UW hosts events for black history month

In February the nation embarks upon its 35th Black History Month. To commemorate the occasion, the University of Wisconsin–Madison will host a number of special events:

• Bob Marley Birthday Bash, 9:30 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 5, Memorial Union Rathskeller. Tony Brown and guests will perform in tribute to the memory of the Jamaican superstar. Organized by the Wisconsin Union Directorate Music Committee.
• “Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasss Song,” midnight, Saturday, Feb. 5, Union South. Director Melvin Van Peebles visually striking film about a pimp becoming a fugitive after killing racist cops.
• The UW–Madison School of Music’s Black Music Ensemble, 6:30 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 10, 6:30 p.m., Morphy Hall, Mosse Humanities Building. Directed by Richard Davis, professor of music, the ensemble consists of five student musicians who will perform jazz from the 1940s through the 1980s.
• “Blazing the Trail for Black History,” Wisconsin Black Student Union, 7 p.m., Friday, Feb. 25, Mills Hall, Mosse Humanities Building. Organizers of this free public event hope it will educate, inform and entertain its audience about facts and issues relevant to African-American society and life. The celebration will use music, poetry, dance and trivia questions; awards also will be presented.
• The Rev. Al Sharpton lecture, 7:30 p.m., Monday, March 7, Wisconsin Union Theater. The former presidential candidate, minister and activist will speak as part of the university’s Distinguished Lectures series.

According to Yaw Boateng, professor of education at Eastern Washington University and an expert on Black History Month, February was chosen for the commemoration because of all the pioneers born during that month: composer Eubie Blake, W.E.B. Du Bois, Frederick Douglass, Rosa Parks and poet Langston Hughes among them. In addition, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the First Pan African Congress also were established in February.

For late additions to this year’s lineup, visit the UW–Madison events calendar.