Rockford Public Library Celebrates Black History Month
Annual Program Highlights African Americans in the Arts
Rockford Public Library will host its annual Black History Month celebration with a series of exciting events highlighting African Americans in the arts. This month-long celebration includes dance, film, literature, music, poetry, trivia and more. The events are free and open to the public. Programs are scheduled throughout February.
This program is partially supported by a grant from the Rockford Area Arts Council which receives support from the City of Rockford, the Illinois Arts Council, and its members.
These events are also co-sponsored by WTVO Ch. 17, FOX 39, Rockford My Network TV, Evolve Dance Company and Rock City Unique Steppers.
The complete schedule is attached.
Gospel Fest
Saturday, February 3, 2:00 – 3:30 p.m.
Main Library Auditorium, 215 N. Wyman St.
Description: A local church choir performs gospel songs highlighting the book Moses, a fictional biography about Harriet Tubman. Contents of the book will be featured on a large screen. Registration is not required. For all ages.
African American Read-In
Monday, February 5, 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Description: Children and families are invited to enjoy literature written by and about African Americans. Read-Ins will be held at different times, at all six locations: Main Library, Lewis Lemon Branch, Northeast Branch, Montague Branch, Rock River Branch, and Rockton Centre Branch. Call the location nearest you for details. Registration is not required. For all ages.
Rock City Unique Steppers
Thursday, February 8, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.
Main Library Auditorium, 215 N. Wyman St.
Description: Sometimes called Hand Dancing, Steppin’ is a 50’s style of ballroom dancing that was updated for the Motown beat. This gentle and graceful African American dance form is enjoying resurgence. Join the Rock City Unique Steppers on the dance floor for some instruction, and then dance the night away. Refreshments will be served. Registration is required; call 965-7606, press option 5 or register online at www.rockfordpubliclibrary.org/events. For ages 18 and older.
Hip Hop for Teens
Saturday, February 10, 1:30 – 3:30 p.m.
Main Library Auditorium, 215 N. Wyman St.
Description: Get into the moves! Learn some of the latest hip hop dance moves used by your favorite artists. Professional instructors will teach you how to move and step. Participants will also learn a dance routine. Wear loose clothes and clean gym shoes and be ready to move. This program is co-sponsored by Evolve Dance Company.
Registration is required; call 965-7606, press option 5 or register online at www.rockfordpubliclibrary.org/events. For ages 13 – 19.
“Lost Boys of Sudan” Film
Sunday, February 11, 2:00 – 4:30 p.m.
Main Library Auditorium, 215 N. Wyman St.
As part of the theme ‘Many Voices, Many Cultures,’ this award-winning documentary film Lost Boys of Sudan will be shown, followed by a discussion including comments by Sudanese refugees. The film tells the story of the Sudanese orphans Peter Dut and Santino Chuor, who “survived lion attacks and militia gunfire to reach a refugee camp in Kenya.... From there, remarkably, they were chosen to come to America.” Registration is not required.
Book Discussion: The Color of Water by James McBride
Thursday, February 15, 7:00 – 8:30 p.m.
Main Library Auditorium, 215 N. Wyman St
Description: The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother is a memoir written in remembrance of the author’s Polish-born, Southern-raised Jewish mother, who married a black man and raised twelve children. This is a powerful story of racial identity, religion, and the meaning of family. Registration is required; call 965-7606, press option 5 or register online at www.rockfordpubliclibrary.org/events. For adults (high school and older).
Mardi Gras Jazz Jam Session Featuring Local Saxophonist Harlan Jefferson
Saturday, February 17, 2:00 – 3:30 p.m.
Main Library Auditorium, 215 N. Wyman St
Description: Come and experience an afternoon of jazz with Harlan Jefferson and an eight piece band. Hear the music and enjoy a presentation on the history of jazz. The program will be presented in Mardi Gras fashion with decorations and food. Attendees are encouraged to wear costumes, although optional. Guests will be masked for the “Mystery of Who’s Who?” Masks will be provided. Registration is required; call 965-7606, press option 5 or register online at www.rockfordpubliclibrary.org/events. For ages 18 and up.
Pizza and Poetry
Monday, February 19, 3:00 – 5:00 p.m.
Main Library Auditorium, 215 N. Wyman St.
Description: Langston Hughes, an African American writer deeply involved with the Harlem Renaissance, published his first short stories in high school. Spend the afternoon at the Library creating poetry in the style of Langston Hughes. Pizza and pop will be served. Registration is required; call 965-7606, press option 5 or register online at www.rockfordpubliclibrary.org/events. For ages 13 – 19.
Black History Puppet Show: Harriet Tubman
Tuesday, February 20, 7:00 – 8:00 p.m.
Main Library Auditorium, 215 N. Wyman St.
Description: Come see a puppet play about the courageous men, women, and children who fought slavery in the United States of the 19th century. Afterward, celebrate the achievements of African Americans through story, activity, and craft. Registration is not required. For all ages.
Muntu Dance Theater of Chicago
Saturday, February 24, 1:30 – 3:00 p.m.
Memorial Hall, 211 N. Main
Description: The Chicago-based Muntu Dance Theatre will perform authentic and progressive interpretations of contemporary and ancient African and African American dance, music, and folklore. A colorful and dynamic Company, Muntu brings its audiences out of their seats and into the aisles with its unique synthesis of dance, rhythm and song. Registration is not required. For all ages.
Preserving Memories: Learn the Art of Scrapbooking
Tuesday, February 27, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.
Main Library Auditorium, 215 N. Wyman St.
Description: Thinking about getting started in scrapbooking but you don't know how? Let Gloria Pearson take some of the fears away by teaching you tips and tricks that will make preserving those specials moments easier. Supplies will be provided. Bring 2 – 6 pictures of the same occasion and you will create a mini keepsake. Refreshments will be served. Registration is required; call 965-7606, press option 5 or register online at www.rockfordpubliclibrary.org/events. For ages 18 and older.
Scavenger Hunt
February 1 – 28
Description: Students celebrate Black History month by answering trivia questions about people, events and happenings. Forms will be available with questions at all Rockford Public Library locations. Prize awarded to student with the most correct answers.
Registration is required. For more information, call 965-7606, press option 4.
All Locations: Main Library, Lewis Lemon Branch, Montague Branch, Northeast Branch, Rock River Branch, and Rockton Centre Branch.
Film Festival
Amistad
Monday, February 5, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.
Main Library Auditorium, 215 N. Wyman St.
Description: Based on the true story, Amistad is the saga of a failed mutiny on board a Spanish slave ship and the trial that followed. In the summer of 1839, fifty-three African captives broke free and took over the slave ship, Amistad. Rating R. Registration is not required. For ages 17 and up.
The Color Purple
Monday, February 12, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.
Main Library Auditorium, 215 N. Wyman St.
Description: Author Alice Walker's intimate story of suffering, endurance, and triumph is set in early 20th century rural South. Celie Johnson (Whoopi Goldberg) is a browbeaten, much abused, nearly illiterate black farm girl who over the course of 40 years grows into a woman of self-assurance and wit, a woman with her own dreams and identity. Rating PG-13. Registration is not required. For ages 13 and up.
Ray
Monday, February 19, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.
Main Library Auditorium, 215 N. Wyman St.
Ray Charles humbly began life in a poor small town Georgia. He went blind at the age of seven but, inspired by a fiercely independent single mother, he found his talent behind a piano keyboard. Ray became a sensation by incorporating gospel, country, and jazz into his style all the while fighting the racism of the very clubs that launched his career. Rating PG-13. Registration is not required. For ages 13 and up.
Imitation of Life
Monday, February 26, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.
Main Library Auditorium, 215 N. Wyman St.
Description: One of the most moving films ever made. In this 1959 remake, Director Douglass Sirk draws us into an underworld of backstairs, neon gutters, and assembly-manufactured chorus lines while an exploited black maid’s daughter tries to pass for white. Registration is not required. For ages 13 and up.
Other Programs
Discrimination Stinks!
Description: Take a stand against discrimination with Rockford Public Library. We all know Discrimination Stinks! So what can YOU do about it? Discrimination based on race, color, religion, disability, national origin, language, gender, age, and sexual orientation will be explored. Come as you are, with all your differences, and find the common ground we are all looking for. This is an experiential program designed to highlight different forms of discrimination. We’ll follow this with solutions you can use every day and at any time to promote not just diversity, but to lead us all to pluralism. Registration is required; call 965-7606, press option 5 or register online at www.rockfordpubliclibrary.org/events. For ages 9 – 14.
Saturday, February 10, 5:30 – 7:00 p.m.
Rock River Branch, 3128 11th St.
Thursday, February 15, 10:00 – 11:30 a.m.
Montague Branch, 1238 S. Winnebago St.
Saturday, February 17, 10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Northeast Branch, 320 N. Alpine Rd.
Monday, February 19, 1:00 – 2:30 p.m.
Rockton Centre Branch, 3112 N. Rockton Ave.
Saturday, February 24, 2:00 – 3:30 p.m.
Main Library Auditorium, 215 N. Wyman St.
Wednesday, February 28, 10:00 – 11:30 a.m.
Lewis Lemon Branch, 1988 Jefferson St.
About Black History Month
Black History Month is an annual observance in February, celebrating the past and present achievements of African Americans. In 1926, Harvard Scholar Dr. Carter G. Woodson known as the “Father of Black History” organized the first Negro History Week, which took place during the second week of February as a way to honor the history and contributions by African Americans to American life. Over time, Negro History Week evolved into Black History Month as we know today, a four-week long celebration of African American History.
About the Library
The Rockford Public Library, founded in 1872 as the second library in Illinois, currently has six facilities, including the Main Library and five Branch Libraries. The Rockford Public Library’s mission is to enhance community life and development by informing, educating, entertaining, and providing cultural enrichment to all people of all ages by collecting information to address the diverse interests of our dynamic community.
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