Black History Month Events

From staff reports

The following events are scheduled in celebration of Black History Month:

Tuesday, Feb. 5
His Dream Revisited: A Show, 8 p.m. at Le Bistro. Three Richmond-area actors re-create speeches by Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. Tony Cosby, as MLK, has performed in Richmond for about 20 years and was featured several times in the Richmond Times-Dispatch. Other actors include Toney Cobbs, as Malcolm X, and Kwame Binta as his bodyguard. Free.

Thursday, Feb. 7
Soul Food Dinner, Trivia and Movie Night, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. in Josey Dining Room. Offerings include traditional Southern home cooking — including recipes from assistant chef Melvin Jones’ grandmother — followed by a test of your black history knowledge and screening of a movie at 7 p.m. Dinner is $7 for guests, $3.50 for ages 3 to 11; $5.75 with a Sweet Briar ID, $3 for ages 3 to 11.

Tuesday, Feb. 19
Sweet Briar Founders: Archaeo-Historic Evidence for the African-American Community, at noon in Johnson Dining Room. Visiting assistant professor of anthropology Lynn Rainville will speak on her archaeological and archival research on the historic African-American communities of Sweet Briar Plantation and Amherst County. In 1865, more than 120 African Americans living on the Fletcher/Williams plantations were freed from slavery. This illustrated lecture will trace some of the descendants of these individuals and highlight their contributions to the success of these farms and, later, the creation and growth of Sweet Briar College. Free.

Sunday, Feb. 24
Annual Sweet Briar Gospel Fest, 5 p.m. in Memorial Chapel. This foot-stomping, hand-clapping yearly event packs the house to hear some of the areas best gospel choirs and singers perform. Free.

Wednesday, Feb. 27
African-American Crafts, 11:30 a.m. in the Prothro Atrium. Onyx, a new minority student group, will host an African American-themed craft event during lunch.

Thursday, Feb. 28
Tree of Life, 11:30 a.m. in the Prothro Atrium. In celebration of individual and collective histories, please join the SweetPEAs in sharing your “family tree.” The PEAs will have leaves ready for you to write your ancestral information, which will then be placed on the Sweet Briar Tree of Life.

For information about Black History Events at Sweet Briar College, please contact co-curricular life at Ext. 6134.