Quincy Public Library to Highlight Black History Month

During the month of February, the Quincy Public Library will highlight Black History Month with several free events open to all ages, selected films for the adult Monday Movie series and for children’s story-time.

Four special events will be presented.  From Slavery to the White House will be shown Saturday, February 6 at 2 pm and will showcase the exceptional contributions made by African Americans to American culture as portrayed through music, readings and dance.  The local Young Achievers and the First Baptist Church Youth Choir and Dancers will demonstrate the contributions to the musical scene, forever changing the American musical landscape.

Tours of Dr. Eells’ House will be conducted on Saturday, February 13 at 2, 2:30 and 3 pm.  You should gather at the Dr. Richard Eells house, 415 Jersey Street, to learn about Quincy’s history in the Underground Railroad.

Something for Everyone at the Quincy Public Library will be held on Thursday, February 18 at 5 pm and is an opportunity to hear and see all that’s available with a Quincy Public Library card. Tours, refreshments, a children’s craft and library card signups will be available. Local storyteller Mett Morris will perform at this open-house-style event.

An Afternoon at the Apollo will take place on Saturday, February 27 at 2 pm and will feature Ben Bumbry and the Messengers, headlining an afternoon of local entertainment, featuring song, music and voice.

Upcoming Monday Movies include Say Amen, Somebody on February 8 which is a documentary about the American gospel music scene focusing on two of the movement’s pioneering forces, Thomas A. Dorsey and Willie May Ford Smith. Selma, on February 15, will chronicle Martin Luther King’s campaign to secure equal voting rights via an epic march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama in 1965.  Do the Right Thing will be shown on February 22 and will feature the hottest day of the year on a street in Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant section, everyone’s hate and bigotry smolders and builds until it explodes into violence. Finally, To Kill a Mockingbird on February 29 features Atticus Finch, a lawyer in Depression-era South, who defends a black man against an undeserved rape charge, and his kids against prejudice.

Story time on Thursday, February 25 will feature special community guests sharing their favorite children’s books.

Special displays for Black History Month are available for viewing within the library.  A timeline of African American history in the United States was provided by the Quincy Human Rights Commission and the Historical Society of Quincy and Adams County.

A poster display highlights Black Americans of achievement in the fields of art, science, business, music, inventors, athletes and public officials.

Books celebrating Black culture are on a featured display, and all of the books are available for checkout.

A special quilt loaned by Jeanetta Green highlights Quincy families and Quincy activities and may be viewed in the library’s large meeting room.

Admission is free and all ages are welcomed as the Quincy community celebrates Black History Month. Registrations are requested for all events, to ensure adequate space and supplies, and may be made by calling the Quincy Public Library at 223-1309, or online at quincylibrary.org.

Black History Month events were planned and carried out by a committee of residents and Quincy Public Library staff, including Kathryn Martin, Mike Smith, Rose Tynes, Reverend Orville Jones, Helen Bumbry, Kim Weaver, Farrah McDaniel, Deborah Riddell and Nancy Dolan.