February 1, 2023

Black History Series Spring 2023

Black History Series Spring 2023
Santa Monica College (SMC) continues its ongoing Black History Series this February with a selection of free events that include author readings, a documentary screening and Q&A, and informative talks and discussions.

SMC Continues Black History Series

Free Talks and Panel Discussions Start Feb. 13

SANTA MONICA, CA — Santa Monica College (SMC) continues its ongoing Black History Series this February with a selection of free events that include author readings, a documentary screening and Q&A, and informative talks and discussions. The series, launched in 2016, opens each February in honor of Black History Month and continues through the spring semester. The events will be held online or on SMC’s main campus at 1900 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica. Seating for on-campus events is strictly on a first-arrival basis.

Unless otherwise noted, the Black History Series is sponsored by the SMC Associates (smc.edu/associates) and SMC's Black Collegians Program.

For spring 2023, SMC’s Black History Series events are:

  • Monday, February 13 at SMC Student Services Center 2nd Floor: National Academy of Sciences Exhibition: "The Creative Mind”: Renowned traveling exhibition from the Cultural Programs of the National Academy of Sciences (CPNAS) explores significant achievements, discoveries, inventions, and other contributions made by the Black community to medicine, engineering, mathematics, and the sciences.
    "The Creative Mind” — the renowned traveling exhibition exploring significant scientific achievements made by the Black community — will be on exhibit as part of SMC’s Black History Series for four weeks starting February 13 at the SMC Student Services Center, 2nd Floor on the main SMC campus at 1900 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica.
    "The Creative Mind” — the renowned traveling exhibition exploring significant scientific achievements made by the Black community — will be on exhibit as part of SMC’s Black History Series for four weeks starting February 13 at the SMC Student Services Center, 2nd Floor on the main SMC campus at 1900 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica.
  • Friday, April 7 at 11:15 a.m. Online (live link on event date/time at smc.edu/calendar): Tananarive Due: "Navigating Real-Life Horrors Through Writing Horror: A Reading by Tananarive Due": Award-winning author Tananarive Due, a leading voice in Black speculative fiction for more than 20 years, teaches Black Horror and Afrofuturism at UCLA. She is an executive producer on Shudder's groundbreaking documentary "Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror." Projects with her husband and collaborator, Steven Barnes, include "A Small Town" for Season 2 of Jordan Peele’s "The Twilight Zone" on Paramount Plus and two segments of Shudder’s anthology film "Horror Noire." The duo also co-wrote the upcoming Black Horror graphic novel The Keeper, illustrated by Marco Finnegan, and they co-host the podcast "Lifewriting: Write for Your Life!" Part of the SMC Literary Talks & Readings series. Additional sponsor: SMC English Department.
    Award-winning author Tananarive Due will present "Navigating Real-Life Horrors Through Writing Horror: A Reading by Tananarive Due” as part of SMC’s Black History Series and the SMC Literary Talks & Readings series. The free presentation will be held online on February 24 at 11 a.m. A link will be available shortly before the event begins on February 24 at smc.edu/calendar.
    Award-winning author Tananarive Due will present "Navigating Real-Life Horrors Through Writing Horror: A Reading by Tananarive Due” as part of SMC’s Black History Series and the SMC Literary Talks & Readings series. The free presentation will be held online on April 7 at 11:15 a.m. A link will be available shortly before the event begins at smc.edu/calendar.
  • Tuesday, February 28 at 3 p.m. in SMC Student Services Center Orientation Hall (SSC 183): Mr. Soul! Documentary Screening and Q&A: A free screening and discussion of the documentary Mr. Soul! explores the story of Ellis Haizlip, the co-creator, producer, and co-host of the first nationally broadcast show featuring Black performers on public television, "Soul!" An audience Q&A follows the screening. Additional sponsor: SMC’s Racial Justice Center.
    A free screening and discussion of the documentary Mr. Soul! explores the story of Ellis Haizlip as part of SMC’s Black History Series on February 28 at 3 p.m. in the SMC Student Services Center Orientation Hall (SSC 183) on the main SMC campus at 1900 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica.
    A free screening and discussion of the documentary Mr. Soul! explores the story of Ellis Haizlip as part of SMC’s Black History Series on February 28 at 3 p.m. in the SMC Student Services Center Orientation Hall (SSC 183) on the main SMC campus at 1900 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica.
  • Tuesday, March 21 at 11:15 a.m. Online (live link on event date/time at smc.edu/calendar): Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah: "A Reading by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah": Ghanaian American Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah is the New York Times–bestselling author of Friday Black (2018), a collection of edgy, yet charming tales. He was the winner of the PEN/Jean Stein Book Award and selected by Colson Whitehead as one of the National Book Foundation’s “5 Under 35” honorees. Adjei-Brenyah's work has appeared in the New York Times Book Review, Esquire, Literary Hub, the Paris Review, Guernica, and Longreads, and he recently completed his debut novel Chain-Gang All-Stars (Penguin Random House 2023). Part of the SMC Literary Talks & Readings series. Additional sponsor: SMC English Department.
    New York Times–bestselling author Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah will present "A Reading by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah" as part of SMC’s Black History Series and the SMC Literary Talks & Readings series. The free presentation will be held online on March 21 at 11:15 a.m. A link will be available shortly before the event begins on March 21 at smc.edu/calendar.
    New York Times–bestselling author Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah will present "A Reading by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah" as part of SMC’s Black History Series and the SMC Literary Talks & Readings series. The free presentation will be held online on March 21 at 11:15 a.m. A link will be available shortly before the event begins on March 21 at smc.edu/calendar.
  • Thursday, March 23 at 11:15 a.m. in SMC Student Services Center 3rd Floor Lounge (SSC 391): HBCU Day: The SMC Transfer Center and Black Collegians Program Umoja Community will host a short, highly informative presentation on the nation's Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Additional sponsors: SMC Transfer Center.
    The SMC Transfer Center and Black Collegians Program Umoja Community will host a short, highly informative presentation on the nation's Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
    The SMC Transfer Center and Black Collegians Program Umoja Community will host a short, highly informative presentation on the nation's Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
  • Thursday, May 18 at 12:30 p.m. in SMC Core Performance Center (CPC 304/308): Laura Ann Smyth: "Contemporary Jazz Fusion": Los Angeles-based dancer, choreographer, and educator Laura Ann Smyth will lead a class on rhythm-driven movement that honors African American vernacular jazz roots while sampling contemporary dance practices, and pushes participants to perform, find musical precision, and experience the joy of storytelling through movement. Smyth — a member of Donna Sternberg & Dancers and of JazzAntiqua Dance & Music Ensemble — is a full-time faculty member at Loyola Marymount University and currently a PhD Candidate in dance at Texas Woman’s University, where her scholarship focuses on the intersection of Black jazz-informed dance practices and embodied rhetoric. Part of the Masters of Dance series. Additional sponsor: SMC Dance Department.
    Dancer/choreographer Laura Ann Smyth will lead a free class on rhythm-driven movement as part of SMC’s Black History Series and Masters of Dance series on May 18 at 12:30 p.m. in the SMC Core Performance Center (CPC 304/308) on the main SMC campus at 1900 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica.
    Dancer/choreographer Laura Ann Smyth will lead a free class on rhythm-driven movement as part of SMC’s Black History Series and Masters of Dance series on May 18 at 12:30 p.m. in the SMC Core Performance Center (CPC 304/308) on the main SMC campus at 1900 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica.

All events are subject to change without notice, and additional events may be added to the series. For more information, please call SMC’s Office of Public Programs at 310-434-4100.

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Tagged As
Celebrating Black HistorySMC Spring Black History Series