Black History Month events Libraries, theaters, museums recognize African-American heritage

8:02 PM CST, January 31, 2011

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Black History Month kicks off Tuesday, with institutions around the Chicago area offering a variety of ways to recognize black heritage and history. A sampling of those events:

• The Chicago Public Library plans to kick off a month of events at the Woodson Regional Library, 9595 S. Halsted St., Chicago, with Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre at 6 p.m. Wednesday. Those interested in attending can call the library reference desk at 312-747-6924 to confirm that this event is taking place as scheduled. For more information on all events planned by the library, visit http://www.chipublib.org.

• The Harold Washington Library Center, 400 S. State St., will offer an introduction to the African American History Genealogy database at 10 a.m. Saturday to demonstrate how people can use newspapers, biographical and history databases, and genealogical and census information to piece together the stories of their families. Registration is required at 312-747-4600.

• The play "Spinning Into Butter" explores race, racism and political correctness at the Josephine Louis Theater, 20 Arts Circle Drive, Northwestern University's Evanston campus. For a full schedule and ticket information, visit communication.northwestern.edu/tic.

• "Expressions of Michael Jackson," a tribute to the King of Pop, will be performed at Chicago branch libraries by the group For Children, By Children. The show begins at 2 p.m. on Saturdays at four locations; Saturday at the West Chicago Avenue branch, Feb. 12 at the North Pulaski branch, Feb. 19 at the Albany Park branch and Feb. 26 at the Jeffery Manor branch.

• The DuSable Museum, which celebrates black history year-round, will host a lecture series in conjunction with the exhibit "Let Your Motto Be Resistance: African American Portraits." Kristen P. Buick, associate professor of art history at the University of New Mexico, will trace the life of sculptor Edmonia Lewis, 5:30 to 8 p.m. Feb. 10, and Deborah Willis, curator of the exhibit, will discuss race and photography in African-American imagery, 5:30 8 p.m., Feb. 24. For more information, visit dusablemuseum.org.

• The City of Evanston Cultural Arts Division, in collaboration with the Fleetwood-Jourdain Community Center, will host the exhibit "A Family Portrait" at the Noyes Art Gallery, 927 Noyes St. in Evanston, featuring works by the Turner family, including parents Josephine Curtis Turner and Robert (Bobby) Lee Turner of Chicago's South Side. For more information, call the Cultural Arts Division at 847-448-8260.

• Storyteller Lynn Rymarz will bring to life the bus boycott and Rosa Parks, the civil rights icon who refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white person, at 11 a.m. Feb. 24, at the Harold Washington Library, in the program room of the Thomas Hughes Children's Library. Call 312-747-4200 to register groups of six or more.
"Godmother," a tribute to civil rights activist Dorothy Height with musical performances by B.B. King and Taj Mahal, was originally scheduled for Tuesday at Millennium Park's Harris Theater but is being rescheduled because of weather concerns. For updates, call 312-334-7777 or visit harristheaterchicago.org.

•The Chicago Park District also has a number of events scheduled in honor of Black History Month. For details, visit chicagoparkdistrict.com.

— Compiled by Tribune reporter Erin Meyer

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