Davidson College offers Black History Month events

Davidson College will offer nine free public events between Feb. 4 and Feb. 20 to commemorate Black History Month. Highlights include the exhibit, “The Civil Rights Struggle, African American GIs and Germany,” and the annual Wearn Lecture that activist and academic Angela Davis will present Feb. 12.

The exhibit came from a research project by Maria Höhn, a history professor at Vassar College, and Martin Klimke, associate researcher at the Heidelberg Center for American Studies. The exhibit has toured the U.S. and Germany, and Höhn will present the opening lecture Feb. 5.

Black History Month events include:

Feb. 4-March 1: “The Civil Rights Struggle, African-American GIs and Germany” 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Alvarez College Union Brown Atrium.

Feb. 5: “Racism and Civil Rights Struggles in Davidson” panel discussion. 11 a.m., Alvarez College Union Smith 900 Room. Panelists include Davidson College’s first African-American student, Leslie Brown; local activist Tony Abbott; Joe Howell, ’64; and former Davidson President John Kuykendall.

“The Civil Rights Struggle, African American GIs and Germany” 7:30 p.m. Alvarez College Union Smith 900 Room. Opening lecture by Maria Höhn.

Feb. 6: Civic Engagement Council Justice dialogue on social activism 4 p.m. Chambers Building Baxter Davidson Room. Co-led by associate professor of sociology Jessica Taft and members of the Black Student Coalition and the Civic Engagement Council.

Feb. 7: “The Black Power Mix Tape 1967-1975” film screening 7 p.m. Alvarez College Union Smith 900 Room. Followed by the presentation “Who is Angela Davis? The woman, the Activist, the Myth,” a Black Student Coalition event.

Feb. 12: “Black Panthers and African-American GIs in West Germany in the 1960s and 1970s.” 5 p.m. Alvarez College Union Smith 900 Room. A podium discussion featuring political activist and professor Angela Davis.

“Political Activism and Protest from the 1960s to the Age of Obama.” 8 p.m. Duke Family Performance Hall. Keynote talk by Professor Angela Davis.

Davis’ 8 p.m. lecture is free, but tickets are required. They are available at no charge at the Alvarez College Union box office 10 a.m.- 4:30 p.m. weekdays. They are available for a $3 service charge by phone at the ticket office: 704-894-2135, or online: www.davidson.edu/tickets.

If the hall is full on the evening of the lecture, her talk will be simulcast in the Union’s Smith 900 Room, adjacent to the performance hall.

Feb. 18: “African-Americans in Post-Nazi Germany and Nixon’s United States.” 7 p.m. Alvarez College Union Brown Atrium. A panel discussion that will include African-American veterans and members of the Black Panther Party.

Feb. 20: A screening of the film “1967-72 Revolts in Film: Competing Representations in West Germany and the United States” 7 p.m. Alvarez College Union Sprinkle Room. A discussion of the film will be led by German professor Maggie McCarthy, assistant professor of sociology Jessica Taft and associate professor of history Thomas Pegelow Kaplan.