Black History Month
Theme: "Hidden Histories"

Black History Month Timeline
Toyon Meadow, Month of February

Take a stroll down Toyon Meadow and view this year’s Black History Month’s timeline. The theme this year is “Hidden Histories.” This year’s BHM timeline is dedicated to black queer women and transgender women: artists, activists, writers, poets, and allies. We are paying homage to the women who went, worked, and fought before us.

Blackout Tuesday
12:15 pm, Tuesday, February 3, 2009, Suzanne Adams Plaza

Come join the Black Women's Collective in a celebration of unity during Black History Month. Come support your fellow Mills sisters!

The Unsung Diva Performance with Angela Dean-Baham
7:00 pm, Thursday, February 5, 2009, Lisser Theater

Coons, bucks, and black mammies. Prevailing images of blacks in the 19th century, where minstrelsy ruled the day as the most popular form of entertainment in America. During the hostile environment of the post-Civil War era, Matilda Sissieretta Jones (1869–1933), the daughter of former slaves, beat the odds and emerged to become the most notable Negro singer in the world and perhaps the greatest opera singer of her time. Angela Dean-Baham portrays Jones, bringing an almost surreal characterization that is "especially memorable for the grace of [its] delivery" (The Berkeley Daily Planet, August 2008) in The Unsung Diva: Impressions of the Life and Times of Sissieretta Jones a.k.a. The Black Patti. The show opens with a haunting visitation by Madame Jones from the after-life, then takes the audience on an incredible historical journey as the heroine shares her story of travels to Europe and the Caribbean, of her failed marriage at age 14 to a gambler and philanderer, of near financial ruin due to legal embattlements over rights to use the moniker "Black Patti" as she became known (a degrading comparison to Adelina Patti, a popular white singer of the time). In all, the story of her incredible rise to international fame and tragic fall into obscurity until she died penniless and alone. The Unsung Diva resonates with audiences as it captures the universal truths of the sometimes perilous struggle through what would later be described by the great Lorraine Hansberry as "to be young, gifted and black."

As a historical biographical work, The Unsung Diva offers an educational opportunity to audience members as they experience the joys, sorrows, triumphs and defeats in the fascinating life of Sissieretta Jones as imagined by Dean-Baham. Angela explains: "I wanted to know more about that kind of strength and courage, to be a single, black woman in the 19the century, making a career for herself. I was moved by her story and it has become my personal charge to revive her, to give her voice, to listen and uncover her side of the story." African Americans continue the struggle to simultaneously recreate our past and forge ahead into a brighter future. The Unsung Diva reveals yet another piece of the very complex puzzle of our history. It is one story in the continuum, and provides insight into the challenge of being a Black artist in the United States of America.

The Unsung Diva is written and performed by singer, actress, and playwright Angela Dean-Baham. This one-woman show is produced by Idris Ackamoor, Co-Founder and Artistic Director of Cultural Odyssey in San Francisco, California and is directed by Rhodessa Jones, Co-founder of Cultural Odyssey and founder and director of The Medea Project. The work was premiered at the 15th Annual Afro-Solo Arts Festival as part of the Black Voices Series. The Unsung Diva will launch a nation-wide tour in August 2009.

RE: DEFinition Conference, Transforming Hip Hop Through History, Community, and Self-Definition
10:00-5:30, Saturday, February 7, 2009
The University of San Francisco Xavier Chapel and Fromm Hall

This free day-long conference will chronicle the journey of hip hop, diving into the questions of ownership, identity, and our role in shaping it's future direction. Interactive workshops featuring, Jeff Chang, (author of "Can't Stop Won't Stop"), Paul Flores (poet, novelist, playwright, spoken word performer and University of San Francisco instructor), USF's Poetic Engagement, and Dr. Susie Lundy (Graffiti Historian, b-girl, deejay, educator, and muralist) and more will be featured throughout the day.

Registration is closed.

Transportation to be provided for Registered Mills College Participants.
Although we strive to meet all dietary and access needs, please give us at least five days notice to try to make necessary arrangements.

This event is brought to you by:
University of San Francisco Multicultural Student Services, Mills College Student Diversity Programs , and San Jose State University Mosaic Cross Cultural Center .

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Bay Area Dance Crew: Dance Through the Ages
7:00 pm, Thursday, February 12, 2009, Lisser Theater

Dance is an important part of African American cultural heritage, reflecting a synthesis of West African ancestry and experiences of struggle, resistance and creativity in the Americas. African captives brought rich cultural traditions across the Middle Passage, in which music and movement were used to honor every aspect of the cycle of life. Join us as we celebrate contemporary African American dance, through performances by Mills and Bay Area dancers, and watch local dance crews compete for the title of Bay Area’s Best Dance Crew!

Dinner Honoring Black History Month
5:00–7:00 pm, Thursday, February 19, 2009, Founders Hall

Come and enjoy the company of the Mills community to honor Black History Month. The delicious menu includes:

Appetizers:
Corn Hush Puppies
Buffalo Chicken Wings

Salads:
Tossed Green Salad with Cajun 1000 Island Dressing
Creamy Potato Salad

Entrees:
Smothered Chicken
Spice–Crusted Pork Tenderloin with Andouille Sausages Gravy
Fried Catfish

Side Dishes:
Vegan Collard Greens
Macaroni and Cheese
Vegetarian Sambussa
Cornbread

Desserts:
Apple Pie Ala Mode
Fried Plantains in Cranberry Syrup

Beverage:
Fresh Squeezed Lemonade

Black History Month Dinner is sponsored by Cafe Bon Appetit.

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Choir Performance: From Travail to Triumph: A History of African American Slavery Through Song
Directed by Ms. Carmen Marshall
7:00 pm, Thursday, February 19, 2009, Mills Chapel

The holocaust of the African slave trade had a sound and a feeling. It was not the trill of trumpets or rousing hutzpah of battle songs, but the cracked voices of rage, grief and despair, the hush and whisper of fear, the silence of death. Collectively, these sounds and songs, breath and feeling came to hold the roots of the African American experience. In song, and spirit, we invite you to come experience African American history as the slaves experienced it. While the songs acknowledged the enormity of their circumstances, the slaves transcended their despair, hopelessness and grief through music. Because what you learn in song you rarely forget, and because what is held close to the heart is within reach for individual inspiration and action, we invite you to join us in these magnificent lessons from the past so might we overcome and transcend that which holds us back.

In honor of Black History Month, Oye ti Omnira (Dawn of Freedom) with Friends of Negro Spirituals, Prayer Tower Church, and the Mills Ethnic Studies Department will present a commemorative concert, A tale of spiritual redemption, our history in song.

The Faculty and Staff Appreciation Dinner honors Black faculty and staff of Mills College for their impact and achievements. The Black Women's Collective celebrates these individuals for their hard work and support in our community through a dinner and program held at the Alumnae House on Monday, February 23rd at 6:00 pm. There will be lots of food, fun, and laughter!

as part of the Mills College Music Festival
A Conversation with Muhal Richard Abrams
7:30 pm-9:30 pm, Monday, February 23, 2009, Mills College Music Building
Join musical innovator Muhal Richard Abrams, co-founder of the Chicago-based Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM), leaders of Great Black Music, in a free public conversation in the Ensemble Room at the Mills College Music Building.

Legendary Composer and Improviser Muhal Richard Abrams
A concert of improvised duets with special guest Roscoe Mitchell
Muhal Richard Abrams, piano
Roscoe Mitchell, saxophone
8:00 pm, Friday, February 27, 2009, Concert Hall

The Art of Living Black—Open Studios Art Fair
11:00-5:00, Saturday and Sunday, March 7 and 8, 2009, Student Union
Part of "The Art Of Living Black", Bay Area Black Artists Exhibition and Art Tour 2009, sponsored by the Richmond Art Center

Featuring our very own Mills Professor Ajuan Mance’s acrylic paintings and art work by Jaceme Bereal, Ebony Iman, Cassandra Falby, Patricia Daigre-Perry, Duane Conliffe, Ebony Iman Dallas, Richard Lalaind, Howard Mackey, Justice Renaissance, Makeda Rashidi, Julee Richardson, and Ron Moultrie Saunders.

Self Guided Art Tour Weekend - Individual Studio Spaces in the cities of Berkeley, Emeryville, Martinez, Oakland, Richmond, San Francisco, San Jose, San Leandro, San Mateo and Vallejo.

For information on all venues, The Art of Living Black 2009 Art Tour Directories are available at The Richmond Art Center, 510.620.2772

Sponsors
Events are co-sponsored by Black Women's Collective, Ethnic Studies Department, Office of the President, Office of the Provost, Women's Studies Program, Office of Spiritual and Religious Life, Music Department, and Associated Students of Mills College.

Mills College Heritage Months are supported in part by the Ethnic Studies Fund. To learn about and donate to the Fund, please click here: Ethnic Studies Fund. Many thanks for your generosity in support of Ethnic Studies and students of color at Mills.

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