SPONSORED BY

 

Here are ways to help your family celebrate Black History Month.

 

1.Tuesday, February 7^th at 6 pm. Lecture at Fredericksburg Food Co-op:

SINGULAR PEOPLE, SINGULAR STORIES: BLACK HISTORY IN FREDERICKSBURG, VIRGINIA,  Fredericksburg Food Co-op, 320 Emancipation Hwy, Fredericksburg VA Dr. Gaila Sims, Curator of African American History and Special Projects at the Fredericksburg Area Museum, will offer a public presentation in honor of Black History Month at the Fredericksburg Food Co-op.

 

2. Saturday, February 11^th, 11 am and Sunday, February 26 at 1:30 pm

Fredericksburg Area Museum and HFFI. Auction Block Presentations:

PUBLIC PRESENTATIONS OF ‘A MONUMENTAL WEIGHT

While FAM will be closed to the public in January and February 2023 for installation of new exhibits, we will offer a series of free, public presentations on the A Monumental Weight: The Auction Block in Fredericksburg, Virginia exhibit on the following days:

Saturday, February 11th at 2 p.m. Sunday, February 26th at 1:30 p.m.

Attendees are asked to enter the museum via the William St. entrance.

“A Monumental Weight” has been funded in part by a grant from Virginia Humanities. It is an on-going partnership with the City of Fredericksburg to enhance interpretation of local African American history and stories.

 

3. Saturday, February 11^th 3 pm

Children’s Book Event at Co-op

BOOK READING: PENELOPE’S BULLY, Fredericksburg Food Co-op, 320 Emancipation Hwy, Fredericksburg VA Join us to hear Andre Gatling read his children’s book, Penelope’s Bully, and share some of the experiences that influenced his writing. In this heartwarming tale, Penelope moves to a new neighborhood where she is bullied because she is different. She befriends Chloe, a homeless puppy who is also bullied for being different.

 

4. Saturday, February 11, 6-7 pm

LIVE MUSIC: GAYE ADEGBALOLA Fredericksburg Food Co-op, 320 Emancipation Hwy, Fredericksburg VA Join us to hear local music legend and contemporary griot Gaye Adegbalola celebrate Black History with the blues, delivering her signature messages of empowerment, ministering to the heart-broken, and finding joy in the mundane. Everyone is welcome at our free musical events!

 

5. Sunday, February 12^th 11 pm.

STORYTIME WITH THE POSSUM, featuring books on George Washington Carver and his invention of peanut butter. Crafts, story time and time with a live possum at Possumbilities, 211 William Street, Fredericksburg, VA 22401, 2^nd floor. Sponsored by Fredericksburg Parent and Family

 

6. Saturday, February 18^th—sold out. March 25^th available

Walking Tour: Black Businesses & Entrepreneurship in Fredericksburg, 1787 – Present

$20.00 - $25.00

The Fredericksburg Area Museum (FAM), in partnership with the Historic Fredericksburg Foundation, Inc. (HFFI), is pleased to announce a new walking tour in honor of Black History Month. Black Businesses & Entrepreneurship in Fredericksburg, 1787 – Present will feature stories of African American business owners and entrepreneurs throughout Fredericksburg’s history. Lead by Dr. Gaila Sims, FAM Curator of African American History and Special Projects, the tour will commence in the eighteenth century with John DeBaptiste and the establishment of French John’s Wharf, continue with industrious builder Henry Deane and the development of Liberty Town following the Civil War, touch on thriving Black businesses on Princess Anne Street in the mid-twentieth century, and culminate with contemporary favorites scattered across the city. Grounded in historical documentation, archival research, and individual stories, this walking tour will explore Fredericksburg’s unique contributions to the history of Black enterprise.

Ticket Price: $25 General Public/ $20 FAM+HFFI Members

Tickets for February 18th tour are sold out.

Tickets are available for March 25th.

 

 

7. Thursday, February 23 7 pm

Virtual Talk at Germanna: 2/23 A Singular Community: African American History in Fredericksburg Virtual Event

Dr. Gaila Sims, curator of African American history and special projects at the Fredericksburg Area Museum, will share stories of African Americans in Fredericksburg from the 18^th century to present day. Dr. Sims will highlight the influence that local African Americans had on the development of our shared Fredericksburg and Virginia community, including political, social, religious, and commercial contributions.

Register

 

8. Monday, March 6 at 7 p.m. Virtual Event

The Half-Life of Freedom: Race and Justice in America Today

Historian, author, and Peabody Award-winning journalist Jelani Cobb will explore the enormous complexities of race and inequality, while offering guidance and hope for the future. Cobb will outline how the levers of justice are in our hands and how we can move them in the direction we see fit. Jelani Cobb is a staff writer at The New Yorker, writing on race, history, justice, politics, and democracy, as well as Columbia University’s Ira A. Lipman Professor of Journalism and Dean of Columbia Journalism School.

9. Thursday, February 16 at 7 p.m. Virtual Event

Equity, Student Services, and Online Learning: What Works

Dr. Frank Harris III, professor and co-director of the Community College Equity Assessment Lab at San Diego State University, will outline the barriers that impacted equity minded student services practices during the COVID-19 pandemic, and where we are now. Within this context, he will discuss strategies for infusing equity minded and culturally affirming practices into virtual student support services and examine new ways for student services to work together in a post-pandemic environment.

10. Visit the Central Rappahannock Regional Library to read about and discover black authors, inventors, athletes and other fascinating people who have shaped American History.