RALEIGH –African American history is being celebrated in February, but can be studied and observed through agencies of the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources every day.
“A History of African Americans in North Carolina,” one of six African American history books available through the N.C. Historical Publications Section, relates that history from pre-Colonial days to 2001. “Recollections Of My Slavery Days” written by William Henry Singleton, is his account of his escape from slavery in 1862, service in the U.S. Colored Troops, and other accomplishments. Visit http://nc-historical-publications.stores.yahoo.net/ and click on African American history for information on all six titles, which are discounted 25 percent for Black History Month.
The N.C. Museum of History in Raleigh will start celebrating Black History Month early with the Eighth Annual African American History Celebration on Saturday, Jan. 31, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Piedmont Poet Laureate Jaki Shelton Green will read, the Gospel Jubilators will sing, colorfully costumed Jonkonnu dancers will perform, while crafts and other activities will provide a day of free family fun. Throughout February the museum offers programs for all age groups free or for a small fee. “Bearing Witness: the Civil Rights Photographs of Alexander Rivera” is a free exhibit at the museum through March 1. Visit www.ncmuseumofhistory.org and click on Upcoming Programs” or “Exhibits.”
North Carolina State Historic Sites will offer engaging programs, ranging from an African American Read-In at the State Capitol on Feb. 7, from 1-5 p.m., where local celebrities read their favorite black authors; to a program at Historic Bath on slave ship archaeology comparing the English slaver Henrietta Marie, to the French slave ship turned into Blackbeard’s flagship, Queen Anne’s Revenge on Feb. 7, at 10 a.m.
The N.C. Transportation Museum in Spencer will examine the work and music of lining bar workers, known as “gandy dancers” who toiled as railroad track maintenance workers from the mid 1800s to the mid 20th century. The “North Carolina Lining Bar Gangs” is a free permanent exhibit that opens Feb. 24.
Entertainment is planned with a Freedman’s Jazz Concert at Roanoke Island Festival Park, at 8 p.m. on Feb. 20, featuring two legendary blues guitarists. Hubert Sumlin was guitarist for Howlin’ Wolf (aka Chester Burnett). Bob Margolin played for Muddy Waters (aka McKinley Morgenfield). Both were recorded on Chicago based Chess records, all were major influences on subsequent blues and rock and roll artists, as demonstrated in the recent movie “Cadillac Records.” There is a fee; visit www.roanokeisland.com for additional information.
Town Creek Indian Mound in Mount Gilead will screen “Black Indians: An American Story” narrated by James Earl Jones on Feb. 1, at 4 p.m. Historic Bath will show “A Raisin in the Sun” starring Sidney Poitier, on Feb. 19, at 7 p.m. Tryon Palace Historic Sites and Gardens in New Bern will present Antonia Parker, who will tell the story of Amelia Green, and her efforts to free herself and her family from slavery on Feb. 19 at 7 p.m. Visit www.nchistoricsites.org and click on the individual site or the calendar on the right fort additional information. These programs are free.
Somerset Place in Creswell is one of the state historic sites steeped in African American history every day. It interprets the lives of the Collins family and the nearly 300 slaves who worked 6,000 acres of the 100,000 acre plantation. Historic Stagville in Durham was the Bennehan-Cameron plantation of 30,000 acres and nearly 900 slaves, where atypical apartment style slave houses built by enslaved Africans still stand. Historic Edenton features a display and tours about Harriet Jacobs, who escaped slavery to become an abolitionist after seven years hiding in her grandmother’s attic. Another site is the Charlotte Hawkins Brown Museum in Sedalia, a preeminent prep school for African Americans in the first half of the 20th century.
The Museum of the Cape Fear in Fayetteville will present the Arsenal Roundtable “Red, White, Blue and Black: A History of Black Americans in the U.S. Military” on Feb. 26, at 7 p.m. Prof. Charles Anderson Jr. will examine African American military involvement from colonial times to the Civil War in a free program.
Other military involvement can be researched in the State Archives. The State Library and State Archives also offer information all year to genealogists and those researching black family histories back to the 1800s. For more information on the State Archives, click here. Information on genealogy is available here. The N.C. Highway Historical Marker program recognizes significant contributions of African Americans in North Carolina across the state. Visit www.ncmarkers.com and enter African American history in the search bar. Markers for Black Wall Street, Martin Luther King Jr., Sit-in, and many others are listed.
The N.C. Museum of History has scheduled several other February events that relate in to Black History Month, featuring the first in a lecture series titled “Perspectives on History.” All the events listed below are free except for the lecture series:
Time for Tots – Painting Dreams: 10-10:45 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 3, or Tuesday, Feb. 10. Children ages 3-5 may attend with an adult to learn about North Carolina artist Minnie Evans (whose paintings were inspired by her dreams) and then make their own “dreamy” piece of art to keep. To register, call (919) 807-7992.
African American History Tour: 1:30-2:30 p.m. each Saturday (Feb. 7, 14, 21 and 28). Explore the lives and accomplishments of North Carolina African Americans from the antebellum period to the Civil Rights era.
Music of the Carolinas — The Golden Echoes: 3-4 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 8. “A Singing Stream: A Black Family Chronicle” follows the Landis family of Granville County, who has been singing gospel music as the Golden Echoes for generations. PineCone co-sponsors the program.
Make It, Take It — Acrostics: 1-3 p.m. (drop-in program) Saturday, Feb. 28. Poetry has many forms, from nursery rhymes to haiku. Learn about George Moses Horton, an enslaved African American who became North Carolina’s first professional poet. Then create an acrostic poem of your own.
“Perspectives on History” lecture series: 7-9 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 19. The initial lecture is “Appraised, Bartered and Sold: The Value of Human Chattels” by Daina Ramey Berry, history professor at Michigan State University. There is a $5 fee (except for Museum Associates, who may attend free); a reception follows the program.
For additional information contact Fay Mitchell at (919) 807-7389. The N.C. Museum of History, Museum of the Cape Fear, N.C. State Historic Sites, N.C. State Archives, the State Library, and N.C. Highway Historical Marker Program all are within the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources, a state agency dedicated to the promotion and protection of North Carolina’s arts, history and culture, and observing the 2009 theme, “Treasure N.C. Culture” in all its forms. Now podcasting 24/7 with information about the Department of Cultural Resources, available at www.ncculture.com.