MEDIA ADVISORY: MU Celebrates Black History Month with a Full Schedule of Events
Story Contact(s):
Nathan Hurst, hurstn@missouri.edu, 573-882-6217
WHAT: The University of Missouri will celebrate the 2013 Black History Month with a series of events throughout the month of February. This year’s theme commemorates the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation and the 50th anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington, D.C. The month long celebration will feature events such as lectures, book signings, readings and performances. Some of the events include:
- Book signing and discussion by Salamishah Tillet, assistant professor of English and Africana studies at the University of Pennsylvania on Feb. 8.
- A performance and discussion by violinist and America’s Got Talent participant Damien Escobar on Feb. 12.
- Discussion and reading by author and poet Quincy Troupe on Feb. 19.
- A screening of Byron Hurt’s film Soul Food Junkies, with a question and answer session with Byron Hurt to follow on Feb. 28.
Black History Month is an annual celebration of African-American history. This celebration has existed since 1926, when Carter G. Woodson organized the first Negro History Week. Woodson selected the second week of February because it coincided with the birthdays of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln. Over the years, Negro History Week developed into today’s Black History Month.
WHO: Events are free and open to the public.
WHEN & WHERE:
Feb. 1 – Feb. 28
Various locations
MU campus
NOTES: A full schedule of events can found at: http://diversity.missouri.edu/fbdocs/bhm13-calendar-8.5×11.pdf