MCCC sets Black History Month programs

MONROE — Several activities have been planned for Monroe County Community College's annual Black History Month celebration. Most of the events are free and all are open to the public.

At 5:30 p.m. Thursday, CREED (Coalition for Racial Equality, Equity and Diversity) and the NAACP of Monroe County will present "LISTEN," a listening session for all people who want to share their thoughts on race relations, healing and reconciliation in the community. It will be held in MCCC's La-Z-Boy Center, Meyer Theater on the college’s main campus, 1555 S. Raisinville Road.

The facilitator will be Robin West Smith, adjunct instructor of sociology at MCCC and in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning at Wayne State University. She is founder and CEO of the WADE Center for Self-Development and an author.

At 3 p.m. Feb. 20, Anthony Brogdon will present “How Enslaved People Gained an Education,” via Zoom. Brogdon is a historian; author of Black business history book, “Black Business Book”; producer of “Business in the Black” documentary; and host of the podcast “Strong Inspirations. He is working on a feature-length movie, “They Did It,” about 12 Black business owners who lived in the 1800s. Brogdon is a native Detroiter and graduate of Oakland University. To join the Zoom session, log in to zoom.us/j/97538531306?pwd=b2VGbmdrYXYrK1hwMk1NTi9aK1NOdz09.

At 3 p.m. Feb. 21, Patrick Barley and Jeffery Albergo will share a presentation on Robert S. Duncanson (1821 – 1872) in the dining hall of the Warrick Student Center on the college’s main campus. Duncanson was an African American/Scottish landscape artist who spent his childhood in Monroe. In 1830, Duncanson's family moved from Fayette, New York, Duncanson's birthplace, to Monroe. While living in Monroe, he learned the trade of house painting from his father. At age 19, Duncanson left Monroe for Cincinnati, Ohio, then a major American cultural and artistic center, to pursue his dream of becoming a fine art painter. In the mid 1900s the Smithsonian National Gallery of Art recognized Duncanson as the "Best Western Landscape Painter in the 19th Century." For the 2021 inauguration of the 46th president, President Joe Biden and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden chose Duncanson’s “Landscape with Rainbow” from the Smithsonian National Gallery of Art collection to be displayed in the White House.

At 7:30 p.m. Feb. 26, the MCCC College/Community Symphony Band and Agora Chorale will host a concert in the Meyer Theater in the La-Z-Boy Center. Both groups will perform music from all female composers, including a piece by Florence Price, a Black composer from the early 20th century. Doors open at 7 p.m. for this free, general admission concert.

At 3 p.m. Feb. 27, Brian Egen will discuss the River Raisin Legacy Project park via Zoom. His brother, Bradley M. Egen, is an award-winning actor, director, producer and writer with over 20 years of experience in the film and video industry.

Brian Egen is an award-winning film director and producer, Civil War historian and lifelong student of history. He has been employed at the Henry Ford in Dearborn, Michigan for the last 27 years. He currently serves as executive producer, overseeing the film department, and is a coordinator for the CBS television’s award-winning "The Henry Ford’s Innovation Nation." He also serves as chair of the Monroe County Historical Commission, the River Raisin Heritage Corridor and the City of Monroe’s Commission on the Environment & Water Quality. In 2019 he became chair of the River Raisin Heritage Corridor Commission through the City of Monroe.

To join the Zoom session, log in to zoom.us/j/96818276188?pwd=c1RaYmJsT2M3Mk1lZGZrbjlJWHZnQT09.

At 7 p.m. Feb. 28, “George Washington Carver and Friends” will be performed in the La-Z-Boy Center, Meyer Theater on the college’s main campus. The show is recommended for pre-kindergartners through fifth graders.

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"This wonderful children's show explores noted scientists, groundbreakers and entrepreneurs from Black history giving students a fast-paced and accessible introduction to many influential Black Americans who have shaped the nation over the last 150 years," MCCC said. "The lives and accomplishments of Booker T. Washington, Jackie Robinson, Thurgood Marshall, Madame C.J. Walker and other famous leaders are brought to life in this empowering production."

Tickets are $5 each and can be purchased at monroeccc.edu/GWCarver.

The program are part of MCCC's Culture and Current Affairs series. For more information, visit monroeccc.edu/events.

This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: MCCC sets Black History Month programs