Gadsden, Ala.–A number of activities are planned at Gadsden State Community College in connection with the annual observance of Black History Month. The events are free and the public is invited to attend.
On February 11, the Black History Trivia Challenge will take place on the Valley Street Campus. Contestants in the game will be asked questions about the Civil Rights Movement and prominent African-Americans. The challenge will begin at 5:30 p.m. in the Learning Resource Center. Prizes will be awarded to the winning participants.
Also on February 11, Gadsden State Cherokee will present the film “A Civil Rights Journey” by Dr. Sonnie Hereford. Dr. Hereford was a leader and photographer involved in the Civil Rights Movement during the early sixties. His film is a documentary that deals with the works of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
and the Civil Rights Movement in Huntsville, Alabama. Scenes from the film were included in the Academy Award Winning film “Mighty Times: The Children’s March.” Attendees are invited to Bring Your Own Lunch (BYOL). The film will be shown in Room 130 from 12 – 1 p.m.
The McClellan Center Library will have a special book display featuring civil rights leaders and authors during the month. Every Monday, Wednesday and Thursday the library will host a BYOL movie series beginning at 12:15 p.m. The feature presentation will be the Ken Burns documentary “JAZZ” which is a multi-part program that traces the lineage and development of the jazz movement.
The Valley Street Campus will host an art exhibit, movie series and synchronized reading tour. Beginning February 8 and continuing throughout the month, a variety of African-American art pieces will be on display in the Prater Hall Conference Room. The BYOL movie series will feature a different movie focusing on triumph over challenges every Wednesday from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. in the Learning Resource Center. The featured film for Wednesday, February 10 will be “The Tuskeegee Airmen” with actor Laurence Fishburne. The Valley Street Campus has also coordinated a synchronized “Black History Reading Tour” in the eight elementary schools within the Gadsden City School System. The goal is to have all 3rd grade students share in the significance of Black History through a book presented by a member of Gadsden State staff at 10:00 am on February 15.
Black History Month activities will conclude on Saturday, February 27 with the Dream Summit, a career fair featuring several occupational experts. Students may obtain information about college choices, networking and how to travel the path to the career of their interest. Birmingham attorney Arthur Shores Lee, of the Law Office of Shores & Lee, will be in attendance to speak with students. Lee’s grandfather, civil rights attorney Arthur Shores, argued the case of Lucy v. Adams before the Supreme Court of the United States. Lucy v. Adams was the case that established the right of all citizens to be accepted as students at the University of Alabama. The Dream Summit will be held in the Gadsden Job Corps Gym from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Additional events are scheduled and will be announced later. For more information contact Gadsden State Community College Director of Diversity and Compliance Michele Bradford at mbradford@gadsdenstate.edu or (256) 439-6822.