African American Heritage Trail

Piloting Archival Processing: Insights from the Johnson Publishing Company (JPC) Archive (Webinar)
2023-11-08 18:30 - 19:30 UTC | Zoom
Archivist Steven Booth joins the RBML virtually to discuss the Johnson Publishing Company (JPC) archive: acquired in 2019 by a consortium of philanthropic and cultural heritage organizations, the Johnson Publishing Company (JPC) Archive is co-owned by the Getty Research Institute (GRI) and Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC). Dating from 1942, when John H. and Eunice W. Johnson founded JPC, to the 21st century, the Archive contains over 4.5 million photographs of published and unpublished works documenting the Black experience, many of which were taken by staff photographers and featured in JPC’s 12 publications, most notably Jet and Ebony. In addition to the historically significant events and behind-the-scenes moments depicted, the Archive presents an unmatched and unique record of many facets of the life, work, and contributions of Black individuals, communities, groups, organizations, and businesses. In preparation for full-scale archival processing, archivists from the GRI and JPC project staff conducted a two-part pilot to test and evaluate the efficiency of the processing guidelines, workflows, and tools developed for rehousing and cataloging the photographs. This presentation will provide insight into the planning, preparation, and implementation of the JPC Archive processing pilot and offer lessons learned for cultural heritage professionals and the community to consider when working with large-scale archival collections.
Steven D. Booth (he/him) is an archivist, independent researcher, and co-founder of The Blacktivists. He is currently the archivist of the Johnson Publishing Company (JPC) Archive at the Getty Research Institute. He has been an active member of SAA since 2008 and was named an SAA Fellow in 2022.
Register for this webinar here: https://illinois.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_u5eswrMLRkuoWEi-Skb-ZQ#/registration

Food for the Soul/Inside Scoop with Alexis Pauline Gumbs
2023-11-01 12:00 - 13:00 | Bruce D. Nesbitt African American Cultural Center, 1212 W. Nevada St., Urbana, IL, 61801
Alexis Pauline Gumbs is a Queer Black Troublemaker and Black Feminist Love Evangelist and an aspirational cousin to all sentient beings. Her work in this lifetime is to facilitate infinite, unstoppable ancestral love in practice. Her poetic work in response to the needs of her cherished communities have held space for multitudes in mourning and movement. Alexis’s co-edited volume of Revolutionary Mothering: Love on the Front Lines (PM Press, 2016) has shifted the conversation on mothering, parenting and queer transformation. Alexis has transformed the scope of intellectual, creative and oracular writing with her triptych of experimental works published by Duke University Press (Spill: Scenes of Black Feminist Fugitivity in 2016, M Archive: After the End of the World in 2018 and Dub: Finding Ceremony forthcoming in 2020.) Unlike most academic texts, Alexis’s work has inspired artists across form to create dance works, installation work, paintings, processionals, divination practices, operas, quilts and more.
Alexis is the founder of Brilliance Remastered, an online network and series of retreats and online intensives serving community accountable intellectuals and artists in the legacies of Audre Lorde’s profound statement in “The Master’s Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master’s House” that the preceding statement is “only threatening to those…who still think of the master’s house as their only source of support.” Through retreats on ancestor accountable intellectual practice, and online courses on topics from anger as a resource to transnational intellectual solidarity Alexis and her Brilliance Remastered collaborators have nurtured a community of thinkers and artists grounded in the resources that normative institutions ignore.
All of Alexis’s work is grounded in a community building ethic and would not be possible without her communities of accountability in Durham, NC the broader US Southeast and the global south. As a co-founder member of UBUNTU A Women of Color Survivor-Led Coalition to End Gendered Violence, Warrior Healers Organizing Trust and Earthseed Land Collective in Durham, NC, a member of the first visioning council of Kindred Southern Healing Justice Network and a participant in Southerners on New Ground, Allied Media Projects, Black Women’s Blueprint and the International Black Youth Summit for more than a decade she brings a passion for the issues that impact oppressed communities and an intimate knowledge of the resilience of movements led by Black, indigenous, working class women and queer people of color. Her writing in key movement periodicals such as Make/Shift, Left Turn, The Abolitionist, Ms. Magazine, and the collections Abolition Now, The Revolution Starts at Home, Dear Sister and the Transformative Justice Reader have offered clarity and inspiration to generations of activists.
Alexis’s work with her primary collaborator Sangodare has shown the world a Queer Black Feminist Love Ethic in practice. Over the past 11 years they have nurtured the Mobile Homecoming Project, an experiential archive amplifying generations of Black LGBTQ Brilliance which has consisted of listening tour of the United States (in a 1988 Winnebago!) 7 intergenerational retreats and pilgrimages in the Southeast US, a media and audio archive of many Black Feminist LGBTQ elders and is now in the land stewardship phase of building a living library and archive that serves as an all ages independent and assisted living community of intergenerational learning and love. Sangodare and Alexis are also the co-founders of Black Feminist Film School, an initiative to screen, study and produce films with a Black feminist ethic. Sangodare and Alexis have also collaborated on the exhibition Breathing Back at the Carrack Gallery in Durham, NC and more than 50 visits to campuses, organizations and conferences in the United States.

Fireside Chat with Sheila Johnson
2023-10-25 15:00 - 16:00 | Alice Campbell Alumni Center, 601 S. Lincoln Ave., Urbana, IL, 61801
School of Music alumna, philanthropist, and entrepreneur Sheila Johnson (BME ’70) published her memoir Walk Through Fire on September 19. The College of Fine and Applied Arts invites you to join us in welcoming Ms. Johnson back to campus on October 25 for an exclusive fireside chat to discuss her book, how the university and Illinois School of Music played a role in her path to success, her philanthropic efforts, and her continued passion for music and music education. Following the discussion from 4–5pm, there will be an opportunity for you to meet the author and have your book signed by Ms. Johnson.
Walk Through Fire will be available for purchase at the Alice Campbell Alumni Center or bring your own copy for the signing. Everyone is welcome to attend.

Sheila Johnson was recognized by PARADE Magazine as the most influential woman in business and as Washington Business Journal’s 2022 CEO of the Year. As the co-founder of BET, CEO of Salamander Collection, the vice chair and partner of Monumental Sports & Entertainment that includes the Washington Wizards, Capitals, and Mystics, and an accomplished violinist, Sheila Johnson is truly an inspiration to Illini everywhere.
We hope you will join us on October 25 to welcome Ms. Johnson back to the University of Illinois campus.

Afro-Futurism Symposium
2023-10-20 17:00 - 19:00 | Bruce D. Nesbitt African American Cultural Center, 1212 W. Nevada St., Urbana, IL, 61801
AFRO-FUTURISM SYMPOSIUM

Event Type
Seminar/Symposium
Sponsor
African Students’ Organization and co-sponsored by Center for African Studies, Women and Gender in Global Perspectives Program, and Bruce D. Nesbitt African American Cultural Center
Location
Bruce Nesbitt African American Cultural Center (BNAACC)
Date
Oct 20, 2023 5:00 – 7:00 pm
Contact
Morgan Toyosi

E-Mail
toyosim2@illinois.edu

Views
26
Originating Calendar
Women and Gender in Global Perspectives Program (WGGP)
African Students’ Organization presents AFRO-FUTURISM SYMPOSIUM
Collaborative Role of Africans & African-Americans in Afro-Futurism
Date: Friday, October 20th, 2023
Location: Bruce Nesbitt African American Cultural Center (BNAACC)
Time: 5 pm – 7 pm
Co-sponsored by: Center for African Studies, Bruce D. Nesbitt African American Cultural Center, Women and Gender in Global Perspectives Program

16th Annual Lincoln Lecture Series — Voices of Our Past: Frederick Douglass
2023-10-15 14:00 - 15:00 | Museum of the Grand Prairie, 950 N. Lombard St., Mahomet, IL, 61853
Museum of the Grand Prairie, Lake of the Woods Forest Preserve, 2 p.m.
Help us kickoff the 16th Annual Lincoln Lecture Series with this special event! The theme of this year’s series is “Voices of Our Past” and will feature first-person interpretations of African-American voices present during the life and times of Abraham Lincoln. Did you know Frederick Douglass spoke in Champaign once? Learn about this important figure in US history as Bob Davis, first-person interpreter, brings Douglass to life with an interactive and engaging presentation portraying the notable abolitionist and orator. FREE. For more info: (217) 586-2612 or pcain@ccfpd.org.
Website Event Listing – Frederick Douglass
Facebook Event Listing – Frederick Douglass

SPEAK Cafe with Shaya Robinson
2023-10-05 18:00 - 19:30 | Krannert Art Museum, 500 E. Peabody Drive, Champaign, Illinois, 61820
Speak Café stands for Song, Poetry, Expression, Art, and Knowledge. It is an open-mic public performance space at Krannert Art Museum curated by local artist, Shaya Robinson, featuring guest performers and welcoming all to the mic.

Jalimusa: An Epic Tale of Black Women’s Mothering
2023-10-01 14:00 - 15:00 | Urbana Free Library, 201 W. Green Street, Urbana, IL, 61801
Activist-artist-educator Dr. Amira Davis joins The Urbana Free Library for this special event on Black Motherhood. This program will be a combination performance and presentation based on Davis’ book, Jalimusa: An Epic Tale of Black Women’s Mothering. She will perform songs related to Black women’s mothering and read excerpts from her book, including stories of historical Black women that address issues such as representation, educational and maternal activism, aging, reproductive rights, and spirituality. Question and answer to follow.
Dr. Davis is the author of Jalimusa: An Epic Tale of Black Women’s Mothering. She is a mother, grandmother, and activist-artist-educator using African drums, percussions, and stories to entertain, educate, and motivate. She received her master’s in education in curriculum and instruction and a doctorate in educational policy studies with a concentration in African American studies from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
This program is presented in partnership with the Illinois Humanities Road Scholars Speakers Bureau.

The Library is committed to making programs accessible for all. If you need an accommodation to attend a program, please let the Library know at least two weeks in advance. To request an accommodation, contact the Programming and Outreach Manager via email at programming@urbanafree.org or via phone at 217-367-4057.

Musical Crossroads: Interpreting the Material Culture of African American Music
2023-09-23 17:00 - 19:00 | Music Building Auditorium, 1114 W. Nevada St., Urbana, IL
The ways we engage with music are constantly evolving. In recent decades, countless museums, historic sites, libraries, and archives have built music collections for research, exhibitions, and programming purposes. Within this movement to document, preserve, and interpret music’s existence, is a growing interest in music’s material culture, the tangible objects that are the evidence of its existence. This musical material culture encompassing everything from iconic musical instruments and costumes to the seemingly mundane office equipment or promotional toy, facilitates research in African American music which is at the center of an eco-system that lives and thrives through a network of connections and encounters among people, communities, places, organizations, and institutions.
McClung Fleming’s 1974 model for artifact study has been a useful framework for analyzing material culture within the National Museum of African American History and Culture’s Music and Performing Arts Collection. With four basic operations of identification, evaluation, cultural analysis, and interpretation, Fleming’s model extends basic museum identification procedures, which carefully document the appearance and historical significance, into the realm of humanistic discussion. Applying this model to musical artifacts deepens our understanding of music’s meaning in a social, historical, and cultural context.
Dwandalyn R. Reece’s latest book, Musical Crossroads: Stories Behind the Objects of African American Music (March 2023), draws upon a diverse array of objects in the Museum’s music collection to expand our understanding of the culture and the historical impact of African American music-making in the United States and around the world. This material culture of African American music opens the door to a broad network of encounters, relationships, community structures, and activities that bring music to life. As source material, objects pose and invite questions that have the potential to unearth hidden figures and additional narratives, leading to new interpretive possibilities. They can challenge or affirm established paradigms, uncover the voices and experiences of those who have been unheard or overlooked, and have the potential to expand historical narratives in new directions.

Dr. Dwandalyn R. Reece is Associate Director for the Humanities at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture. She brings more than thirty-five years of knowledge and experience in public humanities work, including twelve years as NMAAHC’s Curator of Music and Performing Arts. Under her leadership, the Museum built a collection of over 4,000 objects and curated the museum’s inaugural permanent exhibition, Musical Crossroads, for which she received the Secretary’s Research Prize in 2017. Other projects have include author and editor of the publication, Musical Crossroads: Stories about the Objects of African American Music (March 2023), contributing producer of the Smithsonian Anthology of Hip-Hop and Rap (2021), co-curating the Smithsonian Year of Music in 2019 and the museum’s 2016 grand opening music festival, Freedom Sounds: A Community Celebration, and the Smithsonian Folklife Festival Program, Rhythm and Blues: Tell it Like it Is in 2011. She is also chair of the Smithsonian Music Executive Committee, a pan-institutional group that promotes access to the SI vast musical holdings. Dwan has appeared on numerous media outlets including NPR, the New York Times, the Washington Post, CBS This Morning, USA Today, Vice News and Al Jazeera and has appeared on such podcasts as WTF with Marc Maron, Sound Expertise, and the Hikma Collective. Her 2019 Ted X Mid-Atlantic talk on blackface minstrelsy was posted on Ted.com and has appeared in several documentaries including Rosenwald (2012) and the Unladylike episode on Gladys Bentley (2018). She just completed her second season on the award-winning SiriusXM podcast series, All Music is Black Music. Dwan serves as Board Member-at-Large for the Society for Ethnomusicology and the Society for American Music.

Francesca T. Royster Discussion & Book Signing
2023-09-23 15:00 - 16:30 | Urbana Free Library, 201 W. Green Street, Urbana, IL, 61801
Join author Francesca T. Royster at the Urbana Free Library for a discussion and book signing on her memoir “Choosing Family: a Memoir of Queer Motherhood and Black Resistance” as part of Pygmalion 2023.

There are times in your life when you make choices that change everything: choosing a new job, finding a partner, adopting or having a child. For author Francesca T. Royster, one of those big changes was choosing to adopt a child with her partner later in life. Her nuanced memoir thoughtfully discusses how this decision affected her notions of family, adoption, queerness, race, and how these topics also intersected in her life. Her memoir will make you think deeply about your own major life events.
Francesca T. Royster is a Professor of English at DePaul University in Chicago, and received her PhD from University of California, Berkeley in English literature. She’s written scholarly work on Shakespeare, Black lesbian country-music fans, Prince, and Fela Kuti on Broadway, among other topics. She is the author of the books Black Country Music: Listening for Revolutions (2022), Choosing Family: A Memoir of Queer Motherhood and Black Resistance (2023), Sounding Like a No-No: Queer Sounds and Eccentric Acts in the Post-Soul Era (2013), and Becoming Cleopatra: The Shifting Image of an Icon (2003), as well as numerous scholarly and creative essays.
Reviews on Choosing Family:
“Affecting . . . Insightful and reflective, this is a moving tribute to the power of chosen family.” [Publisher’s Weekly]
“Memorable and fluid, professor Francesca T. Royster’s memoir Choosing Family blends her family’s history with her story of adopting an infant girl, juxtaposing personal life with political life and allowing each to illuminate the other. . . . In the lyrical memoir, the personal and political unite in a queer, interracial couple’s celebration of choosing to adopt an infant.” [Foreword Reviews]
“The book builds on an intergenerational lineage of powerful women whose strength Royster brings to her own mothering. . . . A potent love letter to community in all its forms.” [Kirkus Reviews]
Books will be available to purchase at the reading.
This event is generously funded by The Urbana Free Library Foundation.

The Library is committed to making programs accessible for all. If you need an accommodation to attend a program, please let the Library know at least two weeks in advance. To request an accommodation, contact the Programming and Outreach Manager via email at programming@urbanafree.org or via phone at 217-367-4057.

Interrogating Discourses Around Resilience for Black Women: Holding Space for Strong Stories and Radical Healing
2023-09-15 12:30 - 15:00 | UIUC School of Social Work, 1010 W. Nevada, Urbana, IL
Event Type: Professional Development
Sponsor: School of Social Work
Location: 1010 W. Nevada St., Room 2015, Urbana
Date: Sep 15, 2023 12:30 – 3:00 pm
Cost: $25 for CEU’s, $10 for no CEU’s
Registration: Register Now
September 15, 2023
12:30-3:00pm
In-Person at the School of Social Work, room 2015
2.5 CEUs for LCSW/LSW and LCPC/LPC
*This event fulfills the cultural competence requirement for licensure*

This event will interrogate discourses around the psychosocial construct of resilience and explore its potentially negative impact on Black women’s mental health and wellbeing through research, the art of storytelling, and other interactive activities.

Learning Objectives:
1. Gain a deeper understanding of the psychosocial construct of resilience and the history and harms of strength among Black women in the U.S (United States).
2. Learn about the prevalence of stress and mental illness among Black women in the U.S.
3. Gain a deeper understanding of unique barriers to treatment and mental health help seeking among Black women with complex trauma and implementation of critical healing frameworks to reach Black women with mental illnesses.

Presenter: Dora Watkins, PhD Candidate at the School of Social Work

Virtual Visit with Colson Whitehead
2023-09-06 19:00 - 20:00 | Zoom
As the author of The Underground Railroad, The Nickel Boys, Harlem Shuffle, The Noble Hustle, Zone One, Sag Harbor, The Intuitionist, John Henry Days, Apex Hides the Hurt, and a collection of essays, Whitehead is only the fourth writer to win two Pulitzers in the Fiction category (for Underground Railroad in 2017 and The Nickel Boys in 2020).
His highly anticipated latest novel, Crook Manifesto, is a darkly funny tale of a city under siege, but also a sneakily searching portrait of the meaning of family.
His reviews, essays, and fiction have appeared in the New York Times, The New Yorker, New York Magazine, Harper’s and Granta. Whitehead has received a MacArthur Fellowship and Guggenheim Fellowship and the Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction, among others. In 2023, President Biden awarded Whitehead a National Endowment for the Humanities Medal. He has taught extensively, including at Columbia University, Princeton University, and Brooklyn College, and has been a Writer-in-Residence at Vassar College, the University of Richmond, and University of Wyoming. He lives in New York City.
For more information, including how to register, visit: https://champaign.org/event/virtual-visit-with-colson-whitehead-9043557
This event is made possible by Illinois Libraries Present, a statewide collaboration among public libraries offering premier events. ILP is funded in part by a grant awarded by the Illinois State Library, a department of the Office of Secretary of State, using funds provided by the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services, under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA). ILP is committed to inclusion and accessibility.

CU Days
2023-08-12 11:00 - 20:00, 2023-08-11 17:00 - 20:00 | Douglass Park, 804 N. Fifth Street, Champaign, IL, 61820
As Champaign-Urbana Days draw near, the Champaign Park District would like to invite you to participate in this 30+ year-old tradition. This event draws nearly 2,000 patrons each year and offers great exposure to the community.
Celebrate the Chambana community with us! Enjoy live music, tasty food, children’s activities, senior activities, and more!

Friday, August 11, 2023 – 5-8p
Saturday, August 12, 2023 – 11a-8p

Questions: katherine.hicks@champaignparks.org or 217-398-2573
https://champaignparks.com/cu-days/

Understanding the State of Illinois' Black Business Survey
2023-07-20 12:00 - 14:00 | Champaign Public Library – Main Library, 200 W. Green St., Champaign, IL, 61820
Presented in partnership with The City of Champaign, The City of Urbana, Campus-Community Compact To Accelerate Social Justice, and Champaign Community Coalition – Walk As One
In February 2023, the IL Office of Minority Economic Empowerment (OMEE) released results of its black business survey. This first-of-its-kind statewide Black Business Survey solicited information directly from black-owned businesses to provide empirical context to better understand the unique challenges facing lack-owned businesses across the state.
Matt Simpson from the IL OMEE office will present the findings of the survey and share important insights to supporting both black business development and overall economic growth. Entrepreneurs who attend will be able to network with one another and take advantage of business resource organizations that will be in attendance.

Lives in Code: Stories of African American Resilience (The Illinois Black Codes, 1819-1865)
2023-07-06 18:00 - 19:00 | Zoom
Join historian and educator, Caroline Kisiel, for a history of the Illinois Black Codes, sponsored by the Illinois Humanities Road Scholar Speaker Bureau. This event will be held on Zoom.

As the home of celebrated champions of freedom such as Abraham Lincoln and Barack Obama, it is often surprising for Illinoisans to learn about the long history of slavery, racial segregation, and exclusion in Illinois’s past.
Federally obligated by the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 to pass its constitution as a free state in 1818, residents in the region prior to Illinois statehood had practiced slavery and indentured servitude since the 1700s. This laid the groundwork for a series of harsh laws passed post-statehood called the Illinois Black Codes, which regulated the lives of enslaved people, indentured servants, and free Blacks in Illinois from 1819-1865 – a period of 46 years.
Caroline Kisiel is a public historian and educator who has been teaching for over 25 years. With a background in immigration law, literature, history, storytelling, and performance, Kisiel writes and presents on early-Illinois history and is currently conducting research on the role of Albion, Illinois in the struggle to keep Illinois slavery-free in the early years of statehood as well as research on stories of African American resilience under the Illinois Black Codes.
Kisiel showcases researched information and historical documents, and facilitates audience engagement activities around questions of the value of history and activism through themes of early Illinois struggles to keep slavery at bay in the state, the fight for African American rights, and key early Illinois figures in this period who fought against racism and exclusion—and persevered despite the odds.
This event is being produced in partnership with Illinois Humanities. The Illinois Humanities Road Scholars Speakers Bureau invites Illinois authors, artists, and educations to share their expertise and enthusiasm with people throughout the state, enabling local nonprofit organizations to present free-admission cultural programs to their communities.

The Library is committed to making programs accessible for all. If you need an accommodation to attend a program, please let the Library know at least two weeks in advance. To request an accommodation, contact the Programming and Outreach Manager via email at programming@urbanafree.org or via phone at 217-367-4057.

25th Annual MLK Jettie Rhodes Neighborhood Day
2023-06-24 12:00 - 16:00 | King Park, 915 W. Wascher Dr., Urbana, IL
FREE Community Event! Food, Raffle & Prizes, Live Entertainment, Local Talent, Fun & Games, Cook-Off Contest, Family, Friendly, Diverse Atmosphere and More. Celebrating the legacy of the late Mrs. Jettie Rhodes and her commitment to serve her community. Help us pack King Park!!
https://www.facebook.com/events/965484594430125/?ref=newsfeed

Juneteenth Celebration at Colbert Park (Savoy)
2023-06-19 12:00 - 18:00 | Colbert Park, 203 E. Church St., Savoy, IL
Join in celebrating the freedom of African Americans at Colbert Park (203 E. Church St., Savoy). Free food, shopping, music, poetry, and more! The event will take place on June 19, from 12:00–6:00 p.m. For more information, visit this Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/events/3352338645004923/

Juneteenth Celebration at Crystal Lake Park (Urbana)
2023-06-18 14:00 - 16:00 | Crystal Lake, 206 W. Park St., Urbana, IL
Join the Urbana Park District and The Urbana Free Library for a family-friendly Juneteenth celebration at the Lakehouse in Crystal Lake Park! The event will take place on Sunday, June 18, from 2:00–4:00 p.m.

Enjoy music, food and refreshments, fishing, Urvana Mobile Recreation Unit games and activities, community resources, and more as we celebrate Black freedom, culture, contributions, and achievements in Urbana and beyond.

The Library is committed to making programs accessible for all. If you need an accommodation to attend a program, please let the Library know at least two weeks in advance. To request an accommodation, contact the Programming and Outreach Manager via email at programming@urbanafree.org or via phone at 217-367-4057.

Juneteenth Celebration at Neil St. Blues
2023-06-17 22:00 | Neil St. Blues, 301 N Neil St, Champaign, IL, 61820
It’s almost that time of the year again. Juneteenth is slowly approaching!
Join us for an electrifying Juneteenth celebration at Neil St Blues on Saturday, June 17th! As the doors swing open at 10pm, prepare to immerse yourself in a night filled with joy, history, and soulful tunes. This event commemorates the emancipation of enslaved African Americans and pays tribute to the rich cultural heritage of the community.
With sounds provided by Dj Slim, enjoy classic soul and R&B to energetic hip-hop and Afrobeat rhythms, DJ Slim will curate a diverse playlist that honors the spirit of Juneteenth.
This Juneteenth Weekend, June 17th
Doors open at 10pm
$10 cover till 11pm
Security and dress code enforced
Kitchen open
21+ to enter
Only at Neil St Blues!
301 N. Neil St, #106
Champaign, IL, 61820
217-531-1150
www.neilstblues.com

Juneteenth Celebration at Douglass Park (Champaign)
2023-06-17 12:00 - 15:00 | Douglass Park, 804 N. Fifth Street, Champaign, IL, 61820
Juneteenth, the oldest known celebration commemorating the abolition of slavery in the United States, is one event you don’t want to miss. Enjoy music and visit different vendors while learning about this important holiday. Children can make arts and crafts, play on the bounce house and obstacle course, or get soaked in the Splash Pad.
Questions: robert.white@champaignparks.org or 217-398-2572
The Juneteenth celebration is scheduled for Saturday, June 17, 2023, from 12-3pm, at Douglass Park 804 N. Fifth St, Champaign, IL 61820.
For more information on attending or applying as a vendor, please follow this link: https://champaignparks.com/event/juneteenth/.

MTD Juneteenth Block Party
2023-06-16 17:00 - 19:00 | Illinois Terminal, 45 E. University Ave., Champaign, IL, 61820
The Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District (MTD) will host a Juneteenth Block Party on Friday, June 16, from 5pm to 7pm outside at Illinois Terminal in downtown Champaign. To celebrate, MTD and our community partners have created a space to connect with one another and support the observance of Juneteenth through local art, poetry, and history. This event is free to the public and will occupy a portion of the parking lot in front of Illinois Terminal at University Ave. and Market St. with our Juneteenth Bus, Mama Duke’s Food Truck, and musical entertainment by DJ BJ Clark.

MTD’s Juneteenth Bus will be on display at the event for guests to get on board to learn about the history and importance of Juneteenth, an annual celebration commemorating the emancipation of enslaved African Americans. The bus is a mobile exhibit with nearly 40 unique interior displays ranging from historical facts and photographs, to quotes from famous figures, as well as book excerpts and recommendations for continued learning. Several MTD employees submitted quotes about Juneteenth, freedom, and the Black experience, which are also displayed.

To honor Juneteenth, we are also proud to announce a new art installation on the second floor of Illinois Terminal in the Amtrak Waiting Area. Second and third graders from Champaign Unit 4’s Booker T Washington Elementary School created Juneteenth-inspired artwork, with help from their amazing Art Teacher, Emily Pawlicki, to share with the public through the summer.

MTD also commissioned poems from the current Urbana Poet Laureate, Ja Nelle Davenport-Pleasure and Youth Poet Laureate, Danyla Nash. In addition to a live poetry reading from Danyla Nash at the event, both poems are prominently displayed in a light box behind the driver on the Juneteenth Bus and are installed along the bus platform of Illinois Terminal.

The Juneteenth Bus Mobile Exhibit is a powerful and accessible educational resource that will be in service on randomly assigned routes through the end of July 2023. MTD will also make the bus exhibit available at community events throughout the summer, including Juneteenth Celebrations from the Champaign Park District (Saturday, June 17) and Urbana Park District (Sunday, June 18) and the 25th Annual MLK Jettie Rhodes Neighborhood Day (Saturday, June 24).

Juneteenth Flag Raising & Reverence Ceremony
2023-06-16 12:00 - 13:00 | City of Urbana, 200 S. Vine St., Urbana, IL
Please join the City of Urbana at 12 p.m. on June 16, 2023, for the Juneteenth Flag Raising & Reverence Ceremony. The ceremony will be held directly in front of the City building located at 200 South Vine Street in Urbana.

Juneteenth Celebration at Anchor Church
2023-06-11 17:00 - 19:00 | Anchor Church, 2901 Watterson Ct., Champaign, IL
Juneteenth Service/Celebration with Anchor Church
Join Anchor Church for its 2nd annual Juneteenth Celebration on Sunday, June 11th at 5:00pm. They will have a special Juneteenth service with Rev. Lawrence Kirby and special music followed by food, bounce houses, water balloon games, and more!
Food will be provided by Anchor Church, but we are also asking people to make and bring their favorite dish(es) to have it as more of a potluck style dinner. Questions? Please visit: https://www.anchorchurchil.com/

Gwendolyn Brooks's Birthday
2023-06-07 15:00 - 17:00 | The Rare Book & Manuscript Library, 346 Main University Library, 1408 W. Gregory Drive, Urbana, IL, 61801
Gwendolyn Brooks’s Birthday

Event Type
Reception/Open House
Sponsor
The Rare Book & Manuscript Library
Location
346 Main University Library, 1408 W. Gregory Dr.
Date
Jun 7, 2023 3:00 – 5:00 pm
Contact
Carrie Lingscheit

E-Mail
carriel@illinois.edu

Come and celebrate the birthday of Gwendolyn Brooks (1917-2000), former Illinois Poet Laureate and the first African American writer to win the Pulitzer Prize. Take a look at some of our favorite gems from Miss Brooks’s literary archives, and enjoy a slice of her birthday cake! This event is free and open to all.

An Evening with Jesmyn Ward
2023-06-06 19:00 - 20:00 | Zoom
Join the Urbana Free Library for an online evening with two-time National Book Award winner Jesmyn Ward as she discusses how her literary vision & personal experiences address urgent questions about racism and social injustice.

Two-time National Book Award winner Jesmyn Ward will discuss how her literary vision and personal experiences address urgent questions about racism and social injustice.
Ward, hailed as “the new Toni Morrison” by the American Booksellers Association, is the author of fiction, nonfiction, and memoir, including the critically acclaimed novels Sing, Unburied, Sing and Salvage the Bones, and the memoir Men We Reaped. In 2017, she became the first woman and first person of color to win the National Book Award for Fiction twice. A professor of creative writing at Tulane University and contributing editor to Vanity Fair, Ward’s many honors include the Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction, a MacArthur Genius Grant, and a Strauss Living Award.
This event is made possible by Illinois Libraries Present, a statewide collaboration among public libraries offering premier events. ILP is funded in part by a grant awarded by the Illinois State Library, a department of the Office of Secretary of State, using funds provided by the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services, under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA).
ILP is committed to inclusion and accessibility. To request accommodations, please email illinoislibrariespresent@gmail.com.

The Library is committed to making programs accessible for all. If you need an accommodation to attend a program, please let the Library know at least two weeks in advance. To request an accommodation, contact the Programming and Outreach Manager via email at programming@urbanafree.org or via phone at 217-367-4057.

My Soul Doesn't Cast a Shadow
2023-05-27 08:00 - 2023-06-08 17:00 | Independent Media Center, 202 S. Broadway, Suite 100, Urbana, IL, 61801
Art gallery at Urbana-Champaign’s Independent Media Center showcasing works by Marilynn Dean Cleveland. Some of the 1,778 pieces that Ms. Cleveland created are included in the gallery, which show how the nation transcended in terms of race. The artist’s paintings tell the story of how Black people migrating after slavery made a living and searched for better opportunities, but were welcomed with new challenges like segregation.
IMC webpage: https://www.ucimc.org/cleveland
Open Hours
Come by for a tour, visit the art gallery, read a zine in the zine library, use a public computer station, print (up to 10 pages free!) or just hang out! Or schedule an appointment by contacting us at 217-666-7628 or booking@ucimc.org.
Friday – 2:00pm-5:00pm
Saturday – 2:00pm-5:00pm
Sunday – 2:00pm-5:00pm
Monday – Thursday – Closed

Octavia E. Butler's Parable of the Sower (Krannert Center for the Performing Arts)
2023-04-29 19:30 - 21:00, 2023-04-28 19:30 - 21:00 | Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, 500 S. Goodwin Ave., Urbana, IL, 61801
Based on the novels Parable of the Sower and Parable of the Talents by Octavia E. Butler, this genre-defying work of political theatre featuring a powerhouse ensemble of 20 singers, actors, and musicians harnesses 200 years of Black music to give musical life to Butler’s acclaimed science fiction novels.
Parable of the Sower, set in 2024 and published in 1993, presciently grapples with many of the same issues we face today—global warming, corporate influence over government, a destabilized economy, water scarcity, food scarcity, the privatization of social services, homelessness, public safety, a return of long-forgotten diseases, and the profit-making machine that runs the medical industry.
Written by singer, composer, and producer Toshi Reagon in collaboration with her mother, Dr. Bernice Johnson Reagon (song leader, composer, scholar, social activist, and founder of Sweet Honey In the Rock), Parable of the Sower is a mesmerizing theatrical work of rare power and beauty that reveals deep insights into gender, race, and the future of human civilization.
Follow this link to purchase tickets: https://krannertcenter.com/events/octavia-e-butlers-parable-sower

John Jennings: “Go Back and Get It”
2023-04-20 17:30 - 18:30 | Krannert Art Museum, 500 E. Peabody Drive, Champaign, Illinois, 61820
Join us for a School of Art & Design Visitors Series talk by award-winning artist and scholar John Jennings (MA ’95, MFA ’97). The talk will be held on April 20, 2023, at 5:30 p.m. in the lower level auditorium of the Krannert Art Museum (500 E. Peabody Drive, Champaign).

John Jennings is an award-winning artist, visual culture scholar, designer, storyteller and cultural activist.
His work has helped reenvision how Black subjectivity is constructed, viewed and theorized in popular media, fine art, and the academy.
In this talk, Jennings will examine how the West African concept of “sankofa” has been a lens through which his critical making practice, his pedagogy and his community-focused organizing has been centered.
About the Artist
John Jennings is a professor, author, graphic novelist, curator, Harvard Fellow, New York Times Bestseller, 2018 Eisner Winner, and all-around champion of Black culture.
As Professor of Media and Cultural Studies at the University of California at Riverside (UCR), Jennings examines the visual culture of race in various media forms including film, illustrated fiction, and comics and graphic novels. He is also the director of Abrams ComicArts imprint Megascope, which publishes graphic novels focused on the experiences of people of color.
His research interests include the visual culture of Hip Hop, Afrofuturism and politics, Visual Literacy, Horror, and the EthnoGothic, and Speculative Design and its applications to visual rhetoric.
Jennings is co-editor of the 2016 Eisner Award-winning collection The Blacker the Ink: Constructions of Black Identity in Comics and Sequential Art (Rutgers) and cofounder/organizer of The Schomburg Center’s Black Comic Book Festival in Harlem. He is cofounder and organizer of the MLK NorCal’s Black Comix Arts Festival in San Francisco and also SOL-CON: The Brown and Black Comix Expo at The Ohio State University.
At Krannert Art Museum, Jennings co-reated with Damian Duffy the 2008 exhibition and its exhibition catalogue Out of Sequence: Underrepresented Voices in American Comics.

CultureTalk | Nikky Finney and Ruth Nicole Brown
2023-04-19 19:30 - 20:30 | Spurlock Museum, 600 S. Gregory, Urbana, IL
CultureTalk | Nikky Finney and Ruth Nicole Brown

Sponsor
Cosponsored by the College of Fine and Applied Arts, Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, the Center for Advanced Study, Spurlock Museum, and HRI
Location
Spurlock Museum, Knight Auditorium in person; livestream at go.illinois.edu/culturetalk
Virtual

Date
Apr 19, 2023 7:30 pm
Speaker
Nikky Finney and Ruth Nicole Brown

Contact
Humanities Research Institute

E-Mail
info-hri@illinois.edu

Nikky Finney (John H. Bennett, Jr., Chair in Creative Writing and Southern Letters, University of South Carolina) and Ruth Nicole Brown (African American Studies, Michigan State University and Founder, Saving Our Lives, Hearing Our Truths – SOLHOT) in conversation, with Janice Harrington (Creative Writing, Department of English) moderating. Join us in person at Spurlock Museum or watch the livestream.
Cosponsored by the College of Fine and Applied Arts, Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, the Center for Advanced Study, Spurlock Museum, and HRI.
To request disability-related accommodations for this event, please contact Brian Cudiamat at cudiamat@illinois.edu or (217) 244-5586.
About the Speakers

Nikky Finney was born by the sea in South Carolina and raised during the Civil Rights, Black Power, and Black Arts Movements. She is the author of On Wings Made of Gauze; Rice; The World Is Round; and Head Off & Split, which won the National Book Award for Poetry in 2011. Her new collection of poems, Love Child’s Hotbed of Occasional Poetry, was released in 2020 from TriQuarterly Books/Northwestern University Press.
Dr. Ruth Nicole Brown is at her best when disciplinary norms are disrupted in favor of creating ideas that swing.
Brown’s research documents and analyzes Black girls’ lived experiences and the practical ways they make Black girlhood with those who love them. Her previous work has explored how Black girl’s conceptualize freedom, creativity, and relationships in Saving Our Lives Hear Our Truths (SOLHOT). Brown founded SOLHOT in 2006 as a collective space to celebrate Black girlhood and to date it remains her most cherished and consistent practice of meeting Black girls face to face and heart to heart. SOLHOT has received support from The Novo Foundation (2018-2021), campus grants, Champaign-Urbana institutions, and those who actively participate. A Whiting Foundation Public Engagement Fellow (2019-2020), Brown’s Black Girl Genius Week (BGGW) exhausts the rituals of SOLHOT to widen the cipher and experience the imaginative capabilities and artistry that only occurs when Black girls and women are together as homegirls. BGGW has taken place in central Illinois (2014, 2016, & 2019), Columbia, SC (2019 & 2020), and Chicago, IL (2019 & 2020).
Brown is the Inaugural Chairperson of the Department of African American and African Studies at Michigan State University. She earned a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan Ann Arbor in Political Science with graduate certificates in World Performance Studies and Gender and Women’s Studies.
Images (left to right): Nikky Finney (by Forrest Clonts) and Ruth Nicole Brown
