Saturday, February 4 | 12 Noon
Central Library | 500 McKinney, 77002
This Is Our Home, It Is Not For Sale is the 60-year history of an archetypal American neighborhood, Riverside in Houston, Texas, which experienced the classic syndrome of integration, real estate blockbusting, white flight and regentrification common to virtually every American city. The filmmaker, Jon Schwartz, will be in attendance to answer questions after the screening.
Invisible Families: Gay Identities, Relationships, and Motherhood Among Black Women, by Mignon Moore. Dr. Janis Hutchinson, Professor of Anthropology, Department of Comparative Cultural Studies, University of Houston, will facilitate a discussion about the book and this topic. This program may serve as an enhancement to Mignon’s Moore’s appearance at the “Race Scholars at Rice” event on February 1st although attendance at the Race Scholars event is not necessary for participation in this program.
Saturday, February 11 | 2 PM
Freed Montrose Neighborhood Library | 4100 Montrose
Saturday, February 11 | 2 PM
Central Library | 500 McKinney, 77002
At the end of the 1960’s, numerous Swedish journalists came to the US, drawn by stories of urban unrest and revolution. Filming for close to a decade, they gained access to many of the leaders of the Black Power movement – Stokely Carmichael, Bobby Seale, Angela Davis, and Eldridge Cleaver among them – capturing them in intimate moments and remarkably unguarded interviews. Thirty years later, this lush collection of 16mm film, peppered with footage of Black Panther activities and B-roll images of black America, was found languishing in the basement of Swedish Television. Director Göran Olsson and co-producer Danny Glover bring this mesmerizing footage to light.
Saturday, February 18 | 1 PM
Central Library | 500 McKinney, 77002
Nationally acclaimed author Daniel Black will discuss his latest novel Perfect Peace, a heartbreaking portrait of a large, rural southern family’s attempt to grapple with their mother’s desperate decision to make her newborn son into the daughter she will never have.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Daniel Omotosho Black is a native of Kansas City, Missouri, yet spent the majority of his childhood years in Blackwell, Arkansas. He was granted a full scholarship to Clark College in Atlanta, Georgia, where he majored in English. He was awarded the Oxford Modern British Studies Scholarship and studied abroad at Oxford University, Oxford, England. Upon graduation from Clark College (magna cum laude in 1988), he was granted a full graduate fellowship to Temple University in pursuit of a Ph.D. in African-American Studies. Completing this phase of his academic career in 1993, with Sonia Sanchez as one of his dissertation advisers, Dr. Black returned to his alma mater in order to help establish the tradition of top-notch scholars who publish and remain at historically Black institutions. As a tenured associate professor, he now aims to provide an example to young African Americans of the importance of self-knowledge and communal commitment. Omotosho, as he prefers to be called, is the founder of the Nzinga-Ndugu rites of passage (or initiation) society -- a group whose focus is instilling principle and character in the lives of African-American youth.
Book Signing with Author Dr. Thurman W. Robins
Saturday - February 18 | 3 PM
African American Library at the Gregory School
During an era of segregation and Jim Crow, the Jack Yates and Phillis Wheatley schools met in an annual football classic that was the largest attended school game in America. The legendary rivalry between Jack Yates and Phillis Wheatley continued until the Turkey Day Classic ended with the integration of public schools in 1966. Come join us as Dr. Robins talks about his newly published book which chronicles this history, REQUIEM FOR A CLASSIC: THANKSGIVING TURKEY DAY CLASSIC. Book signing to follow.
Saturday, February 25 | 1 PM
Henington-Alief Regional Library
Award-winning journalist Mignette Patrick Dorsey will discuss her book, Speak Truth to Power: The Story of Charles Patrick, a Civil Rights Pioneer, which tells the story of the author’s father. Charles Patrick’s quest for justice in segregated Alabama on the eve of the civil rights movement represents a telling instance of the growing determination of African Americans to be treated fairly; it was part of the broadening and deepening stream of resolve that led to the widespread activism of the civil rights movement.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: A Los Angeles, California native, Dorsey is the youngest child of Charles and Rutha Patrick. She is an award-winning print journalist who has worked as a city spokesperson and a high school journalism educator. Currently, Dorsey teaches writing classes at a community college, and is a graduate student.
Society for the Performing Arts’ Education with Houston Public Library presents, For Preserving a Legacy: A Tribute to Houston’s Blues. Part of a month-long project to celebrate Houston’s rich Blues history. Lecture demonstrations and panel discussion open to the public and led by local blues musicians with the purpose of highlighting the history of Blues in Houston. Public performances by local blues and jazz musicians and photography exhibition to showcase the Houston blues scene.
These exciting jazz performances feature local blues legends and emerging talent!
Saturday, February 4 | 2 PM
The African American Library at the Gregory School | 1300 Victor St., 77019
Performers: The Peterson Brothers and Giants Steps
Thursday, February 9 | 6 PM
McCrane-Kashmere Gardens Neighborhood Library | 5411 Pardee St.,77026
Performers: The Peterson Brothers and HSPVA Jazz Ensemble
Wednesday, February 15 | 6 PM
Central Library Julia Ideson Library | 500 McKinney, 77002
Performers: Trudy Lynn and Rebecca Laird
Geared towards teenagers and the young at heart, these lecture demonstrations help community members connect to the blues with the help of an engaging blues expert.
Tuesday, February 7 | 4 PM
Smith Neighborhood Library | 3624 Scott St., 77004
Saturday, February 18 | 2 PM
The African American Library at the Gregory School | 1300 Victor St., 77019
This panel discussion will feature local blues musicians and blues community historians shedding light on issues related to the preservation of the historic blues legacy of Houston. Blues Museum Houston President Jo Vaughn, Mrs. V from KPFT Houston’s Blues on the Move, will moderate the discussion by a panel to include blues legend Texas Johnny Brown, Houston Blues Society President Boyd Bluestein, blues documentary filmmaker Marc Lempert and blues oral historian Erin Norris.
Saturday, February 25 | 2 PM
The African American Library at the Gregory School | 1300 Victor St., 77019
