Black History Month events

From documentaries to discussion panels to art displays, Brooklyn is getting into the spirit of celebration with Black History Month. Brooklynites can learn important information about past and current black culture through these events that are occurring all over the borough. Not only are they informative, but also the majority of these Black History celebrations only ask you to spend your time, rather than your money.

THURSDAY FEBRUARY 13

SING ALONG: Join Avrum and sing some Blues in honor of Black History Month at the Flatlands Library (22 Linden Boulevard at Flatbush Ave) from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. For more info, go to bklynpubliclibrary.org.

DISCUSSION: Open to the public, a talk on W.E.B Du Bois will be held at Central Library’s Dweck Center (10 Grand Army Plaza). His life, actions, and beliefs will all be reflected on. The event starts at 1:30 p.m.; admission is free.

SATURDAY FEBRUARY 15

CELEBRATION: The Bay Ridge Library is holding a Black History Month celebration. Get up to date and celebrate the last 30 years of African-American history through trivia, music, poetry and more. It will be held from 1 to 2:30 p.m. at 7223 Ridge Boulevard. Go to bklynpubliclibrary.org for more info.

TUESDAY FEBRUARY 18

FILM: Watch “Slavery and that Law,” a documentary film by Paula Heredia, screened in honor of Black History Month. The film provides an overview of the history of the legal decisions surrounding slavery. The screening is being held at the Borough Park Library (1265 43rd Street). It starts at 1:30 p.m., and again at 3 p.m. Go to bklynpubliclibrary.org for more info.

WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 19

DISCUSSION: The New York City College of Technology will hold a panel discussion on social justice in the arts and media. English Professor Julian Williams will moderate the discussion and provide an historical overview of the Africana world dedication to freedom through the arts at 300 Jay Street in the Atrium Amphitheater of the college. Local artists from several different fields will reflect on the topic and its correlation with their own pieces. Discussion starts at 1 p.m. Admission is free. Call 718-260-5205 for more info.

THURSDAY FEBRUARY 20

MUSIC: Nelson, the Prince of Kosher Gospel, will be the special guest at dweck-lec’-tic, to be held at the Brooklyn Public Library’s Central Library’s Dweck Center, 10 Grand Army Plaza, at 7 p.m. Nelson marries Jewish liturgical lyrics with jazz to reflect his identity as a Black Jew.

SUNDAY FEBRUARY 22

TOUR: Travel by trolley through Green-Wood Cemetery on a special Black History Month tour featuring the burial sites of “Abolitionists, Artists & Soldiers… Ex-Slaves, Business Tycoons and More.” Included on the two and a half hour tour, which kicks off at 1 p.m. at the cemetery’s main gate, 25^th Street and Fifth avenue, are the final resting places of such luminaries as abolitionist Henry Ward Beecher, poet James Weldon Johnson, artist Jean-Michel Basquiat and Dr. Susan Smith McKinney-Steward, the first black female doctor in New York State. The cost of the tour is $20 ($15 for members of the Green-Wood Historic Fund or the Brooklyn Historical Society). Reservations may be made at www.green-wood.com/toursevents or by calling 718-810-3080.

SUNDAY FEBRUARY 23

CONCERT: The Avery Sharpe Quartet presents the Martin Luther King Project, a multimedia presentation about the American civil rights leader. It will feature a performance that is based on and honors King’s life and speeches which will be accompanied by photographs of his most pivotal moments. It begins 1 p.m. at the Central Library’s Dweck Center (10 Grand Army Plaza), and admission is free. For more info, go to nyc-arts.org.

CONCERT: The Harlem Chamber Players will perform Classical Interludes, music by African American composers Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson and James Lee III, plus a string quartet by Ravel, at 4 p.m. at the Central Library’s Dweck Center, 10 Grand Army Plaza.

WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 26

FILM: Arts, Culture & Fun presents a preview screening of “The Trials of Muhammad Ali” at the Brownsville Recreation Center in Brownsville Playground (1555 Linden Boulevard) from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The film highlights one of Ali’s most difficult obstacles: his battle to overturn his five-year prison sentence as a result of his refusal to enter into U.S. military service. It also covers the years in which he was banned from boxing. Admission is free. To RSVP for the screening, call 718-485-4633 or email Vivian.jett@parks.nyc.gov.

FILM: The “Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975” documentary will be shown at 6:30 p.m. at Central Library’s Dweck Center (10 Grand Army Plaza). Shot by Swedish journalists who were intrigued by stories of urban unrest and revolution, this documentary captures leaders of the Black Power movement such as Stokely Carmichael, Bobby Seale, Angela Davis and Eldridge Cleaver in intimate moments, and honest interviews. Admission is free. For more info, visit nyc-arts.org.

DISCUSSION: Retha Powers will conduct a discussion on Reclaiming Our Ancestral Legacy through Courage, Strength, and Fortitude at Medgar Evers College. The event is organized by the Center for Black Literature at the college. Retha Powers is the general editor of Bartlett’s Familiar Black Quotations. The event will be held at the college’s Academic Building (1638 Bedford Avenue) in the Edison O. Jackson auditorium from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Admission is free. For more details, call 718-804-8883 or visit www.mec.cuny.edu.

THURSDAY FEBRUARY 27

FILM: Arts, Culture & Fun presents a preview screening of “The Trials of Muhammad Ali” at Herbert Von King Cultural Arts Center in Herbert Von King Park (670 Lafayette Avenue) from 6 to 7:30 p.m. The film highlights one of Ali’s most difficult obstacles: his battle to overturn his five-year prison sentence as a result of his refusal to enter into U.S. military service. It also covers the years in which he was banned from boxing. Admission is free. To RSVP for the screening, call 718-622-2082 or email Deborah.grant@parks.nyc.gov.

DISCUSSION: Open to the public, a talk on W.E.B Du Bois will be held at Central Library’s Dweck Center (10 Grand Army Plaza). His life, actions, and beliefs will all be reflected on. The event starts at 1:30 p.m.; admission is free.

ONGOING

ART: During the entire month of February, the Myrtle Avenue Partnership is celebrating Black History Month with an art program called Black Artstory Month. Ten businesses along Myrtle Avenue in Fort Greene and Clinton Hill will feature everything from storytelling, to artwork, to live performances, and even a mural workshop along the art walk. The works of about a dozen artists will be on display for the entire month. Visit myrtleavenue.org or call 718-260-8310 for more details.