To celebrate Black History Month, the African American Museum in Philadelphia will be offering a variety of different events under the national theme of “African Americans and the Arts.”
Highlights include a film screening spotlighting the pioneering Black pilots, scientists, and engineers who joined NASA in 1963; a panel discussion highlighting Afro-Indigenous connections in contemporary arts; a creative writing workshop; and a Black History Month-inspired costume party for children and more, the release notes.
Additionally, the AAMP has extended registration to the end of February (Feb. 29) for its first-ever oratorical contest. Titled the King Legacy Oratorical Contest, this activation is open to graduating high school seniors across Philadelphia and to enter, anyone in the age group can draft an original 3–5-minute speech in response to a prompt inspired by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Other stand-alone events for Black History Month include a lecture on African Americans and the Arts with Dr. Hasan Kwame Jeffries on Feb. 8, at 6 p.m., and the “Hidden in Plain Sight: Afro-Indigenous Influence on Arts & Culture” event, which will span topics ranging from “culinary arts to today’s mainstream music through a community conversation with leading inter-tribal Indigenous voices in the region.” The latter will take place on Saturday, Feb. 17, from 1 to 3 p.m.
The next day (Feb. 18, from 2 to 4 p.m.) the museum will host a 90-minute immersive experience titled “Unearthing Your Layers.” The creative writing workshop will be led by poet and creative writing instructor, Nina “Lyrispect” Ball. There will also be a Black History Heroes Costume Party, which welcomes children up to 13 years of age to dress up as their favorite figure in Black history, while storytime and other activities will be taking place throughout the day on Feb. 25, from 2 to 4 p.m.
Then on Feb. 29 at 3 p.m., AAMP will host a screening of “The Space Race: The Untold Story of the First Black Astronauts,” a 90-minute documentary distributed by National Geographic. This film will examine stories of Black innovators in the world of astronauts, including Guion Bluford, Ed Dwight, and Charles Bolden.
And as the release finishes, with admission to any of AAMP’s Black History Month programming, visitors will also have access to AAMP’s latest exhibit, “Re(FOCUS),” which will highlight artist and designer Anna Russell Jones, the first African American graduate of the Philadelphia School of Design for Women (now known as the Moore College of Art and Design). Jones was known for being a talented artist working in wallpaper and carpet design, a civil service illustrator, and a freelance artist.
Back in the early 1990s, the Museum collected Jones’ life work spanning artwork, personal papers, and photographs before the artist’s passing. In 2020, the work was highlighted in a retrospective exhibition that was truncated due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The release states the exhibition will be on display in AAMP’s Jack T. Franklin Auditorium until April 22, 2024. AAMP’s acclaimed exhibition, “Rising Sun: Artists in an Uncertain America,” will also be on display for a final run until March 3, 2024.
To find out more information about Black History Month at the African American Museum in Philadelphia (701 Arch St.,) visit aampmuseum.org
