BLACK HISTORY MONTH | Events

February is Black History Month, an annual celebration of achievements by black Americans and a time to recognize the central role of blacks in U.S. history. Below is a list of events as submitted to The Vindicator:

Saturday: The African Marketplace, noon to 4 p.m., Youngstown State University Kilcawley Center’s Chestnut Room. Vendors will have various Afrocentric wares and other goods for sale, and there will be a variety of food.

Sunday: Butler Institute of American Art, 524 Wick Ave., Youngstown, in collaboration with the Youngstown Chapter of the Links Inc., presents “The African American Collection,” a 2 p.m. lecture on the permanent collection of African-American art, by Louis Zona, the art museum’s executive director and chief curator.

Sunday: Talent program with singers and people doing Black History reading from different churches in the area, 4 p.m., Beulah Baptist Church, 570 Sherwood Ave., Youngstown.

Monday: Black History Month featured artist Malcolm Mobutu, 5 to 8 p.m., Solomon Gallery at YSU’s Bliss Hall.

Wednesday: Black Student Retention Series: Penguin Pathways Meet and Greet, 2 to 3:30 p.m., Kilcawley, James Gallery.

Thursday and Feb. 22: The East VPA Black History Month Performance will be at 6 p.m. Thursday in the East High School Auditorium. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. Chaney’s VPA Black History Performance will be at 6 p.m. Feb. 22 in that school’s auditorium with doors opening at 5:30 p.m. Admission for both performances is free. The performances will pay tribute to the Harlem Renaissance and artists that were later inspired and influenced by the cultural explosion that occurred during the era. Each school’s performance will be unique in its presentation, cast and performance pieces.

Feb. 11: Black History Movie “Hidden Struggles in Ohio,” 4 p.m. at Beulah Baptist Church.

Feb. 13: Black Student Retention Series: History of Black Student Organizations, 12:30 to 1:45 p.m., Kilcawley, President’s Suite.

Feb. 18: Ted Toles, a black baseball player who played in the Negro League, and others, 4 p.m. at Beulah Baptist Church. There will be a film on the players and a short clip on their lives and how they made a difference for all U.S. black people.

Feb. 19: Black and Jewish in America, 6 to 8 p.m., Jewish Community Center, 505 Gypsy Lane, Youngstown. Contact: Jacob Labenz, 330-941-1603

Feb. 22: Black Student Retention Series: Keynote Speaker Dr. Emma Fraser Pendleton, 12:30 to 1:45 p.m., Kilcawley, Ohio Room.

Feb. 23: Taft Elementary School, 730 E. Avondale Ave., celebrates black history from 9 to 11 a.m. Open to the public. Greeting by Youngstown City School CEO Krish Mohip and Mayor Jamael Tito Brown. Special performance by Harambee African Dancers.

Feb. 25: Rev. Henry McNeil from Elizabeth Missionary Baptist Church will speak on the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s, where we are not and what we need to be doing in the future, 4 p.m., Beulah Baptist Church.