Black History Month Programs
Programs for All Ages
BLACK HISTORY MONTH CELEBRATION
Saturday, February 4, 12:00-3:00 pm
Join our celebration featuring speakers, artists, historians, food and music. Learn about some fascinating new historical discoveries during this fun afternoon!
Learn more about the performers at the celebration here!
-- History of Jazz
Presenter: Dennis Mackrel
-- Espionage and Enslavement in the Revolution
Presenter: Claire Bellerjaeu
-- Thoughts on Black History & Youth Empowerment,
Presenter: Sheriff Errol Toulon
-- The Struggle for Library Equality
Presenter: Dr. Archivist Aisha Johnson
-- A Career in Scientific Illustration,
Presenter: Ed Bell
-- Unspoken History Treasures
Presenter: Carol Gordon
-- Traditional West African Dance & Afro-Cuban Dance Performances,
Presenter: Cumbe Dance
DENNIS MACKREL
Saturday, February 11, 3:00-4:30 pm
Enjoy an exciting live performance by famed Jazz drummer, Dennis Mackrel, and his band.
See Dennis Mackrel performing:
Movies
AFTERNOON AT THE MOVIES: TILL
(PG-13) 2h 10min, Drama
Thursday, February 16, 2:30 pm
“Some stories can seem too difficult to tell, though that doesn’t seem to have crossed the mind of the director Chinonye Chukwu. In “Till,” her haunted and haunting movie about Emmett Till, the 14-year-old whose barbaric murder in Mississippi in 1955 by white supremacists helped galvanize the civil rights movement, Chukwu revisits the past while doing something extremely difficult. She makes this grim American history insistently of the moment — and she does so by stripping the story down to its raw, harrowing emotional core.”
-- Manohla Dargis, The New York Times
Children
DR. MAE C. JEMISON CRAFT
All ages
February 18
Celebrate Dr. Mae C. Jemison, the first black woman in space. Learn all about Dr. Jemison's trip to outer space while crafting up your own astronaut suit!
HANDPRINT TRAFFIC LIGHT
Ages 2-5
February 25
Make a one of a kind traffic light inspired by Garett Morgan's invention to the three-position traffic signal.
LIBRARY BOOK SUBSCRIPTION BOX
Ages 5-12
February: Black History Month Box – Pickup starts February 6 and ends February 12
Looking for something new to read? Do you like free books and snacks? Sign up for our children's subscription box! You will receive a box with a library book selected just for you and a bunch of goodies like stickers, snacks and more. Return the library book by the due date and everything else is yours to keep! Please add your reading level in the Special Notes field when registering.
BLACK HISTORY MONTH MURAL HELPERS
Ages 9-12
Tuesday, January 24, 6:30-8:00 pm Wednesday, January 25, 6:30-8:00 pm Thursday, January 26, 6:30-8:00 pm • No registration required.
Help us paint a mural that will hang up in the library in honor of Black History Month.
WHALERS WANTED
Ages 6-12
Tuesday, February 7, 6:30-7:15 pm
Did you know whaling was the first integrated industry in America? Celebrate Black History Month by learning about the contributions of African Americans in our whaling history and create your own wooden ship craft.
Presenter: The Whaling Museum & Education Center of Cold Spring Harbor.
Teens
BLACK HISTORY MONTH MURAL VOLUNTEERS
Tuesday, January 24, 6:00-8:00 pm • Wednesday, January 25, 6:00-8:00 pm • Thursday, January 26, 6:00-8:00 pm • No registration required.
Help us paint a mural that will be displayed in the library for Black History Month.
BLACK HISTORY MONTH ARTIST SERIES: THEASTER GATES
Wednesday February 1, 3:00-5:00 pm • No registration required.
Theaster Gates creates artwork that focuses on space theory, land development, sculpture and performance. Join us as we use airdry clay to craft vases to display for Black History Month.
BLACK HISTORY MONTH ARTIST SERIES: LORNA SIMPSON
Wednesday February 8, 6:00-8:00 pm • No registration required.
Lorna Simpson is an American photographer and multimedia artist. Simpson is most well-known for her work in conceptual photography. We will make beautiful watercolor art that will be displayed in the Teen Room.
BLACK HISTORY MONTH ARTIST SERIES: CHARLES GAINES
Wednesday February 15, 3:00-5:00 pm • No registration required.
Charles Gaines is an American artist whose work interrogates the discourse of aesthetics, politics, and philosophy. We will make some gridart to commemorate him and display it in the Teen Room.
Jobs & Careers
WORK ENVIRONMENTS: DIVERSITY, INCLUSION AND EQUALITY
Wednesday, February 28, 7:30-8:15 pm
Learn about the basic principles of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI).
Presenter: Nicole Christian
Programs for Adults
AN INTRODUCTION TO AFRICAN AMERICAN GENEALOGY
Friday, February 10, 3:00-4:00 pm
Many researchers struggle to break through the wall of slavery and segregation. In this presentation, Janice Lovelace looks at unique resources along with standard censuses, probate records and vital records to identify emancipated enslaved persons and their prior slave owners.
Presenter: Janice Lovelace
Monthly Book Discussion
LIBERTIE BY KAITLYN GREENIDGE
Thursday, February 2, 7:00-8:30 pm
Libertie is inspired by the life of Dr. Susan Smith McKinney-Steward, one of the first African American female doctors in the U.S. In the novel, her daughter, Libertie, faces racial and personal challenges when confronted about her decision to pursue her mother’s profession during the Reconstruction era.
February Gallery
Gallery - The Works of Ed Bell
Scientific illustrator and creator of information graphics. Ed Bell has contributed work to Scientific American as well as having also written for the magazine, where he is Contributing Art Director. He has been a professor of digital and scientific illustration and animation and currently maintains a design studio, Matrix Design, in New York.
Mr. Bell the author of the award-winning iPad book/app Journey to the Exoplanets, an interactive visual look at some of the numerous extra-solar planets discovered in our galaxy. For the last few years he has produced animations and visualizations of the cosmos, most notably for the NOVA television series and the Simons Foundation.
“Illustrators of science are always burdened by the truth. The work may be beautiful or stunning, but if it is factually incorrect, then it’s just another pretty piece of art. Science illustrators must get it right – then make it look great." - Ed Bell
His website is:
Display - The Bay Shore VFW Hall
For decades this Veteran’s hall was a bedrock of the local community. Just a few years ago, though, the hall was unexpectedly closed. With VFW member Larry Mckinnie, head of reference Michael Buono rescued a number of photos and rare objects from the condemned building. This display has been curated and assembled by librarian James Klopp, and includes information about the hall’s history as well as the pieces on display. (Keep an eye out for the library’s efforts to preserve the historical landmarks of our local community. If you have any landmarks you would like to tell us about, let us know!)