Although February is Black History Month, the celebration continues into March at Yale as departments or programs wind down a month-long series of events.
Notable among the events still to come is a visit on Monday, March 4, by Anthony Williams '79, mayor of Washington, D.C. (See Visiting on Campus.)
In addition, the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library's exhibit "My Soul Has Grown Deep Like the Rivers: Langston Hughes at 100," will continue through April 20. Visitors to this exhibit can view photographs, letters, books and manuscripts that illustrate Hughes' life and three different facets of his career: his poetry, his work as an artist (he was also a playwright and the lyricist of 800 songs) and his role as an observer of contemporary society.
The Beinecke Library is located on the corner of Wall and High streets. Viewing hours are Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. The library will also be open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on Saturdays, March 2 and 30, as well as the first three Saturdays in April.
The University celebrated Black History Month with an array of campus offerings that began on Feb. 1. Highlights include:
* A dinner featuring actor, director and producer Val Ward, who founded the Kuumba Theatre in Chicago on Feb. 1. Ward earned an Emmy Award for her stage direction of the television music special "Precious Memories: Strolling 47th Street." She also performs in the one-woman show "My Soul is a Witness." Her visit was sponsored by Calhoun College, the James Humphrey Hoyt Memorial Fellowship and the Afro-American Cultural Center (AACC).
* A Cultural Caravan show on Feb. 8, which drew more than 300 New Haven schoolchildren to Yale. The show, sponsored by the AACC, educated the youngsters about black history and culture and featured performances by the Yale student groups Konjo!, Steppin' Out and the Yale Gospel Choir. (See related story.) While on campus, the schoolchildren also had the opportunity to view the Beinecke Library's Langston Hughes exhibit.
* "Africa Night," a cultural show on Feb. 8 that featured African dance, poetry and cuisine, sponsored by the Yale African Student Association.
* A master's tea in Calhoun College on Feb. 11 featuring Renee Cox, a Jamaican-born fashion photographer who incorporates her personal experiences as a black woman in her perspective.
* A Valentine's Day performance by Shades, an undergraduate a cappella group.
* An address by Mary Starke Harper, the last living health care provider associated with the Tuskegee experiment, on Feb. 18, sponsored by the School of Nursing. Harper discussed the experiment that left African-American men with syphilis purposefully untreated, and shared her thoughts on medical ethics today.
* A Calhoun College master's tea on Feb. 19 featuring activist and former Black Panther member Kathleen Cleaver.
* A conference Feb. 21-23 on "Langston Hughes and His World: A Centennial Celebration." Hughes' life and works were explored in talks, film screenings, poetry readings and jazz and theater performances. This event was a collaboration of the Department of African American Studies, the Beinecke Library, the English and theater studies departments, and the New Haven arts community.
* A major Law School conference Feb. 22-24 on "Race, Values and the American Legal Process," which was a tribute to Judge A. Leon Higginbotham Jr. '52 LAW, who is credited with advancing the cause of racial justice. Speakers included U.S. Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton '63 M.A., '64 LAW and Cory Booker '97 LAW, an activist and Newark, New Jersey, city councilman who is now a candidate for mayor in that city. The event was sponsored by the Black Law Students Association and the Law School's dean's office.
* A Feb. 24 campus worship service featuring a sermon by Walter Fauntroy '58 DIV, a civil rights activist and former congressman representing Washington, D.C.
* A talk by Connecticut Senator Toni Harp '78 ARC, sponsored by the Black Graduate Network and the Black Student Alliance at Yale.
* The presentation on Feb. 28 of the opera "The Sour Thunder," written and produced by Yale School of Drama student Keith Townsend Obadike and his partner, Mendi Lewis Obadike. The opera, which uses state-of-the-art technology, was simultaneously presented at the Yale Cabaret and the AACC, as well as webcast internationally.
Poetry jams, additional musical performances, films and cultural shows were also offered as part of the campus-wide celebration of Black History Month.
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