BLACK HISTORY MONTH Area events

A listing of local events to celebrate Black History Month in February.

Youngstown State University

Tuesday: Black Faculty Research Showcase and Panel Discussion, 6:30 p.m., Kilcawley Center, the Gallery. The panel discussion will be on current and future research projects. Selected black faculty members will display their publications in Maag Library.

Friday: A play, “Boys, Pull Your Pants Up,” 5:45 p.m., Kilcawley Center, Chestnut Room. This theatrical performance is based on a new book by Akron novelist Jewelene Banks. It satirizes the current style among black youths of wearing their pants below their waists. The impact of negative hip-hop styles and videos is closely scrutinized. Banks’ message is simple: Appearance matters, and the first impressions mean everything, especially to talented youths.

Feb. 20: Lecture: “African Architects of Egyptian Civilization,” Anthony Browder, 7 p.m., Kilcawley Center, Ohio Room. Browder is a cultural historian on ancient Egypt, an author, publisher, artist and educational consultant. He is a graduate of Howard University’s College of Fine Arts and has lectured extensively in the United States, the Caribbean, Africa, Japan and Europe. He is the founder and director of Cultural Resources and has spent 28 years researching ancient Egyptian history, science, philosophy and culture. He is author of publications that include “Nile Valley Contributions to Civilization,” “Egypt on the Potomac,” and “Decoding Egyptian Architecture and Symbolism.” Browder’s books will be on display, and he will be available for book signing after the lecture.

Feb. 23: Lecture: “Africanist Value-Centered Education in the Global Village,” 7 p.m., Kilcawley Center, the Gallery. Dr. Yvonne Brown is a Canadian educator who has done extensive research on the link between colonization and globalization. She has sponsored international service-learning projects in Africa and Canada. In her position as manager of international initiatives for the faculty of education at the University of British Columbia, she has analyzed and interpreted the university’s internationalization policy and weighed its implications for education. Papers and articles she has written include “Green Paper on Internationalization.”

Feb. 26: Keynote Lecture: Dr. Cornel West, Skeggs Lecturer, 7:30 p.m., Stambaugh Auditorium, Fifth Avenue. A professor of religion and African-American Studies at Princeton University, West is one of America’s most pre-eminent and prolific public intellectuals. He is a much sought-after speaker in universities across the country addressing a variety of topics across disciplines to various audiences. He is the recipient of more than 20 honorary degrees and a National Book Award. His numerous books include “Prophecy Deliverance: An Afro-American Revolutionary Christianity,” “Race Matters,” “Democracy Matters,” and “Hope on a Tightrope.”

YOUNGSTOWN

Feb. 15: Black History Month Youth All City Variety Show and Dance, 4 to 8 p.m., Buckeye Elks Youth Center, 421 North Ave., $5 at the door or $4 if you bring a can of food to be donated to the Rescue Mission of the Mahoning Valley. There will be singers, dancers, singing groups, rappers, comedians, dance groups and poets. Winners will be on YouTube and can be seen all over the world. Youths from grade school to high school can sign up. The audience will pick the winners. To sign up, call DJ Gregie J, the producer of the Obama Line Dance, at (330) 720-2485 or the Elks at (330) 746-9486.

Feb. 21: The Mahoning Valley Historical Society will host a panel discussion “Discovering African-American History in the Mahoning Valley” at 4 p.m. The discussion will include community historians actively researching and disseminating information about important people, places and events in the Mahoning Valley’s black community. Panelists are Stacey Adger, Steffon Jones, Vince Shivers and Judy Williams. Moderator is Bill Lawson. This free event will be in the MVHS Carriage House, behind the Arms Family Museum, 648 Wick Ave. Support for the program is provided by Ruth H. Beecher Charitable Trust.

MOUNT UNION COLLEGE, ALLIANCE

Feb. 18: Black History 101 Mobile Museum will be on display from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. in Campus Grounds of the Hoover-Price Campus Center. This exhibit, by founder and originator Khalid el-Hakim, is a grass-roots-based project that displays museum-quality black memorabilia.

Feb. 18: Richard “Professor Griff” Griffin, a rapper and spoken-word artist, will perform in the Mount Union Theatre at 7 p.m. “Professor Griff” is a former member of the hip-hop group Public Enemy.

Feb. 26: Basheer Jones, host of the “Basheer Jones and Company Morning Show” of Radio-One Cleveland, will speak at 7 p.m. at Mount Union Theatre. A graduate of Morehouse College, Jones is a published author of poetry and opened up for The Def Poetry Jam at Emory University.

All of the above events are free and open to the public.

Feb. 21: Annual Black Student Union Fashion Show will be at 7 p.m. in Mount Union Theatre. Tickets are $5, or $3 with a canned-food donation. All food items will be taken to Feed My Sheep Ministries in Alliance for distribution to the community. For more information, contact the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs at (330) 823-7288.