Moton Museum to host Black History Month events

Published 12:43 pm Friday, February 3, 2023

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FARMVILLE – During the month of February, businesses, schools and other organizations take time to celebrate Black History Month. Events will take place throughout the country to celebrate, including some locally at the Robert Rossa Moton Museum.

Being home to a former segregated high school and birthplace of student-led civil rights revolution, the Moton Museum has three major events planned to celebrate Black History Month. 

“We are very excited,” said Cainan Townsend, managing director at the museum. “We are starting to be able to have in-person events again so the last time we were able to hold events like this was back before the pandemic.”

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For the first event, the Moton Museum is co-hosting with the Greenwood Library and Longwood Bicentennial Initiative the program Living Under Jim Crow: Dr. Yemaja Jubilee. During this program, Jubilee will share her experiences of growing up during the Jim Crow Era and its connection to the local area. Along with her experiences, she will share original poetry and musical stylings. This will take place at 4 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 9 at Longwood in room 132 of the Hull building. 

The Moton Museum is also bringing back a favorite by holding a jazz concert on Saturday, Feb. 18. 

The details are still being finalized, but according to Townsend, the plan is for it to take place around 7 p.m. and bring back a performer that many people enjoyed during their last visit. The museum is excited to hold this again and to share the details with the public once they are finalized. 

More events at Moton Museum

The final official Moton event will take place at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 25, with a screening of “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.” The museum held a similar showing when the first movie was released in 2018 with a discussion on the cultural impacts of the film. 

All of these events are free and open to the public. Moton will continue to stay busy throughout the month as they will co-host other events and have schools from across the commonwealth coming to visit. 

“February is a great way to spotlight the strides we have made in the Black and African American community,” said Townsend. “It also opens up the opportunity to share stories that may not have been taught in school.”