Black History Month Events At Denver Public Library

From Denver Public Library: The Denver Public Library celebrates Black History Month with free family-friendly events and programs throughout the month of February. For full details, visit the library’s website at denverlibrary.org.

Some highlights include:

Juanita Gray Community Service Award & Blacks In Colorado Hall of Fame Ceremony
Saturday, Feb. 3, 1:30 p.m. Blair-Caldwell African American Research Library, 2401 Welton Street, Denver, CO 80205 Community leaders will be honored at the annual Juanita Gray Community Service Award and the biennial Blacks in Colorado Hall of Fame induction ceremony. Light refreshments will be served. *Please note venue change.

Whittier Neighborhood Walking Tour with Black American West Museum
Saturday, Feb. 3, 2 p.m.
Ford-Warren Branch Library, 2825 High Street, Denver, CO 80205
Discover the rich history of the neighborhood surrounding Ford-Warren Branch Library.

Sankofa Storytime
Thursday, Feb. 15, 5:30 p.m.
Pauline Robinson Branch Library, 5575 E. 33rd Avenue, Denver, CO 80207
The word Sankofa comes from the Akan people of Ghana. It means, “to go back and get it.” One of the Adinkra symbols for Sankofa depicts a mythical bird flying forward with its head turned backward. Sankofa Storytime brings the African American tradition of storytelling to life. A collaboration of local artists, authors, community organizations and local librarians.

The Pillars of African American Art Song: Compositions of Strength, Love and Justice
Saturday, Feb. 10, 6-8:30 p.m.
Blair-Caldwell African American Branch Library, 2401 Welton Street, Denver, CO 80205
Denver Art Song Project presents a performance of African American Art Songs curated by soprano, Stephanie Ann Ball. Experience a moving journey through art songs written by some of history’s most influential African American composers and the texts of America’s most prominent African American wordsmiths. The melodies will be enhanced by the powerful words of Langston Hughes, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and others. Light refreshments to follow program.

Medicines of the African American Captive 2: The Tree Whisperers
Wednesday, Feb. 21, 6 p.m.
Green Valley Ranch Branch Library, 4856 N. Andes Ct., Denver, CO 80249
Monday, Feb. 26, 6 p.m.
Blair-Caldwell African American Research Library, 2401 Welton Street, Denver, CO 80205
African American slaves were forced to endure harsh conditions without many resources. How did they survive? Plants! People within slave communities had knowledge of the medical and spiritual healing powers of plants. Herbalist Monticue Connally will focus on the medicinal connections between African captives and the trees around them.

Meet Malcolm X
Saturday, Feb. 24, 3 p.m. at Rodolfo “Corky” Gonzales Branch Library
Malcolm X (1925-1965) was a Black Muslim minister and National Spokesman for the Nation of Islam. After rising from an early life of drug abuse and petty criminal behavior, this respected yet controversial political figure confronts a personal moral crisis: his own human bigotry. His driving quest for knowledge, self-critique and conversion to Islam changes him into a spokesman for the cause of universal human rights. Colorado Humanities presents, as part of our Black History Live Tour 2018, a portrayal of Malcolm X by eminent national humanities and Chautauqua scholar Charles Everett Pace.

Colorado Jazz Workshop
Wednesday, Feb. 28, 6:30 p.m.
Park Hill Branch Library, 4705 Montview Blvd., Denver, CO 80207
Enjoy classic jazz standards from the Colorado Jazz Workshop featuring a three-piece-horn section and three piece rhythm section. The Colorado Jazz Workshop was founded in 1987 and recently performed at the 6th Annual Colorado Jazz Workshop Festival.

Image Via Pixabay