Northwestern Celebrates Black History Month

EVANSTON, Ill. --- A discussion on the psychological consequences of racial bias, an evening with celebrated poet and activist Sonia Sanchez, and an exhibition by artist and musician Terry Adkins are but three of many events marking Black History Month at Northwestern University this year.

The following exhibitions and programs are free and open to the public. For updated information on the University’s Black History Month events, visit www.northwestern.edu/msa.

• The Psychological Consequences of Contending with Racial Bias, noon, Wednesday, Feb. 13, Hagstrum Room (Room 201), University Hall, 1897 Sheridan Road, Northwestern University, Evanston campus. Jennifer Richeson, professor of psychology and African American Studies and a fellow of the University’s Institute for Policy Research, will lead a discussion about her award-winning research on prejudice, stereotyping and inter-group relations.

• “Sister Citizen” Book Discussion, noon to 1 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 14, Women’s Center-Chicago, Abbott Hall, 710 N. Lake Shore Drive, Room 1400; and noon to 1:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 15, Women’s Center-Evanston, 2000 Sheridan Road. Join a lively discussion on “Sister Citizen: Shame, Stereotypes, and Black Women in America,” Melissa V. Harris-Perry’s provocative book on the harmful stereotypes of black women that pervade in American culture. Harris-Perry is a popular MSNBC commentator. For more information, visit

www.northwestern.edu/womenscenter/.

• “The Legacy of X,” 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 20, Harris Hall, Room 107, 1881 Sheridan Road, Evanston campus. For Members Only (FMO), Northwestern University’s Black Student Alliance and the Muslim-cultural Student Association (McSA) are co-sponsoring an event about the role of Muslims in American society, highlighting significant parallels between Muslims, and politicized races and ethnicities in America today.

• The Controversial Black Question Time, 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 27, McCormick Tribune Center, 1870 Campus Drive, Evanston campus. A guest panel of invited academics and professionals will discuss, debate and respond to controversial black questions and topics from YOU! Send your questions to ControversialBlackness2013@gmail.com. If your question is chosen you will be invited to pose it to the panel and engage them directly in discussion. The event is sponsored by Northwestern’s department of African American Studies, Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences.

• Leon Forrest Lecture: An Evening with Poet and Activist Sonia Sanchez, 5:15 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 28, Fisk Hall, 1845 Sheridan Road, Room 217, Northwestern University, Evanston campus. Sanchez, a pillar of the Black Arts Movement in the early 1970s and a celebrated writer, poet, activist and scholar today, will deliver the 12th annual Leon Forrest Lecture. She is the author of “Homecoming,” “Shake Loose My Skin” and dozens of other books. Last year, at age 77, Sanchez became Philadelphia’s first official poet laureate.

For more on Sanchez, visit www.northwestern.edu/newscenter/stories/2013/01/literatures-lion-in-the-forest-to-deliver-forrest-lecture.html. The event is sponsored by Northwestern’s African American studies department and the Northwestern Black Alumni Association. For more information, visit http://www.afam.northwestern.edu/index.html or call (847) 491-5122.

• Jabulani: African Culture Show, 6 p.m. Sunday, March 3, Louis Room, Norris University Center, 1999 Campus Drive, Northwestern University, Evanston campus. The African Student Association’s 13th annual African culture show is an evening of catered African food, interactive performances, fashion, dance and music.

• “Terry Adkins Recital,” through March 24, Mary and Leigh Block Museum, Main Gallery, 40 Arts Circle Drive, Northwestern University, Evanston campus. “Recital” brings together 30 years of work by artist and musician Terry Adkins. Combining sculpture and live performance, Adkins has described his approach to art making as similar to that of a composer. His sculptures re-purpose and combine materials, such as fiberglass propellers, wooden coat hangers, parachute fabric and musical instruments, in a process he calls “potential disclosure,” which aims to reveal the dormant life in inanimate objects. In performances with members of his Lone Wolf Recital Corps, Adkins activates these objects through improvisational playing and singing, spoken word, costumes and recorded sound. The events intend to uphold the legacies of immortal and enigmatic figures, including Bessie Smith, John Brown, Sam Lightin’ Hopkins and John Coltrane. Adkins sheds light on willfully neglected or ignored aspects in the life of well-known figures, such as Jimi Hendrix’s military service as a U.S. Army paratrooper in the highly decorated 101st Airborne Division. “Terry Adkins Recital” is curated by Ian Berry, Dayton Director of The Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College, in collaboration with the artist. To view a video featuring Adkins and his work, visit www.blockmuseum.northwestern.edu.

• “Cultural Collage,” through Feb. 17, Dittmar Memorial Gallery, Norris University Center, 1999 Campus Drive, Evanston campus. This group exhibition features the work of  three artists. Though each works in a different medium and is from a different continent, exhibited together their art represents a larger global context and celebrates culture and heritage. Nigerian-born and Texas-based artist Lanre Buraimoh’s work is inspired by the beading craft of Nigeria’s Yoruba people. His innovative pieces adapt this West African tradition to the more contemporary art form of “bead painting.” His paintings are adorned with thousands of colorful glass beads that depict objects and symbols that reflect traditional Yoruba beliefs about love, entertainment and unity. New York-born artist Annette Jackson’s “edgy” masks are all about color, shape and composition. Her love for fire-created elements is evident in the components that make up “Faces.” Using repurposed wood as the base for each mask, Jackson arranges elements she hand makes of lampwork glass (hand made beads) fused glass (glass on metal) and metals. Her Native American, African-American and East European roots provide the inspiration for her whimsical and dramatic masks. Chicago-based Ning-Chiao Hsu’s sculptures are a fusion of contemporary and Native American influences. Particularly influenced by the work of the Mesa and Southwest tribes and possessing an appreciation of ancient and primitive styles, she creates clay, paper and metal buildings and villages, vases, teapots, tribal motif decorated plates and Southwest style jars. For more information, visit www.norris.northwestern.edu/recreation/dittmar/.