Film and Discussion: Pardons of Innocence: The Wilmington Ten
Sunday, February 7, 2–5 p.m.
Not rated; run time: 120 min.
Cash Michaels, Wilmington Journal, and Benjamin F. Chavis Jr., President/CEO, National Newspaper Publishers Association
The Wilmington Ten: eight black students, a white female community organizer, and civil rights activist Chavis—convicted of firebombing and burning down a grocery store as well as a variety of shootings during 1971 protests for equal education in New Hanover County. This is the story of battles to clear their names that lasted for three decades. Staff writer Michaels will lead a panel discussion featuring Rev. Dr. Chavis after the film.
Jamming with Melvin Parker: Life on the Road with James Brown
Thursday, February 11, 6 p.m.
Melvin Parker, Drummer
Parker, a native of Kinston, started playing with singer—and founding father of funk—James Brown during the 1960s. Among the music Parker will perform in this special one-hour jam session are “Out of Sight”; “Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag”; and “I Got You/I Feel Good”—all recorded in 1964 and 1965.
African American History Highlights Tours
Saturday, February 13 or 27, 1:30–2:30 p.m.
These docent-led tours visit exhibits throughout the museum to highlight some of the contributions made by African Americans to North Carolina history.
Music of the Carolinas: Amythyst Kiah
Sunday, February 14, 3 p.m.
Free tickets for this concert are distributed while they last beginning at 2 p.m.
Kiah is an alternative-country blues singer and songwriter who fuses traditional old-time music with R&B and country sounds from the 1950s, ’60s, and ’70s to create a contemporary style that leaves the original song’s integrity but results in a new powerful, soulful rendition.
Film Screening: Rosenwald
Sunday, February 28, 3 p.m.
Not rated; run time: 90 min.
Julius Rosenwald never finished high school, but he became president of Sears, Roebuck & Company and gave away $62 million in his lifetime. Much of his philanthropy went to communities across the South to build African American schools during Jim Crow. A discussion with alumni from some Triangle-area Rosenwald schools will follow the screening.
Exhibit Closing: Hey America!: Eastern North Carolina and the Birth of Funk
Sunday, February 28, 5 p.m.
See the roles that some African American musicians from eastern North Carolina played in the creation of funk—a genre of highly danceable music that helped integrate dance floors across America during the middle and late 1960s. The lobby case exhibit closes at the end of the day.
Visit the webpage for Hey America!
To earn credit: students must come back with evidence that they went to the event and participate in a reflection with Mr. Beller
