Throughout February, the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, will host a variety of events in honor of Black History Month. The celebration will include the 20th annual Black Issues Conference as well as an exhibition of visual art, a film screening and other events, all highlighting Black accomplishments and cultural expression.
Campus groups hosting or sponsoring events include the Office of Multicultural Student Life; UT’s chapter of the NAACP; the Pride Center; UT Downtown Gallery; Diversity Educators; the Denbo Center for Humanities and the Arts; the College of Arts and Sciences; the Institute of American Civics at the Baker School of Public Policy and Public Affairs: UT Libraries and Special Collections; the Council for Access and Engagement; the Women, Gender and Sexuality program; and the Departments of English, History, Africana Studies, and Geography and Sustainability.
Here are some highlights of the Black History Month calendar:
Saturday, Feb. 1, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Student Union, 1502 Cumberland Ave.
The Black Issues Conference brings together students, faculty, staff and community members to discuss issues affecting the Black community. The theme of this year’s 20th annual conference is “Legacy and Innovation: Reflecting on Our Past, Embracing Our Present and Envisioning Our Future.” The keynote speaker will be actress, activist, and film director and producer Erika Alexander. The conference is presented by the Office of Multicultural Student Life in collaboration with UT’s chapter of the NAACP. The event is free, but advance registration is required.
Black History Month Lightning Talks
Wednesday, Feb. 12, 4 to 5:30 p.m.
John C. Hodges Library, Lindsay Young Auditorium (first floor), 1015 Volunteer Blvd.
Faculty and graduate students in Black history will showcase their work in 15-minute lightning talks. The UT Knoxville community is invited to attend this celebration of Black scholarship and history. The event is presented in collaboration with Hodges Library, the Denbo Humanities Center, the Pride Center, and the Departments of English, History and Africana Studies.
Film Screening and Kernel Convo: The Color Purple
Wednesday, Feb. 12, 5:30 to 8 p.m.
Frieson Black Cultural Center, Multipurpose Room, 1800 Melrose Ave.
Join the Pride Center, Diversity Educators and the Office of Multicultural Student Life for a screening of the 2023 musical movie “The Color Purple,” followed by a discussion about the film. Free popcorn and snacks will be provided. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and the movie begins at 6 p.m.
Frederick Douglass Day Plenary Talk
Thursday, Feb. 13, 5 to 6:30 p.m.
John C. Hodges Library, Lindsay Young Auditorium (first floor), 1015 Volunteer Blvd.
For this annual event celebrating the birthday of Frederick Douglass, the plenary speaker will be intersectional humanities scholar-activist Jayme Canty-Williams. She will deliver a talk titled “From Silence to Reconciliation: Black Queer Perspectives and Voices of the Black South.”
UT’s Frederick Douglass Day events are sponsored by the Departments of English, History and Africana Studies; the Denbo Center for Humanities and the Arts, UT Libraries, UT Special Collections and the Pride Center.
Frederick Douglass Day Transcribe-a-thon
Friday, Feb. 14, noon to 3 p.m.
Frieson Black Cultural Center, 1800 Melrose Ave.
For this crowdsourcing transcription project, the UT Knoxville community is invited to honor Douglass while contributing to Black literary history. Participants will log on to DouglassDay.org to help transcribe records from the Library of Congress’s African American Perspectives collection.
Exhibition: Ambrose Rhapsody Murray
Throughout the month
Downtown Gallery, 106 S. Gay St.
The UT Downtown Gallery presents “My Memory is a Machine,” an exhibition of new mixed media works by Ambrose Rhapsody Murray. The artist will be present at the gallery for First Friday on Feb. 7, from 5 to 9 p.m. The exhibition and programming are co-sponsored by the Pride Center; the Office of Multicultural Student Life; the Women, Gender and Sexuality program; the Department of Geography and Sustainability, the Council for Access and Engagement, and the Department of Africana Studies.
For a full list of Black History month events, visit the campus events calendar.
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MEDIA CONTACT:
Stacy Estep (865-974-8304, sestep3@utk.edu)