Celebrating Black History Month

Observance includes tributes, forum, performance

Senior Michael Burch and freshman Kelly Escoffery take in "The History of African-Americans in Missouri: 1719-Present," a traveling exhibit that serves as a pictorial history of African-Americans' struggle and triumph in Missouri. The exhibit, managed by the Black Archives of Mid-America Inc., was erected in the Campus Bookstore Saturday, Feb. 6, and will remain on display through Saturday, Feb. 13.

The ongoing campus commemoration of February as Black History Month includes a citywide tribute to diversity, an interactive forum and a student-produced performance of music and prose.

In honor of National Race Relations Day -- Sunday, Feb. 14 -- a tribute to racial and ethnic diversity will be held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday, Feb. 12, in the St. Louis City Hall Rotunda.
Delegates from the University's Discovering Common Threads: Black Women/Jewish Women Dialogue group -- an interracial student dialogue organization -- will participate in the city-sponsored event, which is open to the public.

For more information, call Laurie Goldberg, associate director of St. Louis Hillel Center, at 726-6177, or Shanelle Henry, coordinator for multicultural education, at 935-5994.

The University's Black Men/White Men: Breaking Down Barriers group is sponsoring a forum titled "E-Racism," at 8 p.m. Monday, Feb. 15, in Friedman Lounge. The interactive discussion, which is open to the University community, will examine historical issues of racism.
For more information, call Tom Brounk, a counselor in Student Health and Counseling Services, at 935-5980.
The Black Anthology ensemble will present a program of prose and music titled "The Black Continuum" at 7 p.m. Feb. 21 in Edison Theatre.

Featuring performances by University African-American students, "The Black Continuum" will embody a variety of works focusing on black issues through history, including those by author James Weldon Johnson, poet Magdalena Gomez, playwright Richard Wesley, and author/poet Ntozake Shange.

LaMonica Carpenter, a senior majoring in finance, is director of the program. Lori Crawford, a senior majoring in psychology, is coordinator.

Tickets cost $6 for all students and Washington University faculty and staff, and $8 for the general public. Group rates also are available.

For more information about tickets, call the Edison Theatre Box Office at 935-6543. For more information about the program, call 935-5994.