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January 30th, 2010
Midwest City Library kicks off 28-day event to celebrate Black History Month
February is Black History Month and to kick things off the Midwest City Library is featuring 28 days of events, displays, musical performances and talks devoted to celebrating the accomplishments of the people, places and things that make up the state's rich African-American heritage.
This is the second year the library will dedicate its lobby exhibit space to display a variety of items and mementos chronicling the towns, people, culture and universities that are the fabric of the state's role in black history. Last year's event did not have a theme. This year library officials chose to focus specifically on music and dance.
While there will be recommended books and smaller displays about prominent figures like Martin Luther King Jr. and President Barack Obama, most of the focus will be on homegrown achievements.
"This year we decided to focus on African-Americans in Oklahoma," said Midwest City librarian Suzette Felton.
EXHIBITION
An exhibit on loan from the Oklahoma History Center entitled Early Oklahoma: Black Hopes, Black Dreams includes a nine panel exhibition telling the story of prominent black leaders throughout the state's history.
Felton said she was particularly excited that the library will feature handmade quilts with depictions of African-American life in portrait collages by local artist Lola Jenkins.
Langston University also loaned the library original historical documents that date back to the founding of the university in 1897.
On Feb. 21 Tonnia Anderson, professor of English and interdisciplinary studies at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma, will give a talk and presentation about Oklahoma's role in the music spurred by the Harlem Renaissance in the 1920s and 1930s and one theater in particular in Deep Deuce near downtown Oklahoma City.
"I will be speaking about the significance of the Aldridge Theater," Anderson said. "It was really a cultural hubbub of black activity during the Harlem Renaissance period."
BIG NAMES
The theater was the place to see the Oklahoma City Blue Devils, which included several prominent members over the years like Jimmy Rushing and Count Basie. Big names like Duke Ellington played at the theater when passing through the city.
All of the events, exhibits, talks and musical performances are free and open to the public. The displays and exhibits were made possible by a $1,550 grant from the Friends of the Metropolitan Library System of Oklahoma County.
In organizing the library's plans for Black History Month, Chris Kennedy, Midwest City manger of library operations, said there was no shortage of significant materials, speakers and historical mementos to choose from.
This is the second year the library will dedicate its lobby exhibit space to display a variety of items and mementos chronicling the towns, people, culture and universities that are the fabric of the state's role in black history. Last year's event did not have a theme. This year library officials chose to focus specifically on music and dance.
While there will be recommended books and smaller displays about prominent figures like Martin Luther King Jr. and President Barack Obama, most of the focus will be on homegrown achievements.
"This year we decided to focus on African-Americans in Oklahoma," said Midwest City librarian Suzette Felton.
EXHIBITION
An exhibit on loan from the Oklahoma History Center entitled Early Oklahoma: Black Hopes, Black Dreams includes a nine panel exhibition telling the story of prominent black leaders throughout the state's history.
Felton said she was particularly excited that the library will feature handmade quilts with depictions of African-American life in portrait collages by local artist Lola Jenkins.
Langston University also loaned the library original historical documents that date back to the founding of the university in 1897.
On Feb. 21 Tonnia Anderson, professor of English and interdisciplinary studies at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma, will give a talk and presentation about Oklahoma's role in the music spurred by the Harlem Renaissance in the 1920s and 1930s and one theater in particular in Deep Deuce near downtown Oklahoma City.
"I will be speaking about the significance of the Aldridge Theater," Anderson said. "It was really a cultural hubbub of black activity during the Harlem Renaissance period."
BIG NAMES
The theater was the place to see the Oklahoma City Blue Devils, which included several prominent members over the years like Jimmy Rushing and Count Basie. Big names like Duke Ellington played at the theater when passing through the city.
All of the events, exhibits, talks and musical performances are free and open to the public. The displays and exhibits were made possible by a $1,550 grant from the Friends of the Metropolitan Library System of Oklahoma County.
In organizing the library's plans for Black History Month, Chris Kennedy, Midwest City manger of library operations, said there was no shortage of significant materials, speakers and historical mementos to choose from.
"Our biggest challenge was narrowing it down," Kennedy said. "There seemed to be so much available."
photo Midwest City Librarian Suzette Felton and Chris Kennedy, Midwest City manger of library operations, prepare for a month-long display. Photo/Kelley Chambers
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