Feb 4, 2021 2 min read

The Smithsonian-affiliated Senator John Heinz History Center interprets and preserves African-American history and culture year-round through a variety of events and exhibitions curated by the museum’s African-American program.

In recognition of Black History Month, the museum will present a series of free virtual programs through February:

• ”The Bonds of Family and Legacy” In partnership with the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, this program will explore the Black family, a topic of study in many disciplines, including history, literature, the visual arts, social policy and the culture of the culinary arts. The program is scheduled for 6 p.m. Feb. 11. Admission is free, but advance registration is required.
• ”(Re)Making History: Memory, Mythmaking and the Civil Rights Movement” Virtual visitors can join noted author, scholar and professor Dr. Hasan Jeffries for the History Center’s Seventh Annual Black History Month Lecture. The program will explore how popular misconceptions about the civil rights movement remake history, altering everything from the African-American freedom struggle’s leadership, goals, tactics and guiding philosophies, to the depth and breadth of the white opposition. Drawing on popular media forms, including movies and political cartoons, the discussion will look at leading myths about the African-American fight for equality. Jeffries is an associate professor of history at The Ohio State University. The program is set for 5:30 p.m. Feb. 12. Admission is free, but advance registration is required.
• ”Come Hell or High Water: The Battle for Turkey Creek.” The film explores the painful but inspiring journey of Derrick Evans, a Boston teacher who moves home to coastal Mississippi when the graves of his ancestors are bulldozed to make way for the sprawling city of Gulfport. Over the course of a decade, Evans and his neighbors stand up to powerful corporate interests and politicians and face ordeals that include Hurricane Katrina and the BP oil disaster in their struggle for self-determination and environmental justice. The program is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Feb. 17. Admission is free, but advance registration is required.

For more information on these programs, visit heinzhistorycenter.org/events.