INDIANA UNIVERSITY PURDUE UNIVERSITY INDIANAPOLIS

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BROAD RANGE OF PROGRAMS TO MARK BLACK HISTORY MONTH OBSERVANCES AT IUPUI

INDIANAPOLIS - Campus activities observing February as Black History Month will incorporate Indianapolis community favorites such as Kafe Kuumba and Conner Prairie's "Follow the North Star" into a celebration highlighting African-American life from both the historical and present-day perspective.

The month-long observance also features two "firsts" for the campus: a special performance of Nigerian song, dance and theatre; and the first IUPUI men's and women's Jaguars basketball games played under the NCAA's "One Flag, One Nation" initiative that promotes racial harmony.

"What we wanted to do was to provide IUPUI students, staff and faculty with a broad range of programs that celebrated Black History Month," said Patty Alvarez, co-chair of the Black History Month Committee under the Office of Student Life and Diversity Program. "We are bringing speakers and performances from outside Indiana, as well as, utilizing the resources within IUPUI and the Indianapolis community."

When the month-long celebration kicks-off Feb. 1, IUPUI staff, students and faculty can experience African culture through the traditional music of the Igbo, one of the major ethnic groups in Nigeria.

Odenigbo Cultural Group, Inc., a group of professors and other professionals from the Columbus, Ohio area, will present an evening of songs, dances and theatrical dramatizations showcasing Igbo traditional music. Dancers include Ohio State University Professor E. Okechukwu Odita who earned a doctorate in History of African American Art from Indiana University.

The Midtown Writers Association will bring its Kafe Kuumba - a night of poetry hosted weekly at the Omega Conference Center - to IUPUI at 7 p.m. February 13. The campus event will open with a drum calling and feature about six artists from the Indianapolis area in an evening of music and song, including an open mic segment.

"It's going to be a real collaborative effort with the non-profit (Midtown Writers) group," Alvarez said. "It will be great to highlight not only Kafe Kuumba, but also Midtown Writers and African-American artists from the community."

Throughout modern history, African-American colleges and their organizations have played important roles in their communities. As part of the IUPUI Black History Month celebration, Lawrence Calvin Ross, Jr., author of "The Divine Nine: The History of African-American Fraternities and Sororities," will visit campus to speak with students and then hold an evening presentation and book signing open to the community at large.

On February 14, Michelle Evans and Doug Heiwig, co-author's of Conner Prairie's "Follow the North Star," will present a roundtable discussion on the living history program which immerses museum goers into a physical and emotional journey as they role-play fugitive slaves traveling through Indiana in the 1830s.

Accomplishments of African-American visual artists will take center stage during "African Art: Inspiration and Celebration" which will be held at the Indianapolis Museum of Art and is co-sponsored by the Museum and the IUPUI Afro-American Studies and the IUPUI History Department. Roslyn Walker, director of the Smithsonian's National Museum of African Art will present a slide-illustrated lecture on the impact of African art on the work of Western artists.

In conjunction with the Black History Month celebration, the February 22 session of the Rufus Reiberg Creative Reading Series will feature award-winning poet Reginald Shepherd. Shepherd's third book, "Wrong" was a selection of the Poetry Book Club of the Academy of American Poets. His first book, "Some are Drowning," won the 1993 Associated Writing Programs Award.

For literature lovers, activities also include a month-long book club with a discussion Feb. 27, as well as, an IUPUI Bookmarks discussion of Ralph Ellison's highly exclaimed "Invisible Man."

"Ellison's book received wide acclaim when it was published in 1952, winning the National Book Award for Fiction," said Brad Sample, BookMarks Coordinator. "Reading Ellison's work at the dawn of the 21st century allows us to again ponder the questions of 'invisibility' in American culture."

February 2001 should be a exciting tribute to the contributions of Black Africans and African Americans to the fabric of American society. Here's the schedule of IUPUI events:

Feb. 1 Noon UC 115 Odenigbo Cultural Group, Inc. presents traditional music of the Igbo of Nigeria.

Feb. 1 Noon UC115 Month-long Book Club Kickoff with book title to Be announced at this event. Discussion takes place Feb. 27.

Feb. 2 Time, Location TBA "Lessons from Film" presentation sponsored by Black Student Union.

Week of Feb. 5 Time TBA UC115 Black Student/Faculty/Staff Reception

Feb. 9 Time, Location TBA "Do You Know Your History" trivia event sponsored by Black Student Union

Feb. 12 Time TBA Ball Residence "Shoot Out Racism Cookout

Feb. 12 5:15 p.m.; 8 p.m. Natatorium "One Flag, One Nation" Games with IUPUI men's and women's Jaguars basketball teams take on Western Illinois and Chicago State, respectively.

Feb. 13 11:30 a.m. UC3171 IUPUI BookMarks - Ralph Ellison's "Invisible Man"

Feb. 13 7 p.m. Location TBA Kafe Kuumba Does IUPUI featuring five-six local artists.

Feb. 14 11:30 a.m. UC132 'Follow the North Star' - Roundtable Discussion of Conner Prairie living history program about Underground Railroad.

Feb. 15 7:30 p.m. IMA "African Art: Inspiration and Celebration" traces Black African influence on western art.

Feb. 16 Time, Location TBA "Have You Discovered Your Talents" presented by BSU

Feb. 19 6 p. m. UC115 Lawrence Calvin Ross, Jr., presentation and book signing

Feb. 20 12 - 1 p.m. UC 132 Roundtable discussion with IUPUI Professor Missy Dehn Kubitschek

Feb. 20 Dr. Alvin Pouissant at Madame Walker Theatre. For information, call (317) 236-2099.

Feb. 22 4 p.m. Library Rufus Reiberg Creative Reading Series features poet Reginald Shepherd.

Feb. 26 12 -1 p.m. UC 115 IUPUI African American Choral Ensemble

Feb. 27 Time, Location TBA Book Club Wrap-up

Feb. 28 4 - 6 p.m. TBA Town Hall Meeting

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