January 13, 2009

Black Cultural Center Art Series announces spring program

The center's events also will include various programs focusing on African-American roots in popular music, a portrait exhibit, performances by the center's performing arts ensembles and a tour to Cleveland.

"The Black Cultural Center Arts Series will have something for everyone, whether it's on the crucial topics affecting African-Americans today or reflecting on the past and how it impacts all of us in the present," said Renee Thomas, the center's director. "Students, faculty and the general public will find a great deal to choose from these programs that will educate, move and inspire."

All events are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted. The events include:

* Feb. 4 - Benjamin Todd Jealous, president and chief executive officer of the NAACP, will be the Black History Lecture keynote speaker at 7 p.m. at the Stewart Center's Fowler Hall. The NAACP is celebrating its 100th year and Jealous, appointed at 35, is serving as its youngest president in history.

* Feb. 5 - Opening reception for the "To Know My Mother's Name," portrait exhibit by Delita Martin from 4-6 p.m. at the Black Cultural Center, 1100 Third St. Martin, a Purdue graduate student in the Department of Visual and Performing Arts, created a series of portraits that speak to women of color, their resolve to survive life's obstacles and define love and passion.

* Feb. 11, March 11, April 8  - The "Difficult Dialogues" series will give students, faculty, staff and the community an opportunity to talk about race and issues that intersect race to better understand the subject. The series will be held in the BCC's Multipurpose Room 1 at 2 p.m. and in collaboration with the university's American Studies program. The topic for Feb. 11 will focus on "Race and the Academy."

* Feb. 17 - Manning Marable, a widely read educator and author in the field of African-American, ethnic studies and politics, will speak on the topic "Living Black History: How Reimaging the African-American Past Can Remake America's Racial Future," at 7 p.m. at Fowler Hall. Marable's writing has been featured in African-American newspapers and other publications around the country.

* Feb. 20 - The Women's Resource Office is co-sponsoring a poetry reading titled "Imagining Mending Mother Earth: An Environmental Poetry Event" at 7 p.m. at the Black Cultural Center. The event will feature poets from the campus community.

* March 6-7 - The Soul of Cleveland Tour will examine Cleveland's African-American history and heritage, including trips to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, E.E.P. Creative Arts Complex and a meeting with artist and educator Edward Parker. Registration is $100 for the general public and $35 for students, which is due by Feb. 6.

* March 23-April 24 - The exhibit "Rock, Rhythm & Soul: The Black Roots of Popular Music" will be displayed in the Black Cultural Center's formal lounge. The exhibit was produced by the Indiana University Archives of African-American Music and consists of topical banners on various themes and genres of African-American music, including soul, funk, gospel, rhythm and blues, and hip-hop.

* March 20-21 - A mid-semester Coffee House production by the BCC Performing Arts Ensemble - Black Voices of Inspiration, Haraka Writers, New Directional Players and Jahari Dance Troupe - will be held at 7 p.m. in the center's Multipurpose Room 1.

* March 27 - The New Directional Players will perform its spring semester production, directed by Artisia Green, at 7 p.m. in the BCC Multipurpose Room 1.

* April 5 - The Black Voices of Inspiration will host its spring concert, directed by Twana Harris, at 3 p.m. at the Stewart Center's Loeb Playhouse. Terrell Hunt, 2009 Stellar Award nominee for best new artist of the year, will be featured. Tickets are $7 for the general public and $5 for students at the Loeb Box Office.

* April 9 - The Black Thought Collective will deliver a multimedia presentation and present research on the topic "Not Simply a Moment in History: Notes on the Enduring Politics and Memory of Post Katrina New Orleans" from 3-5 p.m. in the BCC Multipurpose Room 1.

* April 10 - The program "Through My Eyes: Stories of Lives Never Lived," directed by Khari Bowden, will feature poetry, prose and stories performed at 7 p.m. in the BCC Multipurpose Room 1.

* April 15 - Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Rita Dove, a former U.S. Poet Laureate, will speak at 8 p.m. at Fowler Hall. The Department of English and Purdue Libraries is co-sponsoring the speech by Dove, who won the Pulitzer Prize in 1987 and the 1996 National Humanities Medal.

* April 25 - The Jahari Dance Troupe will perform its spring revue, choreographed by K. Iega Jeff, at 7 p.m. at the Loeb Playhouse. Tickets are $7 for the general public and $5 for students at the Loeb Box Office.

Established at Purdue in 1969, the Black Cultural Center is nationally recognized and acknowledged by the Association of Black Cultural Centers as one of the best centers of its kind. Thomas said the center helps the community gain a greater understanding of African American heritage and supports and enhances cultural diversity on the campus and in the community.

Writer: Clyde Hughes, (765) 494-2073, jchughes@purdue.edu

Source: Renee A. Thomas, (765) 494-3019, rathomas@purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

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