African American History Month at SU

SALISBURY, MD---Salisbury University celebrates “African Americans and the Vote,” commemorating African American History Month with events throughout February.

The schedule includes:

• Tuesday, February 4, 8:30-10 a.m., Guerrieri Academic Commons Assembly Hall - Civic Reflection discussion: Institute for Public Affairs and Civic Engagement (PACE) facilitators use readings, images and videos to engage the audience in deep productive conversation about issues related to voting right and impact of voting rights, diversity and inclusion in our work world. (This event is open to the SU community only.)
• Thursday, February 6, 6:30 p.m., Henson Science Hall Room 243 - The Hate U Give screening and panel discussion: The film, adapted from the novel by Angie Thomas, tells the story of Starr Carter, who lives in a poor, African American neighborhood and attends a wealthy white prep school. She witnesses the police shooting of her childhood friend. Drs. April Logan of the English Department and Erin Stutelberg of the Secondary and Physical Education Departments lead the discussion.
• Friday, February 7, 4:30-7:30 p.m., Commons Bistro - Soul food dinner with the Bernard Sweetney Jazz Quartet: The annual dinner reflects the African American culture’s innovative fusion of diverse culinary influences. Sweetney offers entertainment from 5-7 p.m. A premier jazz drummer since the 1960s, he has performed with Shirley Horn, Reuben Brown and Roberta Flack. Cost is $15, $8.75 for children 6 and under.
• Friday, February 7, 7 p.m., Guerrieri Student Union, Wicomico Room - SU Gospel Choir concert: cultural songs and open mic: SU and community members perform spoken-word pieces related to the voting history of African Americans, along with traditional and contemporary liturgical songs and dances.
• Thursday, February 13, 6 p.m., Henson Science Hall Room 243 - Eyes on the Prize: “Episode 5 – Mississippi: Is This America? (1962-1964)” screening and discussion: The documentary focuses on the extraordinary personal risks that citizens faced as they assumed responsibility for social change, particularly during the 1962-64 voting rights campaign in Mississippi.
• Tuesday, February 18, 7 p.m., Guerrieri Student Union, Wicomico Room – “Voter Suppression and the African American Vote” lecture: Hilary O. Shelton, senior vice president for policy and advocacy/director of the NAACP’s Washington Bureau for over two decades, discusses the historical and contemporary threats to African American voting rights.
• Tuesday, February 25, 7 p.m., Guerrieri Student Union, Wicomico Room – “Strange Fruit: Maryland’s Lynching History” panel discussion: WBOC-TV journalist Faith Woodard, who researched and produced a documentary about a local lynching,  hosts this discussion about the history of lynching in Maryland and its impact on African American civil and political rights. The panel includes historian Iris Leigh Barnes of the Maryland Lynching Memorial and Amber Green of the Wicomico Truth and Reconciliation Coalition.
• Wednesday, February 26, 2 p.m., Guerrieri Academic Commons, Assembly Hall – The Hate U Give book discussion: Logan, Stutelberg and their students facilitate a discussion of the novel.
• Wednesday, February 26, 6 p.m., Conway Hall Room 226, National African American Read-In: The nation’s first and oldest event dedicated to diversity in literature, established in 1990 by the Black Caucus of the National Council of Teachers of English to make literacy a significant part of Black History Month. The theme of SU’s read-in is “Poets and Teachers.”  Attendees will be invited to read their own original poems or a poem from one of the books available from the SU Libraries.
• Thursday-Friday, February 27-28, 7:30 p.m., Perdue Hall, Bennett Family Auditorium – “Delmarva and the Vietnam War: Legacies and Reflections of African American Veterans” lecture and discussion: Thursday, Gerald Goodwin presents on the experiences of African American veterans in returning from Vietnam in the early 1970s. Friday, a panel discussion covers the specific experiences faced by African American veterans from the Delmarva peninsula and their return from service overseas.
• Saturday, February 29, Asbury United Methodist Church, 1401 Camden Ave., 7:30 p.m. - American Spiritual Ensemble 25th Anniversary Tour: Making its sixth appearance on the Eastern Shore, the group is known for its rousing and deeply heartfelt renditions, choral and solo spirituals. SU voice faculty soloists Jennifer Hope Wills and William A.V. Willis appear with the ensemble. Tickets are $25, $15 for SU faculty and staff, $5 for students, available at the Guerrieri Student Union Information.

African American History Month events are sponsored by SU Libraries, the Charles R. and Martha N. Fulton School of Liberal Arts Humanities Program, The Samuel W. and Marilyn C. Seidel School of Education, Environmental Studies Department, English Department, School of Social Work, Office of Multicultural Student Services, Office of Cultural Affairs, Social Justice, Equity and Teaching Transformation Faculty Learning Community.

Admission is free and the public is invited unless otherwise noted.

Those coming from off campus are required to display a visitor parking pass, which may be requested from the Parking Services website.

For more information call 410-543-6030 or visit the SU website.