Blog March 03, 2021
February went by quickly, but our community colleges hosted a slew of amazing Black History Month events. From music to literature and art, get ready for the highlights of last month’s celebration of black history and culture!
This month celebrates the contributions African American individuals have made to this country. And for some famous folk, community college was where they got their start!
One of the earliest innovators of the then-new literary art form called jazz poetry, Langston Hughes is best known as a leader of the Harlem Renaissance. This month, his work was celebrated at community colleges!
The history of this poetic piece is pretty cool:
Originally, Hughes created “Ask Your Mama” in the aftermath of his participation as an official for the five-day Newport Jazz Festival of July 1960, where he shared the stage with such luminaries as Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie, Horace Silver, Dakota Staton, Oscar Peterson, Otis Spann, Ray Charles, and Muddy Waters.
The musical scoring was designed to serve not as mere background but to forge a conversation and a commentary with the music. Though Hughes originally intended to collaborate with Charles Mingus, and then Randy Weston, on the performance of this masterwork, it remained only in the planning stages when Langston Hughes died in 1967.
Its recovery now in word, music, and image provides a galvanizing experience for audiences everywhere.
From Scottsdale Community College’s event page
While plenty of stars were celebrated in February, it was also a time to honor the everyday heroes at our local community colleges. So, outstanding faculty and students around the country had time to shine.
Just because the celebration is virtual doesn’t mean you can’t dance this Black History Month!
It’s only natural that our advocates for higher ed would also want to celebrate some culture this Feb. From literature to little-known facts, it was a Black History Month to remember.
In conclusion for this month’s installment, a little dance party you’ll want to bop along to!
![[Civil Rights March on Washington, D.C. [Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Mathew Ahmann in a crowd.], 8/28/1963" Original black and white negative by Rowland Scherman. Taken August 28th, 1963, Washington D.C, United States (The National Archives and Records Administration). Colorized by Jordan J. Lloyd. U.S. Information Agency. Press and Publications Service. ca. 1953-ca. 1978. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/542015](https://news.interactcom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/unseen-histories-bTF3gkd2L28-unsplash-1024x812.jpg)
If you’re looking for more, check out Top 10 Stories of the Month: January 2021 Edition and #cccommunity3: Leaping into the 2021 New Year.
Do you have a personal best you’d like to share? Then please send your good news to reachout@interactcom.com for a chance to be featured in our next #cccommunity3!
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