African American History Month was originally in celebrated February 1926, during the week of the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. President Gerald Ford expanded the celebration to the entire month of February in 1976. We celebrate to "pay tribute to the generations of African Americans who struggled with adversity to achieve full citizenship in American society." There are plenty of free events planned for the month of February:
Visit the Austintown Library or Michael Kusalaba Libraries for scavenger hunts throughout the month of February.
The Kusalaba, East, and Newport branches of the Public Library have ongoing craft projects that feature different African American historical figures, and at Newport and East you can create a square to be added to the Freedom Quilt.
On Saturday, February 23 at the Main Library enjoy a performance of the Youngstown Harambee Dancers. This is a youth program that promotes racial harmony and provides cultural performances for people of all races. The word "Harambee" is an African Swahili word that means "Let's All Pull Together" The performance is at 11:00 a.m.
The Mahoning Valley Historical Society is hosting a free program on Tuesday, February 26th at 7:00 p.m. called Storytelling in the African American Oral Tradition with Jocelyn and Robert Dabney. This program will explore African American history and culture through song, poetry, and spoken words. The event will be at the Tyler History Center, 325 West Federal Street in Downtown Youngstown.
Get out an explore the awesome resources our community has to offer this month!
