U. celebrates black history

A number of events at Penn and around the city will mark this month as Black History Month. With the beginning of February marking the commemoration of Black History Month, several campus-wide organizations will sponsor a conglomeration of workshops, films and performances this month dedicated to celebrate the cultural, historical and current accomplishments of black people in American society. The purpose of the celebration is to "bring about awareness of the plight of African-American people," said Afi Roberson, a staff member at the African-American Resource Center. The highlight of the events, according to Roberson, is a performance February 11 by Renn Woods, a renowned black actress who has appeared in several movies and television shows, including The Jeffersons, N.Y.P.D. Blue and Sabrina, the Teenage Witch. Sponsored by the AARC, the Afro-American Studies Program and the Center for the Study of Black Literature and Culture, the performance will feature excerpts of stories and songs from a musical Woods wrote called Roots of an Empress Like Me. "We're really excited that she's coming," Roberson said. "She's a great performer." Roberson added that "anything that can relate the significance of Black History Month" is an important and welcome event. Other events sponsored by campus organizations this month include the second annual National Haitian Studies Conference, from February 12 to 14, organized by the Haitian Students' Association; a lecture and demonstration February 11 on "African American Theater Aesthetics," sponsored by the Afro-American Studies Program; and a performance by Chuck Davis and the African American Ensemble at the Annenberg Center February 18 and 19. Some of the events sponsored on campus this month represent the continuation of the six-week Martin Luther King Jr. commemoration entitled "Keeping the Dream Alive," which will continue into March. And in Philadelphia, the 15th annual Celebration of Black Writing will take place February 12 to 14 at locations around the city. Sponsored by Moonstore, Inc., the events will feature panels, workshops, a book fair and opportunities to meet renowned black authors.