Celebrate Black History Month With Poetry Read-In In Silver Spring

SILVER SPRING, MD — Join ACT-SO (Afro-Academic, Cultural, Technological, Scientific Olympics) for a family-friendly afternoon of poetry to celebrate Black History Month at the Randolph Road Theatre Saturday.

This second annual event is part of the National African American Read-In. The event will feature original poems by Montgomery County students, poems by black poets read and recited by community members and an ACT-SO Silent Auction.

The NAACP's ACT-SO is a yearlong achievement program designed to recruit, stimulate and encourage high academic and cultural achievement among African-American high school students.

About 300,000 young people have participated in ACT-SO since it started over 30 years ago.

Guests include: Representative Jamie Raskin from Maryland's 8th District; Parker Hamilton, the Director of Montgomery County Public Library; Joey N. Jones, a best-selling author; James Stowe, the Director of Human Rights Commission; Chris Barclay, a community activist; Michelle Thompson of the Montgomery County Alliance of Black Educators and more.

The event is open to people of all ages. Tickets are free and donations are accepted. Please register for the poetry read-in and silent auction here.

If you'd like to donate to the Silent Auction, please contact: JoAnn Burl at joannburl@yahoo.com.

If your student would like to participate in the event, contact Pat Price at actsomc@gmail.com.

The event will be held from 2:45-5:30 p.m. at 4010 Randolph Rd., Silver Spring.

Photo: State Farm/Flickr