Events
Racism in America, Part 1
Upcoming Events of Interest
Note: if a link doesn’t work, try copying the link and pasting into your browser.
We have moved past events to the bottom of the listing. When we learn that a video of a past event has been made available on-line, we will add that information to the event listing.
If you learn of other events that should be added to this calendar, please email information to Mark Guyer msguyer@comcast.net and Sheila Brush sbrush1968@gmail.com.
Tuesday, February 2
7:00 pm to 8:30 pm
Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America, 1619-2019
The National Museum of African American History and Culture will host a discussion with the newly-published book's editors Ibram Kendi and Keisha Blain and some of the authors. You can register here: https://nmaahc.si.edu/event/historically-speaking-four-hundred-souls-–-conversation-ibram-kendi-and-keisha-n-blain
Sunday, February 7
1:00 pm
26th Annual Langston Hughes Community Poetry Reading
This gathering exposes audiences, young and old, to the brilliance of Langston Hughes as both a writer and voice of the Harlem Renaissance. Readers from as far away as Langston’s birthplace of Missouri and as close as the living room in your house will be reading and performing selected poems from Hughes’ extensive collection of work.
The event is FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. For safety reasons we will be requiring attendees to register for this Zoom event. Register for the Zoom event starting Feb. 1. www.lhughescpr.org.
Monday, February 8
6:00-7:00 pm via Zoom
GBH Celebrates The Black Church
Join Callie Crossley, host of Under the Radar with Callie Crossleyand Basic Black and GBH commentator, for a live, virtual conversation with local church leaders and scholars on the evolution of the Black church in the United States. This virtual live event expands upon themes presented in Henry Louis Gates, Jr.’s new series The Black Church: This is Our Story, This is Our Song.
For further info and to register: https://www.wgbh.org/events/gbh-celebrates-the-black-church
Monday, February 8
9:00 pm
PBS airs Goin’ Back to T-town. The program revisits a thriving Black community in Tulsa, which rebuilt after a racially-motivated massacre in 1921. It’s told through the memories of those who lived through the events, and PBS calls it “a bittersweet celebration of small-town life and the resilience of a community’s spirit.”
Tuesday, February 9
3:00 pm
In Their Own Words: Mohammed Ali
GBH World
Tuesday, February 9
4:00 pm
John Lewis - Get In The Way
GBH World
6:00pm via Zoom
Where Do We Go from Here? Making Progress Toward Racial Equity
In recognition of Black History Month, Harvard Kennedy School Academic Dean Iris Bohnet will moderate a conversation with Dr. Robert Livingston regarding the most effective path for addressing systemic racism. The interview will draw from Professor Livingston’s newly published book The Conversation: How Seeking and Speaking the Truth about Racism Can Radically Transform Individuals and Organizations.
To register: https://harvard.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_VTTf1jm5ReiADzgoYbsvcQ
Wednesday, February 10th
6 pm
The Life and Legacy of Dr. Carter G. Woodson:
Black History Month and Beyond
with Dr. Christopher Roberts
Presented by the Redwood Library & Athenaeum
Free. To Register Click Here
Wednesday, February 10
6:00PM on Zoom
Providence Community Library and RI Center for The Book present Tochi Onyebuchi in Conversation with Jonathan Pitts-Wiley to discuss Onyebuchi’s novel Riot Baby, which has been selected as a companion read for the 2021 Reading Across Rhode Island selection Stamped.
For further info and tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/pcl-reads-tochi-onyebuchi-a-virtual-author-talk-tickets-132889904281
Thursday, February 11
12:00 -1:00 pm via Zoom
Celebrating Black History Month: A Conversation with Dr. Helene D. Gayle
Please Join Dr. Ashish K. Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health, for a special conversation with Helene D. Gayle, MD, president and CEO of The Chicago Community Trust. The Chicago Community Trust is one of the nation’s oldest and largest community foundations. Under her leadership, the Trust has adopted a new strategic focus on closing the racial and ethnic wealth gap in the Chicago region. For almost a decade, she was president and CEO of CARE, a leading international humanitarian organization. An expert on global development, humanitarian and health issues, Dr. Gayle spent 20 years with the Centers for Disease Control, working primarily on HIV/AIDS.
An interactive audience Q&A will follow.
A Zoom link will be sent to all registrants on the morning of February 11, 2021.
For more information and to register: https://www.brown.edu/academics/public-health/events/conversations
Friday, February 12
5:30 p.m.
Stages of Freedom presents The Imperative of Integration, A Virtual Conversation with Elizabeth Anderson.
For further info and to register: https://www.stagesoffreedom.org
Monday, February 15
9 pm on GBH 2
and repeated Tuesday, February 16 at 12 pm on GBH 44 and Sunday, February 21 at 8 pm on GBH 44
Voice of Freedom -- A film celebrating Marian Anderson's landmark concert on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.
Tuesday February 16
6:30 pm
Conversations Book Club discusses Stony The Road by Henry Louis Gates Jr. via Zoom.
To request Zoom link, call the Mount Pleasant Community Library at 401-272-0106.
Tuesday, February 16
9 pm on GBH 2
and repeated Sunday, 2/21 at 10 pm on GBH 44
The Black Church: This is Our Story, This is Our Song
Episode 1 of Henry Louis Gates' documentary
(Episode 2 will air Tuesday, 2/23 at 9 pm on GBH 2 and Sunday, 2/28 at 10 pm on GBH 44.)
Wednesday, February 17
8:30 pm
Tell Them We Are Rising -- The Story of Black Colleges and Universities. Documentary from award-winning filmmaker Stanley Nelson, devoted to those who promoted education as a way to advance civil rights in the face of intolerance and injustice.
on World Channel
Wednesday, February 24, 2021
12:00-1:30 pm
Race & Punishment in America
This is the sixth in a panel discussion series curated by Brown’s Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in America in partnership with the Office of the Provost.
Anti-Black racism remains an enduring and foundational feature of American society that requires illumination and informed discussion. This series draws on the expertise of Brown scholars to investigate the origins, history and enduring contemporary effects of racism in America from a range of fields and scholarly perspectives. It seeks to advance knowledge and understanding and promote a more just and inclusive community and world.
The webinar sessions take place monthly. For information about the series, links to past sessions and to register for February 24th:
https://www.brown.edu/about/administration/provost/race-america
Wednesday, February 24
6 pm
George Washington, Slavery and The
Enslaved Community at Mount Vernon
with author Mary V. Thompson
Free. To Register Click Here
Thursday, February 25
6:00 PM
2021 Annual Martin Luther King Lecture featuring Yamiche Alcindor presented by Brown University To register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2021-annual-martin-luther-king-lecture-featuring-yamiche-alcindor-tickets-139674591463?utm_source=eventbrite&utm_medium=email&utm_content=follow_notification&utm_campaign=following_published_event&utm_term=2021+Annual+Martin+Luther+King+Lecture+featuring+Yamiche+Alcindor&aff=ebemoffollowpublishemail
Thursday, February 25
5:30 p.m.
The Preservation Society of Newport County hosts Julian Abele: Architect and the Beaux Arts
Julian Abele was one of the first African-American architects to be accredited. Despite racial segregation at the beginning of the 20th century, he received his architecture degree from the University of Pennsylvania and designed more than 200 buildings throughout his career, including the Widener Memorial Library at Harvard University and the Philadelphia Free Library. The speaker, Dreck Spurlock Wilson, President of the Landscape Consortium Ltd. in D.C. and a Senior Construction Program Manager at Delon Hampton & Associates, Engineers. He published his newest book in 2020 entitled, Julian Abele: Architect and the Beaux Arts and has also contributed a number of publications to the field of architectural history around topics relating to African American Architects and Landscape Architects.
February 25, 7:30 pm
America Too: Reckoning and Resilience
Episode 2: It’s Our Education
Anchored by Michelle Cruz, Christina Bevilacqua and Joe Wilson, Jr. and co-produced by Trinity Rep and Providence Public Library
A multi-part online series combining theater, music, and art with stories from our community. It seeks to catalyze community dialogue around the many challenges and potential opportunities of this particular moment, as we confront the aftermath of a polarizing election season, observe the year’s anniversary of the arrival of the pandemic in Rhode Island, and reckon with the structural racism and anti-Black violence that continues to rock our communities.
Episode 3 – March 25, 7:30 pm: It’s Our People
Episode 4 – April 22, 7:30 pm: It’s Our Health
Episode 5 – May 27, 7:30 pm: It’s Our Art (culminating event)
Access to these streaming events is free, but reservations are required. Unlimited viewing is available to registered viewers for two weeks following the premieres, after which period the videos will be publicly available. For further info and to register: https://www.trinityrep.com/show/america-too-reckoning-and-resilience/
Friday, March 5
5:30 PM – 6:30 PM
Providence Athenaeum presents CREATIVE SURVIVAL
Historian Keith Stokes traces the evolution of the Providence Free African heritage community in the late 18th and 19th centuries.
For further information and to register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ex-libris-creative-survival-registration-133011610307?mc_cid=d24a97a309&mc_eid=54e73ede1d
Monday March 15 and 22
Starting at 6:00 pm via Zoom
Removing Barriers: Strengthening Democracy, presented by Lippitt House Museum and Providence League of Women Voters
Why should everyone care that some communities are not active participants in our civic society? Recent tests to our country’s democratic processes remind us of the fragility of our system. For democracy to thrive it needs an educated electorate and systems that allow for full and fair participation by everyone. Join a series of discussions on how civic education programs for both youth and adults of color remove barriers to informed participation and support our democracy.
Free and open to public. Advance registration required.
PAST EVENTS
Sunday, January 10
3 p.m. on Zoom
Traces of the Trade
Trinity Episcopal Church, Southport, Connecticut sponsors free screening of “Traces of the Trade” a documentary by Katrina Browne about the RI DeWolfe family and slavetrading. Screening will be followed by a discussion on racism, with Constance and Dain Perry; both appear in the film and are national leaders of racial reconciliation.
For further info: https://www.nhregister.com/entertainment/article/Traces-of-the-Trade-explores-N-E-15834300.php
Note: Traces of The Trade can also be streamed at any time on Kanopy, using your RI Clan card
Tuesday January 12th, 6:30pm
Race in the USA: The remix, side A
with Luke Anderson of Gordon’s eighth grade team
Presented by the Gordon School as part of its ongoing series of parent dialogues on antiracist education. Free and open to the public.
Register for the Zoom meeting at https://gordonschool-org.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYodOmpqj8iH9FEM3JdydDhEPgb_hWr9P2G
You'll receive an email with a link to the meeting
Prereading: Luke Anderson wrote this essay when he was seventeen, reflecting on what he experienced as a ten-year-old trying to understand his own racial identity. Eighth graders read this every fall in humanities class as part of a larger unit that compels them to think critically about their identities and how they are perceived. We will be using this essay for part of the presentation on January 12th.
Thursday, January 14, 2021
6:00 PM – 7:15 PM EST
VIEWING A RHODE ISLAND NATIVE THROUGH TODAY'S LENS: ESEK HOPKINS
The Zoom event has been uploaded to Providence Community Library's YouTube and can be viewed here https://youtu.be/73p20k0Ziyk
Thursday, January 14, 2020
7:00 pm
A Harvard Bookstore Virtual Event: Jeanne Theoharis and Pam Horowitz presenting
Julian Bond's Time to Teach:
A History of the Southern Civil Rights Movement
in conversation with VANN NEWKIRK II
For further info and to register:
Friday January 15, 2021, 8:30 PM through
Tuesday January 19, 2021, 2:59 AM EST
Where Do We Go From Here? | Documentary Film Festival
The Martin Luther King Jr Research and Education Institute at Stanford University presents a free, four-day film festival and webinar, from the evening of Jan. 15 through Jan.18, 2021.
For further info and to register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/where-do-we-go-from-here-documentary-film-festival-tickets-131629963765
Monday, January 18, 2021
8 -10 P.M.
TV One premieres its two-part documentary special UNSUNG PRESENTS: MUSIC & THE MOVEMENT –remembering the artists and songs that have provided the soundtrack to the fight for justice and equality.
TV One can be found on Cox Communications Channel 159 and Verizon FIOS Channels 271 and 771
For further info: https://tvone.tv/97703/tv-one-presents-a-two-part-documentary-special-unsung-presents-music-the-movement/
Starting Monday, January 18
10 am
Race, Education, and the Criminal Justice System
Watch the conversation on Watson's YouTube channel.
For information: https://watson.brown.edu/events/2021/race-education-and-criminal-justice-system
Wednesday, January 20
5 pm
Salve Regina University Pell Center presents
Keeping The Faith: The Past and Future of Civil Rights in the United States
For info and to register: https://salve.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=c2ec02b0ba766fda7fed6793d&id=d1198c7f77&e=5ec16c90aa
Wednesday, January 20
7:00 pm
Harvard Bookstore Virtual Event: Tyler Stovall —professor of history and dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at Fordham University—presenting
White Freedom: The Racial History of an Idea
For further information and to register:
Friday, January 22nd, 8:45am
Gordon School Head of School Dr. Noni Thomas López in conversation with the Honorable John James McConnell Jr. Chief Judge, U.S. District Court for Rhode Island. Open to all
Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/6179800446?pwd=MFJyQS9lQ28wbnhnK0Q2Yml3S2swQT09
Judge John McConnell and Dr. Noni Thomas López will discuss leadership, the national and local justice system and the current moment in history. The conversation will draw on Chief Judge McConnell's passionate interest in criminal justice reform, bias in the justice system, and the relationship between the courts and current events. In December, Chief Judge McConnell co-authored Tried and tested, the rule of law prevails, an op-ed in the Providence Journal.
Friday, January 22, 2021
12 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.
This is America: Post Elections Conversation
Embedded within the American social, political, and economic systems are various forms of structural violences. The Center for the Study of Slavery and Justice's series This Is America explores how these structures and systems are rooted in anti-Black racism.
For further information and to register: https://watson.brown.edu/events/2021/america-post-elections-conversation
Saturday, January 23-31st
FUNDAFEST23: A CELEBRATION OF BLACK STORYTELLING
Kicks off on Saturday January 23 at 12 noon with a workshop (in collaboration with Center for the Book) on the Read Across RI book Stamped. Sponsors suggest a registration fee, but amount is voluntary.
For further info:
Tuesday, January 26th at 6:30pm
Stamped: Racism, Antiracism and You
The Virtual Reading Across Rhode Island (RARI) Kick Off
Readers are invited to join moderator Jim Ludes, Executive Director, Pell Center for International Relations and Policy, Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza, Honorary Chair Val Tutson and Reading Across Rhode Island Education Chair Maureen Nagle for an engaging introduction to the book.
This event is hosted by the RI Center for the Book and the Pell Center.
For info and to register: