COLLEGE
The college, which has several Black History Month events scheduled, is at Goulden Ave. and Bedford Park Blvd. West in the Bronx.
Speech: NY1 News reporter Dean Meminger will deliver the keynote address at the college's annual Martin Luther King Jr. lecture.
Date: Feb. 15, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Place: Lehman College, Lovinger Theatre.
Info: Free and open to the public. Call (718) 960-8801.
Talk: Musician/poet/painter Oliver Lake
Date: Feb. 17, from 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m.
Place: Lehman College, Carman Hall, Room B04
Info: Call (718) 960-8680
Talk: "Raisin in the Sun: White America's First Black Family," a talk by playwright Tony Vellela.
Date: Feb. 23 at 6 p.m.
Place: Lehman College, Leonard Lief Library (Treehouse).
Info: Free and open to the public.
CITY COLLEGE OF NEW YORK
The college, at 160 Convent Ave. in Manhattan, will host several events for Black History Month.
Art Exhibition: The "Shots, Strokes, Threads and Clay" exhibition features artists Kwame Brathwaite, Robert Daniels, Gilbert Fletcher, Laura James, Dindga McCannon, Sana Musasama, Diane Pryor-Holland and Shirley Taylor. Artist’s talks will be held on Feb. 15 – Sana Musasama with Chamber Ensemble of the Harlem Symphony Orchestra – and Feb. 22 – Kwame Brathwaite and Laura James.
Date: Through Feb. 28.
Place: CCNY Libraries Archives, Room 5/301 in the North Academic Center Building.
Info: Call (212) 650-7271.
Talk: "New York in Turmoil: Paradise Alley and the Draft Riots," is discussed by author Ken Baker.
Date: Feb. 14 at 6 p.m.
Place: CCNY Center for Worker Education, 25 Broadway, Manhattan, 7th floor.
Info: Call (212) 925-6625, extension 241.
Discussion: The "Civil Rights Pioneers Through Education: Then and Now" panel discussion examines the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision.
Date: Feb. 17, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Place: CCNY North Academic Center Building, Room 0/201, 1st floor.
Discussion: A free session on "African Cultural Continuities in the African Burial Ground" by Warren Perry.
Date: Feb. 17, from 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.
Place: CCNY North Academic Center Building, Room 5/101.
Info: Call (212) 650-8117.
QUEENS COLLEGE
The college, at 65-30 Kissena Blvd., Flushing, Queens, will present several events for Black History Month. All on-campus events are free and open to the public. They include:
Lecture: Veteran civil rights leader Julian Bond will remember fellow civil rights pioneer James Forman, calling the late Forman "one of the under-appreciated figures of the modern civil rights movement. Bond touted Foreman’s autobiography, "The Making of Black Revolutionaries," as "a classic." In addition to the talk, the college is celebrating the recent acquisition of Forman’s personal library and recordings. A question-and-answer session follows the talk.
Date: Feb. 17, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Place: Queens College, Rosenthal Library Room 230.
Play: The persona and personal triumphs of jazz legend Louis Armstrong are the focus of "Horn," a two-act, four-character play by Queens College MFA graduate Tyler Rivenbark. Rivenbark conceived the stage work in 2009 when he was a writer-in-residence at the Louis Armstrong House Museum.
Date: Feb. 24, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Place: Queens College, Theater/Rauthaus Hall Room 213.
Lecture: "A Glimpse From the Past to the Present Through the Eyes of African-American
Women Writers and Poets: Jessie Redmon Fauset, Zora Neale Huston and Maya Angelou" will presented by Professor Saundra Colon.
Date: Feb. 16, from 12:15 to 1:30 p.m.
Place: Queens College, Campbell Dome.
Lecture: "Black Female Sexualties: Research and Pedagogy" discussed by Professor Sandra Duvivier.
Date: Feb. 16 from 12:15 p.m. to 2 p.m.
Place: Queens College, Rosenthal Library, Fifth Floor, President’s Conference Room 1.
Film: Screening of the documentary film "The End of Poverty?" moderated by Political Science Professor Francois Pierre-Louis. In the work, filmmaker Philippe Diaz, presents his view that "poverty is not an accident."
Date: Feb. 23, from 12:15 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Place: Queens College, Rosenthal Library, Room 230.
Info: For information on on-campus events, call (718) 997- 5597.
Lecture and Tour: Louis Armstrong expert Ricky Riccardi hosts the session, which includes private tape recordings, rare footage and a guided tour of the museum.
Date: Feb. 26 at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.
Place: Louis Armstrong House Museum, 34-56 107th St. in Corona, Queens.
Info: Admission is $8 for adults, $6 for seniors/students/children, free for members. Visit www.louisarmstronghouse.org
CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS
ARTS WORLD FINANCIAL CENTER
Concert: Legendary singer, actor, and political activist Paul Robeson will be celebrated in a free New York Opera Society concert, featuring renowned baritone Kenneth Overton. The musical tribute includes African-American spirituals, "worker songs," and classical works from Robeson's concert repertoire.
Date: Feb. 16 at 7 p.m.
Place: World Financial Center Winter Garden, 220 Vesey St., in Manhattan
Info: Free. No tickets or reservations required. Call (212) 945-0505 and visit www.artsworldfinancialcenter.com.
BAM CAFE AT BROOKLYN ACADEMY OF MUSIC
Bam Caf��'s free concert series continues during Black History Month at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, 30 Lafayette Ave., Brooklyn.
Concert: Maritri and The Soulfolk Experience
Date: Feb. 19 at 9 p.m.
Place: Bam Café
Concert: "Down the Rabbit Hole: Liza Jessie Peterson"
Date: Feb. 19 at 9 p.m.
Place: Bam Café
Concert: AVERY*Sunshine
Date: Feb. 25 at 9 p.m.
Place: Bam Café
Concert: Nu Voices Orchestra, conducted by Kid Lucky
Date: Feb. 26 at 9 p.m.
Place: Bam Café
Info: Call (718) 636-4100 and visit www.bam.org.
BOYS & GIRLS HARBOR
Performing Arts Show: The Boys & Girls Harbor show "Our Stories, Our Voices 2011" stars students and features music, dance and theater performances. WNBC-TV news anchorDavid Ushery will host.
Date: Feb. 28 at 6 p.m.
Place: Show will be held at Teatro Heckscher in El Museo del Barrio, 1230 Fifth Ave. (between 104th and 105th Sts.) and the reception will be held at the museum’s El Café.
Info: Admission to the performance is $25 in advance and $35 at the door. Admission to the performance and reception is $100. To purchase tickets for the program, reception, or to make a donation to Boys & Girls Harbor, visit www.nycharities.org, and search the organization’s name. Or contact Nina Olson at (212) 427-2244, extension 577 or send email to nolson@theharbor.org.
GREENWICH VILLAGE SOCIETY FOR HISTORIC PRESERVATION
Lecture: In the talk, titled "Discovering Black New York," author and journalist Linda Tarrant-Reid will examine the earliest community of African Americans in the in lower Manhattan’s Five Points District in the 1820s, the migration of free blacks to the West Village in the mid-1800s; and the establishment of a vibrant African American social and cultural institutions, schools and businesses in the Greenwich Village area. Tarrant-Reid will also review the start of the abolitionist movement and the development of the Underground Railroad.
Date: Feb. 22, from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Place: Hudson Park Branch Library, 66 Leroy St. (off 7th Ave. South).
Info: Admission is free, but reservations are required. To RSVP, send email to rsvp@gvshp.org or (212) 475-9585 extension 35.
HARLEM BIENNALE
Lecture Series: In association with Grove Press, Harlem Biennale is hosting four lectures marking the new Jonathan Gill book "Harlem: The Four Hundred Year History from Dutch Village to Capital of Black America." The book has been heralded as the first book ever to tell Harlem’s story in its entirety.
The four lectures will be held:
Date: Feb. 22, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Place: Tenement Museum, 108 Orchard St. in Manhattan.
Date: Feb. 23, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Place: Harlem School of the Arts, 645 St. Nicholas Ave., in Manhattan.
Date: Feb. 24, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Place: Taller Boricua at the Julia de Burgos Latino Cultural Center, 1680 Lexington Ave. in Manhattan.
Date: Feb. 25, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Place: Aloft Harlem hotel, 2296 Frederick Douglass Blvd. in Manhattan.
Info: Visit http://harlembiennale.org or send email to contact@harlembiennale.org.
JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER
Jazz at Lincoln Center is at Broadway at 60th St., in Manhattan
Concert: Pianist Ahmad Jamal and saxophonist Lee Konitz.
Date: Feb. 25 and 26, show time 8 p.m.
Place: JALC's Rose Theater.
Concert: Taj Mahal Trio performs.
Date: Feb. 25 and 26, show times 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. on both days.
Place: JALC’s Rose Theater.
Info: For tickets, visit www.jalc.org or call (212) 258-9500.
NJPAC - NEW JERSEY PERFORMING ARTS CENTER
Concert: Jazz pianist and composer Randy Weston and his African Rhythms Trio performs with African percussionists.
Date: Feb. 26 at 7:30 p.m.
Place: NJPAC‘s Victoria Theater, 1 Center St., Newark, N.J.
Info: All tickets are $39 and available by telephone at (888) GO-NJPAC (888-466-5722), at the NJPAC box office at 1 Center St. or by visiting www.njpac.org. For more on Weston, visit www.randyweston.info.
SHERIDAN OPERA HOUSE
Benefit Concert: In the "Smokey Robinson and Friends" concert at the Apollo Theater, the Motown Records pioneer legend will perform with singers/songwriters Ashford and Simpson and soul star Chuck Jackson to raise money for the Sheridan Arts Foundation and the Buoniconti Fund to Cure Paralysis.
Date: Feb. 15. Show time is 8 p.m.
Place: The Apollo Theater, 253 W. 125th St. (between Adam Clayton Powell Jr. and Frederick Douglass Blvds.) in Manhattan.
Info: General admission tickets range from $35 to $150. Visit www.ticketmaster.com. For special Platinum and Gold Patron seating, send email to amy@palamarproductions.com or call (970) 728-6363 for information.
SOCIETY FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF THE CARIBBEAN DIASPORA
Film: A screening of the Euzhan Palcy film "Sugar Cane Alley." Palcy, who hails from Martinique, was the first black female director produced by a major Hollywood studio.
Date: Feb. 19, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Place: St. Francis College, 182 Remsen St. (between Court and Henry Sts.), in Brooklyn.
Info: Admission is free, but RSVP is required. RSVP at (917) 771-7935 or sacd@sac-diaspora.org.
INTERNET
THE HISTORY CHANNEL
Internet Shopping: The five-disc "Ken Burns Jazz: The Story of America's Music" CD box set, the Barack Obama: Inaugural Edition DVD and his book "The Audacity of Hope," and theBiography Channel DVD on founder of Def Jam Records founder Russell Simmons are just a few of the items available in the Black History section of the History Channel site.
Place: Visit http://shop.history.com, and chose Black History from the "Subjects" menu.
NEW-YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Online Exhibit: "Slavery in New York," an online exhibition detailing the centuries-long Atlantic Slave Trade (the largest forced migration world history) and the many contributions enslaved and free African-Americans made to the development of New York City.
Place: Visit www.slaveryinnewyork.org.
LIBRARIES
BROOKLYN PUBLIC LIBRARY
Through books, special events and photos, the Brooklyn library system is celebrating Black History Month. The Central Library at Grand Army Plaza, the library’s African American Heritage Center, the Caribbean Literary and Cultural Center, and the borough’s many branch libraries are all taking part in the celebration.
Info: For event details and information, visit www.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/feature/blackhistory
SCHOMBURG CENTER FOR RESEARCH IN BLACK CULTURE - NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
The Schomburg Center, a year-round repository of black culture, is hosting a lineup of special events during February. The Schomburg Center is at 515 Malcolm X Blvd. (at W. 135th St.)
Exhbition: "Harlem Views/Diasporan Visions: The New Harlem Renaissance Photographers" is the inaugural exhibition by members of New Harlem Renaissance Photographers, who have captured on film the daily life, festivals, celebrations, arts performances and other glimpses of the African diaspora.
Date: Through June 30.
Place: Schomburg Center, Exhibition Hall.
Info: For a full listing of Black History Month events at the Schomburg Center, visit www.nypl.org/locations/tid/64/calendar.
MUSEUMS
MoCADA - Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts
TALK: "From Harlem to Addis: Connecting Communities through Development Projects," is a program about the Abby Fund of Harlem’s Abyssinian Baptist Church, which helps Ethiopian coffee farmers keep their crops competitive in the global marketplace. Rev. Nicholas Richards of the Abyssinian Baptist Church will speak.
Date: Feb. 24, from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Place: MoCADA, 80 Hanson Place (at South Portland Ave.), in Brooklyn.
Info: Call (718) 230-0492 and visit www.mocada.org.
RELIGIOUS INSTIUTIONS
CHRISTIAN CULTURAL CENTER
Stage Performances: Educators and students are invited to attend Christian Cultural Center’s Black History Month performances of "The Ruby Bridges Story" and "Arkansas 9." Ruby Bridges was the first black student at an all-white New Orleans public school in 1960. The "Arkansas 9, also known as The Little Rock Nine, were black students who were initially barred from entering Little Rock Central High School in 1957 by the Arkansas governor.
CCC members can register online and registration forms are available the information desk.
Date: Feb. 18, from 10 a.m. to noon.
Place: Christian Cultural Center is at 12020 Flatlands Ave. (near Louisiana Ave.) in Brooklyn.
Info: Call (718) 306-1000.
ELIM INTERNATIONAL FELLOWSHIP
Concert: Free Black History Month Celebration Concert at the Elim International Fellowship stars the Brooklyn Interdenominational Choir, the MANIFEST male choral group, the Elim Cathedral Choir and special guests. The concert is the brainchild of Frank Haye, director of the Choir Academy at the Elim Conservatory of Music.
Date: Feb. 27 at 4 p.m.
Place: Elim International Fellowship is at 20 Madison St. (between Classon and Franklin Aves.), in Brooklyn.
Info: Call (718) 307-7808 or send email to cjdhicks@gmail.com.
Legendary Harlem jazz bar Lenox Lounge has found a new home just two blocks from its original location on Lenox Avenue. The famed venue 
