News You Ought to Know

Eastfield College hosts Black History Month events

MESQUITE — Eastfield College will celebrate Black History Month with a series of lectures, concerts and other events throughout February.  The theme is “Celebrating a Century of Black Life, History and Culture.” The following is a list of events that will be held on the Mesquite campus:

• Recital Series, Feb. 4: South African baritone Dr. Christian Bester will perform at 12:30 p.m. in the Eastfield Performance Hall as part of the college’s Wednesday Recital Series.
• Music and history lectures, Feb. 5: Music faculty member Dr. Oscar Passley will present a lecture on “A Century of Music: The Black Experience” at 9:30 a.m. in F-117, and history faculty member Brett Wilkinson will discuss “The Ballot or the Bullet: Malcolm’s Argument for the Right to Vote” at 11 a.m. in C-295.
• Dallas Black Dance Theatre, Feb. 11:  The semi-professional dance troupe, which consists of 10 aspiring artists from across the country who tour nationally, will perform at 11:15 a.m. in the Eastfield College Performance Hall. Now in its 13th season, the dance company performs a diversified repertoire of modern, jazz, African, lyrical and spiritual works by emerging and internationally recognized choreographers.
• “50 Years: A Historical View of the Voting Rights Act of 1965,” Feb. 12: Dr. Stacey Jurhree, Government faculty, will present the lecture at 11 a.m. in C-135.
• “A Sunday in Kigali,” Feb. 12: The 2006 Canadian feature film set during the Rwandan genocide will be shown at 12:30 p.m. in C-237.
• “Locked Up, Then What?”, Feb. 16: Sociology faculty member India Stewart will present the lecture at 11:15 p.m. in G-101/102.
• Panel: Addressing Minority Males in America & Beyond, Feb. 18: A panel that includes attorney Russell Wilson, Criminal Justice professor Patrick Patterson and Danielle Ayers, minister of social justice at Friendship-West Baptist Church, will address the issue of minority males and authority and how to move forward after the recent events in Ferguson, Missouri. The panel discussion will begin at 12:30 p.m. in G-101/102.
• 25th Annual African American Read-In, Feb. 24: The theme for this year’s read-in is “Celebrating the Legacy of Dr. Maya Angelou. Selections of Angelou’s works will be read by Eastfield students as well as faculty members Larissa Pierce, English; Katawna Caldwell, English; and Selena Stewart-Alexander, Developmental Reading & Writing/English at 11 a.m. in F-117. The Eastfield Chorus will also perform.
• Historically Black Colleges and Universities Fair, Feb. 25: A transfer fair featuring representatives from HBCU institutions will be held from 9 a.m.-1 p.m.
• Recital Series, Feb. 25: The soul and jazz group “Funky Knuckles” will perform in F-117 at 12:30 p.m.

Art Slideshow and Giraud Polite Photography Reception and Discussion: A slideshow titled “A Century of Black Artists” will be on display in the Eastfield Library from Feb. 9-March 6. Photography by Giraud Polite, Brookhaven College Visual Communications faculty, will also be on display, and there will be a reception/discussion on Feb. 26 in G-101/102 at a time to be determined.