February is Black History Month, and throughout the Central District you’ll find numerous opportunities to celebrate, learn, and engage.

The Northwest African American Museum has a full calendar:

PITCH BLACK: AFRICAN AMERICAN BASEBALL IN WASHINGTONSaturday, Feb. 1^st
New Exhibition Opens!

Baseball in Washington’s black communities has a strong but quiet history. Most people know the segregated history of our national pastime, but few know how the story played out on the baseball fields in Seattle and throughout Washington. Left without a professional Negro Leagues team until 1946, much of our State’s black baseball history was undocumented. Pitch Black features vignettes of this rich history using iconic artifacts, photographs, and oral histories. Organized by NAAM. On view in the Northwest Gallery through November 9th.

FILM VIEWING: MORE THAN A MONTH
Thursday, Feb. 6, 7pm
Free with admission

Should Black History Month be ended? That’s the question explored by African American filmmaker Shukree Hassan Tilghman as he embarks on a cross-country campaign to do just that. Both amusing and thought provoking, the film investigates what the treatment of history tells us about race and equality in contemporary America.

GALLERY TOUR AND QUILTING WORKSHOP
Sunday, Feb. 9, 12–3pm
Registration will open on January 30^th, $10 per person; Free for Members.

Join Northwest artist Marita Dingus for a tour of her new exhibition Marita Dingus: At Home. Objects from Dingus’s home, including her collection of African and Caribbean figures, are the basis of this intimate and revealing exhibition. In contrast with the gallery setting, a series of photographs taken by Spike Mafford will show how the artist actually lives with her art. Following the tour, Marita will conduct a quilt patch project for visitors to record a memorable event in African American history while learning about the history and influences of traditional African textiles on her artwork.

FILM VIEWING: SING YOUR SONG
Thursday, Feb. 13, 5pm
Free with admission

This film surveys the life and times of singer/ actor/activist Harry Belafonte. From his rise to fame as a singer and his experiences touring a segregated country, to his provocative crossover into Hollywood, Belafonte’s groundbreaking career personifies the American Civil Rights Movement and impacted many other social justice efforts.

THE BLACK SOUNDTRACK with Charles Mudede
Saturday, Feb. 15, 7pm
Tickets: $10; Free for Members. Ticket available on February 1st

Writer, filmmaker and cultural critic, Charles Mudede will help us celebrate the black image on the big screen by exploring sections of global cinematic history using film clips and musical scores inspired by international musicians, directors, and thinkers. Later he invites listeners to discuss what they see and hear.

EDUCATOR & FAMILY DAY
Presidents Day, Monday, Feb. 17, 11am–5pm
Sponsored by

Free admission

with a dynamic offering of programs throughout the day. At 1pm local historian Judy Bentley co-author of Free Boy, will present curriculum materials related to the remarkable story of Charles Mitchell, a 13-year-old slave who escaped from Washington Territory to freedom in Canada on the Puget Sound’s tiny Underground Railroad. At 2pm, storyteller Eva Abram will present an interpretation of Charles Mitchell’s life. Art-making activities for kids of all ages are available on a drop-in basis throughout the day.
Light refreshments will be served. Free admission is made possible by Bank of America.

STORYTELLING
WHAT THE GRIOT SAID
Thursday, Feb. 20, 11am–noon
Free

Gifted griots—or storytellers—enchant both young and old with tales recounted following oral traditions. Children of all ages are invited to experience the ancient art of storytelling with stories from around the world or just around the corner.

NAAM STORY TIME
at Barnes & Noble Pacific Place
Saturday, Feb. 22, 11am
Free

Bring your little ones to hear Museum Educator Katie Williams read from the award-winning children’s book Henry’s Freedom Box by Ellen Levine. A portion of purchases made in-store from February 15 thru 22 will be donated to NAAM – be sure mention us when you check out!

PECHAKUCHA SEATTLE
Afrofuturism: A Journey Through Race and Time
Thursday, Feb. 27
Presentations start at 7pm
Free with admission

Some say Afrofuturism is a practice of discovering what lies beyond the here and now, through the lens of the African American experience. Great artists of our time are creating visual art, sounds, and stories that explore outer-space and inner worlds, technology, society and race. Join us to learn more about Afrofuturism and the artists, through the quick presentation style of  PechaKucha. Let Seattle’s foremost thought leaders and visionaries take you on a fantastic voyage through race and time. Presenters include: Sandra Jackson-Dumont, Donald Byrd, Charles Mudede, Zola Mumford, Christina Orbe, and more… .

 

At the Experience Music Project, an event relevant to the Central District:

In celebration of Black History Month, The EMP Museum, Ezell’s Chicken and Brandkings are taking out time this February 1, 2014 to bring people together to reflect on the
causes and effects of gentrification for an event titled “Through The Eyes of Art.” The evening will feature an
art exhibit, from local painters and photographers, a keynote address by Seattle City Councilmember, Bruce
Harrell and a live performance and video presentation, from hip-hop artist Draze. Tickets are free but must be reserved on Brown Paper Tickets.

At Capitol Hill’s Annex Theater, a play called Black Like Us:

Black Like Us is the story of an African-American woman’s decision to pass for white in 1958. It follows her story, and those of her sister, her daughter, her three granddaughters, and her two grandnieces, as they all in turn discover her secret-and each others’ existence.

Black Like Us runs during February, and while staging it during Black History Month is certainly intentional, this is a play about much more than race. It is at its core the story of a family, and of the sweet, complex, and exasperating relationships that exist between sisters. It is also the story of a family that lives in Seattle, and the history of the Central District and the Civil rights movement in this city are woven into the narrative. With a diverse all-female cast, a dash of history, and a lot of humor, Black Like Us explores the effect one woman’s decision has to reverberate through the generations.

At the Garfield Community Center, an event called One Human Race:

Sunday February 23, 2014
2:00 – 4:00 pm
GARFIELD COMMUNITY CENTER
2323 E Cherry St
Seattle, WA 98122
What did Buddha, Moses, Jesus, Muhammad, and Baba Guru Nanak teach about equality and non-discrimination? What remedies did these holy founders prescribe to combat racism? Are religious mute on this issue? Join us at this unique interfaith event as we explore these questions and more.
Free!
Regsiter for event: http://www.amiseattle.org/RegisterForEvent.aspx?INo=28
SPONSORING ORGANIZATION: Ahmadiyya Muslim Community – Seattle
CONTACT: Waqas Malik
CONTACT PHONE: 206.851.0788
CONTACT EMAIL: [email protected]
Read the event flyer

 

Did we miss anything? Let us know in the comments and we’ll add to the post!