Black History Month events throughout the Valley
February marks Black History Month, a time when the impact and legacy of Black Americans are honored locally and nationwide.
Metro Phoenix has a wide selection of Black History Month events on the calendar this month. They include celebrations in Phoenix and Glendale that aim to support Black-owned businesses, as well as the return of a beloved festival in Peoria that will feature musical performances.
Those who appreciate public art can see a new mural in Mesa commemorating the iconic actor Sidney Poitier.
The month’s celebrations also include a musical performance of an epic poem from Langston Hughes in Scottsdale, an African dance and drum performance in Tempe, and lecturers telling stories of local Black history, such as the women who stood up to racism in 1960s Mesa.
Mesa: Shining Light Foundation Black History Month Mural Project
One of the biggest projects of the Shining Light Foundation, whose mission is to provide resources for marginalized communities, is its Black History Month Mural Project, where artists create 28 murals in 28 days to salute impactful figures in Black history. The group kicked off their 2023 project with the unveiling of a mural of Sidney Poitier, the groundbreaking actor and director, at the Arizona State University school named in his honor: the Sidney Poitier New American Film School. The mural comes one year after the actor died at age 94.
Details: The Poitier mural is at 40 E. Pepper Place, Mesa. For more information on Shining Light Foundation and its mural project, visit www.shininglight.org.
Scottsdale: I, Too, Sing America Film Festival
The Scottsdale Baha’i Faith Community Center will host its inaugural Black History Month film festival, a free event featuring 13 films about the Black experience over four weekends. The first weekend will feature showings of “12 Years a Slave” and excerpts from “Race: The Power of an Illusion” and “African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross” on Feb. 4, and “Harriet” and “Glory” on Feb. 5. See the complete calendar online.
Details: 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays, Feb. 4-26. Scottsdale Baha’i Faith Community Center, 6910 E. Shea Blvd. Free. 480-219-3281, www.scottsdalebahai.org/blackhistory2023.
Peoria: Multicultural Music Fest & Black History Celebration
This beloved event is returning after being canceled last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Coinciding with Super Bowl weekend activities, the festival will feature performances from the Intruders, a popular group in the 1960s and 1970s who were instrumental in the development of Philadelphia soul music, and Tierra Legacy, which features longtime members of the Latin R&B group Tierra, who reached No. 18 on the Billboard Hot 100 with their 1980 remake of the Intruders’ “Together.”
Details: Noon Saturday, Feb. 11. Centennial Plaza Park, 9875 N. 85th Ave., Peoria. $10. https://vibrantcommunity.net.
Tempe: Black History Month Family Program
The Tempe History Museum’s African American Advisory Committee will host a family-friendly program commemorating Black History Month featuring dance performances and arts and crafts. The event will start with a performance from members of the Kawambe-Omowale African Drum and Dance Theatre, followed by a basic ballet and hip hop class. Children can also create their own magazine bead crafts.
Details: 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 11. Tempe History Museum, 809 E. Southern Ave. Free. 480-350-5100, https://www.tempe.gov.
Phoenix: Grassrootz Black History Month Celebration
Grassrootz Books & Juice Bar, a Black-owned business in Phoenix’s Eastlake Park neighborhood, will hold its third Black History Month celebration. It will feature 28 vendors, artists, musicians, poets and activists from the community.
Details: Noon Saturday, Feb. 11. Grassrootz Bookstore, 1145 E. Washington St., Phoenix. Free. https:// grassrootzbookstore.com.
Scottsdale Community College concerts
Scottsdale Community College will host two concerts
open to all to celebrate Black History Month.
George Benson, the renowned jazz and R&B musician, will perform at 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 11, as part of the college’s 11th annual Black History Month musical showcase. The concert will also feature performances from Jack Meyers, the recipient of this year’s George Benson Honorary Scholarship, and student and faculty musicians from the college. Tickets are $10 for students and $15 for the public.
Ron McCurdy will give a multimedia performance of the kaleidoscopic jazz-poetry suite by Langston Hughes, “Ask Your Mama: Twelve Moods for Jazz.” Hughes channeled his struggles for artistic and social freedom in the 1960s into the suite, which takes its musical cues from an assortment of genres. The performance, at noon on Monday, Feb. 13, will link the words and music to images of people, places and events referenced throughout the work. To register for this event or to attend online, visit bit.ly/langston-hughes-s23.
Details: Scottsdale Community College, 9000 E. Chaparral Road. 480-423-6000, www.scottsdalecc. edu.
Glendale: Vendors Extravaganza
The Black Business Owners Coalition of Glendale will host this event at Rose Lane Park to showcase the community’s Black-owned businesses. Vendors will be on hand to sell products, while others will provide information on community resources. Food trucks will offer African and kosher food.
Details: 1 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 19. Rose Lane Park, 5003 W. Marlette Ave., Glendale. Free. 623-850-3026, www.bbocog.org.
Chandler: Black history lectures and a kids story time
Chandler has several Black History Month events scheduled for February. These include:
● A Feb. 4 presentation at the Chandler Public Library from Bill Staples Jr. about the history of Black baseball players who played in Japan and their influence in pioneering professional baseball there.
● A Feb. 11 story time event, also at the library, honoring Black History Month through storytelling, song and dance.
● A Feb. 17 presentation at the Chandler Center for the Arts highlighting the accomplishments of Black Americans in history, including Arizonans.
Details: Various times and locations. Get the complete schedule at www.chandleraz.gov.