Melba Pattillo Beals
Raritan Valley Community College (RVCC) in Branchburg is planning a variety of events, presentations and exhibits in January and February to celebrate Black History Month. All Black History Month activities listed below are open to the public. The following programs have been scheduled at the College’s Branchburg Campus:
MLK Read-In, presented by the RVCC Program Board, Thursday, Jan. 24, 1-2:20 p.m., RVCC Conference Center (Rooms A B): Participants will share favorite short readings and poems celebrating the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The event also will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the profound and inspirational “I Have a Dream” speech during the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. During the march, more than 200,000 Americans shed light on the growing struggle for civil rights in the United States.
The National Abolition Hall of Fame Exhibit – The Politics of Slavery and Abolition, Feb. 1-28, The Theatre at RVCC lobby: The National Abolition Hall of Fame and Museum honors antislavery abolitionists, their work to end slavery and the legacy of that struggle. It also strives to complete the second and ongoing abolition: the moral conviction to end racism. The exhibit is composed of two parts: Series 1 focuses on famous abolitionists such as Frederick Douglass, William Lloyd Garrison and Harriet Tubman. Series 2 depicts critical time periods in the struggle to end slavery in the United States. The two series combined create an inspiring and thought-provoking exhibit.
A one-person, dramatic staging of Warriors Don’t Cry, a memoir of one of the Little Rock Nine, Tuesday, Feb. 5, noon and 7 p.m., Theatre at RVCC: The production, presented by the Bushnell Center for the Arts, will feature actress Almeria Campbell. Each performance includes a discussion and light refreshments. Tickets cost $10 for the noon performance and $25 for the 7 p.m. show.
In honor of Black History Month, the Theatre at RVCC will offer two presentations as part of its School-Time series:
The Civil War (TheatreworksUSA), Thursday, Feb. 7, 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.: The presentation dramatizes the tumultuous chapter in history. Immediately following the 12:30 performance, Joseph G. Bilby will present a book talk on “Forgotten Warriors: New Jersey’s African American Soldiers in the Civil War.”
Walk On: The Rosa Parks Story (Mad River Theatre Works ), Tuesday, Feb. 12 at 10 a.m. In 1955, Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat for a white passenger in Montgomery, Ala. Through music and drama, Walk On depicts her story and her decision to “sit down and be counted.”
Other Black History Month programs include:
Presentation by Melba Pattillo Beals, author of “Warriors Don’t Cry: A Searing Memoir of the Battle to Integrate Little Rock’s Central High” Tuesday, Feb. 19, 7 p.m., Theatre at RVCC. In 1957, nine teenagers were selected to be the first African-American students to attend the previously all-white Little Rock Central High in Arkansas. Melba Pattillo Beals was one of those teens who risked their lives to end segregation. The free event will include a question-and-answer session as well as a book signing.
In addition, from Jan. 22-25 the Evelyn S. Field Library at RVCC will feature an exhibit of library resources about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
For information about RVCC’s Black History Month programs, contact Richeleen Dashield, Dean of Multicultural Affairs, at 908-526-1200, ext. 8636 or rdashiel@raritanval.edu.
For information about Theatre performances and tickets, contact the Box Office, 908-725-3420, or order online at rvccArts.org.
RVCC’s main campus is located at 118 Lamington Road in Branchburg. Serving Somerset and Hunterdon County residents for more than 40 years, the college offers more than 90 associate degrees and certificates. RVCC @ Bridgewater, located at 14 Vogt Drive, offers technical, trade, credit and non-credit courses.
The college is committed to offering a quality and affordable education through effective teaching, liaisons with the community’s businesses and state-of-the-art technology. For further information, visit raritanval.edu.