ECSU observes Black History Month
Kesha Williams
February 03, 2009
The Black History Month Committee at Elizabeth City State University presents a series of events for Black History Month: February 3 5 p.m. in room #216 of the Ridley Student Center "Prince Among Slaves," a PBS drama that chronicles Abdul Rahman, a West African, Muslim prince who was wrongfully enslaved and transported into the American South. Forty years later he was liberated and succeeded in purchasing freedom of his wife and two of their nine children. The film won the Best Documentary 2007 American Black Film Festival Award. February 5 5 p.m. in room #216 of the Ridley Student Center "A Soldier’s Story" a 1984 drama that Charles Fuller adapted from his 1982 Pulitzer Award-winning play, "A Soldier’s Play." A black Army officer, Howard Rollins, travels to a Louisiana Army base to investigate the murder of a non-commissioned officer. The film reveals the complex, dynamic of internal discrimination and hostility among African-American soldiers in 1944. The cast included experienced performers such as Adolph Caesar, Patti LaBelle, Howard Rollins and a host of rising African-American performers: Denzel Washington, David Alan Grier, and Robert Townsend. Film director Norman Jewison brought over 22 years of experience to the movie that was nominated for Academy Awards, Golden Globe Awards, Director’s Guild of America and Writer’s Guild of America awards. Awards for the movie included the Edgar Award, Best Motion Picture Screenplay for Charles Fuller the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award, "Best Supporting Actor" for Adolph Caesar and the Moscow International Film Festival Golden Prize. February 12 University Art Gallery in the Fine Arts Center 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. A reception will be held for Elginia McCrary of Chesapeake, Virginia. Her paintings and mixed media remain on display weekdays through February. February 12 4 p.m. in Johnson Hall Professor Tommy Cox, of the Social Sciences Department, presents "African-American Soldier Involvement in the Civil War and World War I." February 17 2 p.m. in room #138 of Johnson Hall Historical Symposium Series: Waterway Passage to Freedom: Coastal Stops on the underground Railroad." Mrs. Wanda McClean provides a lecture/discussion that highlights slaves use of regional waterways, the Pasquotank River and Roanoke River, to find freedom. For more information on Black History Month, contact Dr. Tonya Blair in the ECSU Department of History and Political Science, 335-3163.