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Black History Month: History Center Offers Free Virtual Programs in February -The museum’s Seventh Annual Black History Month Lecture will feature noted professor and author Dr. Hassan Jeffries-
PITTSBURGH, Feb. 1, 2021 – The Smithsonian-affiliated Senator John Heinz History Center interprets and preserves African American history and culture year-round through a variety of events and exhibitions curated by the museum’s African American Program.
In recognition of Black History Month, the African American Program of the Heinz History Center will present a series of FREE virtual programs throughout February:
Exploring the Black Family with the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center
“The Bonds of Family and Legacy” Thursday, Feb. 11 • 6-7 p.m.
In partnership with the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, this program will explore the Black family, a topic of study in many disciplines, including history, literature, the visual arts, social policy, and the culture of the culinary arts. The discussion will include Christin Haynes, founder of Black Family Scholar; Dr. Jessica Harris, award-winning journalist and African Diaspora foodways expert; and Dr. Eric Jackson, Professor of History and Director of Black World Studies at Northern Kentucky University. An introduction will be provided by Samuel W Black, Director of the African American Program at the History Center.
Admission is FREE for this virtual program, but advance registration is required.
Seventh Annual Black History Month Lecture
“(Re)Making History: Memory, Mythmaking, and the Civil Rights Movement” Friday, Feb. 12 • 5:30-7 p.m.
Virtual visitors can join noted author, scholar, and professor Dr. Hasan Jeffries for the History Center’s Seventh Annual Black History Month Lecture. The program will explore how popular misconceptions about the civil rights movement remake history, altering everything from the African American freedom struggle’s leadership, goals, tactics, and guiding philosophies, to the depth and breadth of the white opposition, including the form and function of racial terror. Drawing on popular media forms, including movies and political cartoons, the discussion will interrogate leading myths about the African American fight for equality.
Dr. Jeffries is an associate professor of history at The Ohio State University and has contributed to several public history projects, serving as the lead scholar for the renovation of the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Hotel in Memphis, Tenn. Read Dr. Jeffries’ full bio here. - 2 -
Admission is FREE for this virtual program, but advance registration is required.
From Slavery to Freedom Film Series
“Come Hell or High Water: The Battle for Turkey Creek” Wednesday, Feb. 17 • 5:30 p.m.
The From Slavery to Freedom Film Series, in partnership with the Frick Environmental Center of the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy, examines themes from the History Center’s award-winning exhibition through the presentation of film screenings throughout the year.
For Black History Month, the History Center will virtually screen “Come Hell or High Water: The Battle for Turkey Creek,” which explores the painful but inspiring journey of Derrick Evans, a Boston teacher who moves home to coastal Mississippi when the graves of his ancestors are bulldozed to make way for the sprawling city of Gulfport. Over the course of a decade, Derrick and his neighbors stand up to powerful corporate interests and politicians and face ordeals that include Hurricane Katrina and the BP oil disaster in their struggle for self-determination and environmental justice.
Admission is FREE for this virtual program, but advance registration is required. Visit heinzhistorycenter.org/events for updates on how to register.
Educational Programs for Students and Teachers
History Center educators will offer free programs for teachers and students (grades 3-6 and 7-12) throughout February that focus on important moments in our region’s African American history.
Topics will include Charlie Garlick and the Underground Railroad (Feb. 4), Martin Delany and Pittsburgh abolitionists (Feb. 11), Western Pa. and the Great Migration (Feb. 18), and the Civil Rights Movement in Pittsburgh (Feb. 25).
Space is very limited, so teachers should e-mail Amanda McAllen at [email protected] for more information.
Exhibits Highlight Black Heritage in Western Pa.
In addition to Black History Month programming, African American history is on display daily within the History Center’s six floors of exhibitions, including the History Center’s award-winning From Slavery to Freedom exhibition, which explores more than 250 years of African American history in Western Pa. Presented by BNY Mellon, this long-term exhibit highlights the enslavement of Africans and its impact on the American economy, the history of the anti-slavery movement, the Underground Railroad, and the impact of 19th-century activism on the modern quest for civil and human rights in Pittsburgh.
MEDIA NOTE: Samuel W Black, the History Center’s Director of African American Programs, is available for interviews to discuss these exhibits, events, and the importance of preserving African American history in Western Pa.
The Senator John Heinz History Center, an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution and the largest history museum in Pennsylvania, presents American history with a Western Pennsylvania connection. The Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum is a museum within a museum, comprehensively presenting the region’s remarkable sports story through hundreds of artifacts and interactive experiences for visitors of all ages. The History Center and Sports Museum are located at 1212 Smallman Street in the city’s Strip District, and are open every day from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. - 3 -
The History Center’s museum system includes the Sports Museum; the Fort Pitt Museum in historic Point State Park; and Meadowcroft Rockshelter and Historic Village, a National Historic Landmark located in Avella, Pa. in Washington County. More information is available at www.heinzhistorycenter.org.
Virtual visitors can join noted author, scholar, and professor Dr. Hasan Jeffries for the History Center’s Seventh Annual Black History Month Lecture on Friday, Feb. 12, at 5:30 p.m.
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