Black History Month is wrapping up, but there are still a few ways you can get engaged in celebrating heritage with these Arkansas events. Feb. 25 — The Parkview Arts and Science Magnet High School will partner with the Clinton Presidential Center in hosting Parkview’s Black History Program, which will celebrate voices of the Abolitionist Movement, from Frederick Douglass to Sojourner Truth.
The event will be held at the Clinton Presidential Center in Little Rock, Arkansas, from 11 a.m. to noon. Arkansas Tech University in Russellville, Arkansas, will host an open forum discussion at noon on the #BlackLivesMatter and #AllLivesMatter movements.
The University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Arkansas, will host an evening with Eunique Jones Gibson, the creator of “Because of Them We Can,” in the university’s Walton Reading Room of Mullins Library. The event will begin at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 28 — Head to Arkansas Tech University in Russellville, Arkansas, for Soul Food Sunday, where you can enjoy food, a musical presentation and a guest speaker starting at 3 p.m.
If you can’t make any of these last events, or if there was an event from earlier in the month you missed out on, then you’re in luck. There are several month-long or ongoing activities from the beginning of the month to the end, so be sure to check them out if you’re interested.
The Public Library in Fayetteville, Arkansas, is hosting a photographic project, titled “Let There Be Light: 100 Black Men,” all month long. This project aims to make black lives more relevant and visible in Northwest Arkansas by allowing the viewer to gaze into the soul of the photographed individuals. This project is held in the library’s Reading Room. Fayetteville’s Public Library is hosting another project, titled “A Visual Arts Sanfoka.” This exhibition aims to evoke specific aspects of the African-American experience by exploring young artists’ perceptions of the world through the African-American lens. This project is held in the library’s Children’s Reading Room.
The Mosaic Templars Cultural Center in Little Rock, Arkansas, is hosting “A Living History: The Arkansas Black Hall of Fame” on the third floor. This exhibit highlights art, music, sports, education and Civil Rights by emphasizing the achievements of black Americans beginning in the 20th century. In addition, Harding University is hosting its own month-long celebration of Black History Month for students who are not able to travel out of town.
The second floor of the Stevens Art Gallery is hosting its annual photography show in celebration of Black History Month, with expressions highlighting former president Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama. The photography display is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays and will run until March 3.
Harding is also displaying a number of paintings by the late Lee Watts, an artist who did many of the paintings of Harding presidents and donors around campus. Watts’ paintings are displayed in the Art and Design Galleries, featuring portraits of a 93 year-old gentleman known as “Ole Jolly,” who was a teenager during the Civil War. This exhibit will be viewable until 5 p.m. on Feb. 24, so if you’re interested in observing Watts’ work, you better hurry.
The Black Student Association is hosting a panel on Feb. 24 at 7 p.m. in the Administration Auditorium discussing racism and how it has changed.
