HOWELL — Black Americans Month begins Wednesday, and even though Livingston County is more than 94 percent white, officials say it’s important to recognize and honor the contributions of black Americans.
“There are people who like the way things are. Not necessarily celebrating our history, but it feels like it’s history, it’s done,” said Livingston County Diversity Council Executive Director Nicole Matthews-Creech. “There are people who feel like this is our history, it’s our responsibility to address this and make sure we don’t repeat history, and you can only avoid repeating history if you acknowledge history.”
According to Matthews-Creech, the Livingston Diversity Council is partnering with Cleary University to host the second installment of the Black History Month series. The first program launched last year with some restrictions due to COVID-19. This year’s events are completely personal.
“The history of black TV series is really just an opportunity for people to be exposed to different things,” Matthews-Creech said. “We want to empower people to know more so they can make informed decisions.
“We really, like the last couple of years, have specific goals and one of them is to open up different opportunities for people that they wouldn’t normally be exposed to, so Black History Month was one of the areas that we chose to emphasize regularly,” she added.
Through the partnership with Cleary University, Matthews-Creech said she is able to empower students through education.
“If you want to kind of learn and discuss and have theoretical conversations or talk about civil rights history during our film event, or you want to learn about history and go with a completely intellectual mind to a museum and have that experience and exposure,” Matthews-Creech said .” Whether you just want to have fun and get your kids drumming and dancing. It’s something for everyone.”
The Livingston Diversity Council has been in existence since 1987. Its mission is to be a change agent for diversity, equity, inclusion and access, and they do this through many education, experiential opportunities and events.
The Diversity Council is just one of several organizations in Livingston County that partner with or host their own events, including the Howell Carnegie Library and the Livingston County Transportation Coalition. Area school districts did not return messages seeking information on whether or not they are hosting events.
MLK Jr. Documentary
The first event will be held at 7:00 PM on Thursday, February 2nd at the historic Howell Theatre, 315 E. Grand River Ave., featuring a screening of the 2018 film I Am MLK Jr. documentary. The event is sponsored by the Livingston Diversity Council, Cleary University and the Howell Carnegie Library.
“I’m MLK Jr.” explores the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his impact on civil rights over the years. Doors open at 6:30pm, screening at 7:00pm and discussion. The event is free and recommended for ages 13 and up. Registration is not required.
The panel of experts is expected to include Washtenaw County Assistant District Attorney Victoria Burton-Harris, University of Michigan Associate Professor of Nursing and Black Studies Dr. Patricia Coleman-Burns, and Michigan Department of Civil Rights Director of Community Engagement Anthony Lewis. Freelance journalist John King will moderate the panel discussion.
Rosa Parks Day of Action in Livingston County
The Livingston County Transportation Coalition is partnering with LETS, First United Methodist Church of Brighton’s Church and Community Committee and Torch 180 to celebrate Transit Capital Day. A pancake breakfast and social recognition will be held at Torch 180, 131 Mill St., on Feb. 3 from 8 to 9:30 a.m. in Fowlerville.
Pancakes will be made from Rosa Parks’ recipe and include coffee and juice. Parks, who later lived in Detroit, is famous for refusing to give up her seat on a bus to a white man in Montgomery, Alabama, on December 1, 1955. Her act of defiance in the Jim Crow South because she was simply tired and didn’t want to move began the Montgomery bus boycott in a key civil rights confrontation.
The breakfast will be followed by a short presentation that will include community recognition efforts in Livingston County to improve transportation accessibility for transit-dependent people in their respective communities.
Tour of the Charles H. Wright Museum
On Friday, February 10, the Livingston Diversity Council and Cleary University will host a tour of the Charles H. Wright Museum at the Detroit Cultural Center.
The Charles H. Wright Museum contains the world’s largest permanent collection of African American culture, consisting of more than 35,000 artifacts. Charles H. Wright was a Detroit obstetrician and gynecologist who felt inspired to create a repository of African American history and founded the museum in 1965.
The cost is $20 per person and includes transportation to and from the museum, a guided tour, and time to explore other exhibits in the museum. Participants will meet the bus at 11 a.m. outside the Commons Building on the Cleary University campus, 3750 Cleary Drive in Howell.
Exciting dance and drumming
The final event of the month will be a musical performance called “Enchanting Dance and Drumming” at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, February 24, in the Cleary University Commons Building. Doors open at 5pm
Visitors of all ages can enjoy an evening of authentic African dance and drumming with Ann Arbor’s Bichini Bia Congo Dance Theater and Flint’s Afro Rhythms. The performance features West African musical styles influenced by American funk, jazz and soul interwoven with chanted vocals, rhythms and percussion. Refreshments will be served and the event is free.
Scavenger hunt at Cromen Library
Cromaine Library’s Youth Services Department has planned a Coretta Scott King Book Awards Hunt throughout February.
The Coretta Scott King Book Awards are presented annually to outstanding African American authors and illustrators of books for children and young adults that demonstrate an appreciation of African American culture and universal values.
Children and their caregivers can follow clues hidden in the library’s youth area to find black authors and their winnings.
The library also subscribes to digital resources featuring works dedicated to Black History Month, all of which are free to Cromaine patrons. Canopy curated a collection of films and hype has also prepared a special collection – both of which will be posted on social media and e-newsletters throughout the month.
The library is located at 3688 N. Hartland Road in Hartland.
Livingston Daily reporter Patricia Alvord can be reached at palvord@livingstondaily.com.