These educational lectures will be presented live via Zoom. They will be about people of the African diaspora and their allies for racial justice. These lectures will help prepare you for your upcoming trips or just provide added information to enrich your life. Each presentation is $25.00 per person paid via Eventbrite. Payments can also be made via check, money order or a credit card payment via Zelle® to M&F Bank using phone number (919)985-1954.  Each lecture last approximately 90 minutes with time for questions and answers at the end. If for some reason you schedule a lecture, but unable to attend, you will receive a credit to be added toward another lecture. If we cancel the lecture due to unforeseen event, you will be refunded your money.

Lectures may be scheduled for your  group with a minimum of 6 persons in attendance.

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Special Topic Lectures Descriptions

Paris Noir (Black Paris)

The 1920s was a time of turbulence in the United States. For many African Americans, their daily lives were under siege. Some migrated North from the South. Many others sought refuge in France. Post-World War I taught African Americans that Paris accepted them without any thought to their skin color, or at least they thought. "Paris Noir" will be a discussion about the many jazz musicians, writers, artist, and intellectuals who sought a haven in the City of Light, if only for a short while. France gave Blacks an opportunity for them to fully express their talents and live, according to James Baldwin, as a "human being". Figures such as Josephine Baker, Bricktop, Sidney Bechet, Kenny Clarke, Richard Wright, James Baldwin, and Chester Himes will be discussed. This lecture was inspired by multiple trips to Paris to discover the noir (Black) side of the city.

 

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Jane Austen, The Regency Era & Colonial Period, and Free Blacks

Description: During Jane Austen's Regency Era, we know that there was some 20,000 freed Blacks working, performing, and living in England. The first Black man to vote in England's general election in 1774 was Ignatius Sancho. Dido Elizabeth Belle Lindsay, a mixed raced young lady received an inheritance from her British Naval Captain father and may have had some influence over Lord Chief Justice and the first Earl of Mansfield.  Moreover, there were freed Blacks carving out a life in the North Carolina. Not all were enslaved. This lecture will discuss the life of those freed Blacks during America's Revolutionary period as well during Regency era England. Many Blacks in the colonies remain loyal to the British Crown which caused an interesting outcome during the American Revolutionary War. Learn about this exciting time in history.

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HBCUs: Art and Culture

Description: Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) are a source of pride and great accomplishments. Although their primary mission was to educate and nurture Black students because they were not allowed entry into typically white universities, they have now become the epicenter of Black culture. This online lecture will provide an overview of HBCUs; their contribution to society and the current need today. The highlight of this lecture will be the Black artist and their work since emancipation. Much of these pieces are housed at the galleries on the campuses of HBCUs. Artists included in this presentation includes Romare Bearden, Hale Woodruff, Jacob Lawrence, Elizabeth Catlett, Henry Ossawa Tanner and many more. HBCUs not only house the works of fine artists, they also have a wealth of artifacts and memorabilia.

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Harlem Renaissance

Description: The early 1920s into the late 1930s was a time of explosive culture, art, and social thought among African Americans. Much of this activity centered in New York's Harlem. Nicked named, the Black Mecca, located in the northern borough of Manhattan. This series explores, although not exhaustive, many aspects of the Harlem Renaissance period. There is a series of five (5) lectures. You can select those areas of interest or select all five (5) lectures to enrich your understanding of the time period. A reading list will accompany the lectures.

Part 1: History, Intellectuals and Patrons.

The thinkers of the day stirred up a
sense of self-determination for the African American, now called the "New Negro". The New Negro was seen
invariably as middle-class Blacks who often demanded their legal rights as citizens, but mostly wanted to craft new
images that would subvert and challenge old stereotypes. You will learn about the allies and antagonist.

Part 2: Performing Arts and Music.

A new way of playing music, dancing, and
expressing culture. Black performers could express themselves in ways not previously afford them. No longer were
they relegated to the roles of "mammy" and servants, now they could express their full authentic selves.

Part 3: Writers.

A genuine conveyance of Black humanity was now seen in the
literature of the period. Moreover, a desire for equality in the United States was emerging in the writing of the day.
Writers such as Zora Neale Hurston, Countee Cullen and Claude McKay will be discussed.

Part 4: Fine Art.

The artist of the Harlem Renaissance explored themes such as
legacy, racism, oppression, alienation, rage, hope, joy, and pride. Artist such as Augusta Savage, Aaron Douglass,
and Hale Woodruff will be analyzed.

Part 5: The Revolution in Words.

Following the Harlem Renaissance, there was a period of prolific writing by notables such as James Baldwin, Langston Hughes, and Richard Wright. These and
more writers and their revolution of "Words" will be examined.