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Lafayette College's celebration of Black History Month will kick off with a jazz concert and a candlelight vigil. Three of jazz's most acclaimed horn players, Jimmy Heath, Slide Hampton, and Jon Faddis, will perform at 8 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 30. Members of the campus community will gather for a candlelight vigil on the Quad at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 1.
Michael Eric Dyson of Columbia University will deliver a keynote talk entitled “Race Rules: Navigating the Color Line” at 8 p.m., Wednesday, February 17, in the Williams Center for the Arts. Dyson is the author of Between God and Gangsta Rap: Bearing Witness to Black Culture; Reflecting Black: African-American Cultural Criticism; and Making Malcolm: The Myth and Meaning of Malcolm X.
Black History Month will include a full calendar of concerts, lectures, interactive workshops, cultural presentations, and other events, as notable artists and scholars join Lafayette students and faculty to celebrate and examine diversity, unity, and the unique history that is the African American experience.
Events are free and open to the public, except Williams Center concerts and the admissions office program for prospective students. For information, contact the Office of Multicultural Affairs, (610) 330-5337. Here is the full calendar:
* Saturday, January 30, 8 p.m., Jazz Concert, “Faddis, Hampton, and Heath,” Williams Center for the Arts. Tickets required. Call 610-330-5009
* Monday, February 1, 6:30 p.m., candlelight vigil, Quad. Sponsored by the Office of Multicultural Affairs and the Association of Black Collegians
* Monday, February 1, 7 p.m., performance and gallery opening, Roy Crosse, musician and visual artist, Black Cultural Center, 101 McCartney Street.
* Sunday, February 7, 4 p.m., violinist Diane Monroe, Lafayette's Alan and Wendy Pesky Artist-in-Residence, and Printmaker Curlee Holton, associate professor of art, First Presbyterian Church, 333 Spring Garden St., Easton.
* Tuesday, February 9, 4 p.m., workshop, “From African Rhythms to American Blues and Jazz,” featuring bassist Ray Drummond, drummer Billy Hart, and African percussionist Mor Thiam, Williams Center for the Arts.
* Tuesday, February 9, 8 p.m., jazz concert, Ray Drummond's All-Star “Excursion” Band, Williams Center for the Arts. Tickets required. Call 610-330-5009.
* Wednesday, February 10, 8 p.m., lecture, “Religion in the Diaspora,” Vincent Wimbush, Columbia University and Union Theological Seminary, Kirby Hall of Civil Rights, Room 104.
* Friday, February 12, 9 p.m., comedian Tiny Glover, sponsored by Lafayette Activities Forum, snack bar, Farinon College Center.
* Saturday, February 13, 8 p.m., a cappella concert, The Word, featuring hip-hop, blues, jazz, and spirituals, Williams Center for the Arts. Sponsored by Lafayette Activities Forum.
* Wednesday, February 17, noon, brown bag lecture, “Collecting African American Artifacts,” Terrie S. Rouse, president & CEO, African American Museum of Art and Culture, Philadelphia, Williams Center for the Arts, Room 108.
* Wednesday, February 17, 8 p.m., Black History Month keynote talk, “Race Rules: Navigating the Color Line,” Michael Eric Dyson, Columbia University, author of the bestseller, Between God and Gangsta Rap: Bearing Witness to Black Culture, Williams Center for the Arts.
* Sunday, February 21-Monday, February 22, “Prologue,” The Lafayette Experience for prospective black students and their families. Sponsored by the Office of Admissions.
* Tuesday, February 23, noon, brown bag lecture, “Poetry of the African Diaspora,” Abena Busia, Rutgers University, Williams Center for the Arts, Room 108.
* Thursday, February 25, noon, brown bag lecture, Mwatabu Okantah, poet, scholar, musician, Kent State University, Marlo Room, Farinon College Center.
* Thursday, February 25, 7 p.m., poetry slam, Mwatabu Okantah, poet, scholar, musician, Kent State University, Late-Night Cafe, Kirby House.
* Friday, February 26, 8 p.m., play, The Colored Museum, Interfaith Chapel, Hogg Hall, Sponsored by Association of Black Collegians