TTU celebrates Black History Month with laughter, song, food, film
In laughter, song, food and film – Tennessee Tech University celebrates Black History Month with a range of special events beginning Monday, Feb. 1.
> Laughter: Comedian and activist Dick Gregory brings his humorous brand of social satire to TTU for a 7 p.m., Monday, Feb. 1, performance at Derryberry Hall Auditorium. As a TTU Center Stage event, it is free and open to the public.
Gregory’s discussion is entitled “The World According to Dick Gregory: An Evening of Humor and Humanity.” A short question-and-answer period will follow his performance.
Gregory began performing comedy in the mid-1950s while serving in the army. He entered the national comedy scene in 1961 when Chicago’s Playboy Club booked him.
He became known as a civil rights activist in the 1960s and says he remains today a “drum major for justice and equality.”
In 1973, the year he released his comedy album “Caught in the Act,” Gregory moved with his family to Plymouth, Mass., where he developed an interest in vegetarianism and became a nutritional consultant.
The Fisk Jubilee Singers, a cappella vocal artists and students of Fisk University in Nashville, travel the world regularly. Performing since 1871, the singers are one of America’s foremost vocal ensembles and premier performers of pre-Civil War slave spirituals. Such songs have influenced many musical genres, including rhythm and blues, gospel and rock ’n’ roll.
The group was nominated for a Grammy along with gospel and blues vocalist Jonny Lang for the song “I Believe” on Lang’s album, “Oh Happy Day.” The Jubilee Singers were last nominated for a Grammy for their 2003 recording “In Bright Mansions.”
In addition, the annual Malcolm Moya Gospel Extravaganza hosted by TTU’s Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity and Trinity Baptist Church will be held at 2 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 21, in the Roaden University Center’s Multipurpose Room.
> Soul Food Dinner: Eye on Africa: The annual soul food dinner is set for 6-8 p.m. Monday, Feb. 22, in Roaden University Center’s Multipurpose Room. The menu features both African and African-American foods. History professor Wali Kharif will lead a short discussion about the African Diaspora. Several students from Africa will provide displays of information about their individual home countries.
> Film documentary: The film series “Eyes on the Prize” tells the story of the civil rights era from the point of view of ordinary men and women. Winner of numerous Emmy Awards, a George Foster Peabody Award, an International Documentary Award and a Television Critics Association Award, the series is the most critically acclaimed documentary on civil rights in America.
The series began on Jan. 21 and continues at 7-9 p.m., Jan. 28, Feb. 4 and Feb. 11, in Room 110, Volpe Library Media Center. The installments to be shown at TTU cover the period from 1965 to 1985. The film series is being brought to campus by the Volpe Library and Media Center; Minority Affairs; the Commission on the Status of Blacks; the Diversity, Equity and Access Council; and the TTU history department.
For more information about any of these events, contact TTU’s Minority Affairs Office, 931-372-3392.
