African American fashion, music, businesses and history will be on display in February as Lancaster County organizations host events to celebrate Black History Month.
Crispus Attucks Community Center will present a Black History Month Fashion Show on Feb. 4 at Reynolds Middle School, 605 W. Walnut St., Lancaster city.
“This show is about highlighting Black excellence and beauty and the impact that fashion and music have in the Black and brown communities,” Crispus Attucks Director Joshua Hunter said. “It’s about not falling into the typical stereotype of what a model looks like.”
Doors for the fashion show, which is free and open to the public, open at 5:30 p.m.
“We will have all kinds of types and shapes of models to challenge the traditional norm of what a model should look like,” Hunter said, adding students from the School District of Lancaster and community members will serve as models.
Chantal Nga Eloundou of Harrisburg is one of 10 designers from the region who will feature her work at the fashion show.
“Fashion is more than just wearing your clothes,” said the native of Cameroon, Central Africa, who will display her traditional African fashion designs. “It’s an expression of our identity and who we are. And now, as we celebrate Black History Month, is a good time to reconnect with whom we really are. We wear vibrant colors like the colors of the country of Africa and its diaspora.”
Anyone interested in being a model or submitting their work for the show can email Vincent Smith at vsmith@caplanc.org. More information is available at caplanc.org/aahistory/.
Crispus Attucks Community Center is a program of the Community Action Partnership of Lancaster County, the county’s largest anti-poverty organization. Crispus Attucks aims to improve the quality of life for county youth and families by providing services, programs and events promoting physical and mental health while preserving and celebrating African American heritage.
Black History Month is observed every February to highlight the culture and reflect on the struggles and contributions of African Americans to the United States.
Following is a list of other Lancaster County Black History Month events scheduled by various organizers in February, ranging from film screenings and dance to quiz bowl and storytelling.
Black Artist Waystation Meet and Greet
- Who’s Hosting: YWCA Lancaster
- When: Feb. 3, 5-7 p.m.
- Where: EsoArts, 317 N. Queen St., Lancaster city
- Details: Created to pay tribute to the past while honoring the future of local Black creatives, The Black Artist Waystation is a vehicle for artists of many mediums, including but not limited to, painting, sculpture, design, literature, music, theater, and multidisciplinary arts.
- Admission: Free
- More information: Visit bit.ly/3WzN58q or bit.ly/3H9mol4.
Black History Month film series, “One Night in Miami”
- Who’s Hosting: Zoetropolis
- When: Feb. 7, 6 p.m.
- Where: Zoetropolis, 112 N. Water St., Lancaster city
- Admission: Pay what you can
- Details: In the aftermath of Cassius Clay’s defeat of Sonny Liston in 1964, the boxer meets with Malcolm X, Sam Cooke and Jim Brown to change the course of history in the segregated South.
- More information: Visit bit.ly/3wLNMB7.
Soul-Food Thursday Lunches
- Who’s Hosting: Crispus Attucks Community Center
- When: Feb. 9 and Feb. 23, 11 a.m. to noon
- Where: Crispus Attucks Community Center, 407 Howard Ave., Lancaster city
- Details: Traditional African American comfort foods are served free of charge at Crispus Attucks Café with the goal of establishing connections that foster mental, physical and financial health while celebrating Black culture.
- Admission: Free
- More information: Call 717-394-6604
Dorothy Height Social Justice Club: The 1619 Project book discussion
- Who’s Hosting: YWCA Lancaster
- When: Feb. 9, 6 -8 p.m.
- Where: YWCA Lancaster, 110 N. Lime St., Lancaster city
- Details: Participants in this reading series will be given assigned chapters to read and receive postcards with thought provoking questions to respond to and mail back.
- Admission: Free
- More information: Visit bit.ly/3XEIlQe.
Sounds of Blackness
- Who’s Hosting: Crispus Attucks Community Center
- When: Feb. 11, 5:30 p.m.
- Where: Jackson Middle School, 431 S. Ann St., Lancaster city
- Admission: Free
- Details: Sounds of Blackness provides a journey through African American music and the civil rights movement.
- More information: Visit caplanc.org/aahistory/. Register at bit.ly/3wyFigd.
Black History Month on Screen
- Who’s Hosting: NAACP Lancaster Branch
- When: Feb. 11, 1 p.m.
- Where: Bates Auditorium, Lancaster Public Library, 125 N. Duke St., Lancaster city
- Details: Showing of “Till,” a true story of educator and activist Mamie Till-Bradley’s relentless pursuit of justice for her 14-year-old son, Emmett Till, who was brutally lynched in 1955 while visiting his cousins in Mississippi. The movie will be followed by a question-and-answer session.
- Admission: Free
- More information: Register at bit.ly/3HsCzLN.
The Evolution of Black Music
- Who’s Hosting: The T.H.E.M Collective
- When: Feb.11, 6:30 p.m.
- Where: Club 42 @ The Ware Center, 42 N. Prince St., Lancaster city
- Details: A dynamic local group featuring a five-piece band and eight vocal artists, Jeannette and T.H.E.M. will walk through the evolution of Black music starting with African drumming and going through the decades and timelines of various genres leading up to present day music.
- Admission: $25, tickets can be purchased at bit.ly/3kEk0ez.
- More information: Call 607-228-0483 or visit bit.ly/3Jd0OPe.
Black History Month film series, “Harriet”
- Who’s Hosting: Zoetropolis
- When: Feb. 14, 6 p.m.
- Where: Zoetropolis, 112 N. Water St., Lancaster city
- Admission: Pay what you can
- Details: The extraordinary tale of Harriet Tubman’s escape from slavery and transformation into one of America’s greatest heroes. Her courage, ingenuity and tenacity freed hundreds of slaves and changed the course of history.
- More information: Visit bit.ly/3wLNMB7.
Listen Learn Lead session
- Who’s Hosting: YCWA
- When: Feb. 16, 6 -7:30 p.m.
- Where: YWCA Lancaster, 110 N Lime St., Lancaster city
- Details: During this session participants can learn more about the recently released Racial Equity Profile of Lancaster County and join new committees to act on the data provided in the report.
- Admission: Free
- More information: Visit bit.ly/3Xx1m6W.
Black Business Expo
- Who’s Hosting: African American Cultural Alliance
- When: Feb. 18 –19, 11 a.m.-6 p.m.
- Where: 600 Park City Center, Lancaster city (former Bon-Ton)
- Details: The Black Business Expo offers minority owned businesses, entrepreneurs, small businesses resources, start-ups and their supporters, a platform to network, collaborate and build in order to strengthen the local economy.
- More information: Call 717-208-2318 or visit www.facebook.com/AACALANCASTER/. The application to be a vendor is available at www.aacal.org/vendors.
Living the Experience / Underground Railroad Re-enactment
- Who’s Hosting: Bethel A.M.E Church
- When: Feb. 18, 11 a.m.
- Where: 52 E. Strawberry St., Lancaster city
- Details: Living the Experience is a creative, spiritual, and interactive historical reenactment of the Underground Railroad, as it occurred on-site, at the Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Lancaster city. Participants will be given a portrayal of the experiential realities of those involved in the underground railroad and an opportunity to learn and to gain a clearer perspective on the events and the people involved with this “station” on the underground railroad.
- Admission: Adults, $38.50; children aged 2-12, $22.50. Tickets can be purchased online at bit.ly/3XXt24W.
- More information: Visit bethelamelancaster.com/living-the-experience.
Black History Month film series, “Moonlight”
- Who’s Hosting: Zoetropolis
- When: Feb. 21, 6 p.m.
- Where: Zoetropolis, 112 N. Water St., Lancaster city
- Admission: Pay what you can
- Details: The tender, heartbreaking story of a young man’s struggle to find himself, told across three defining chapters in his life as he experiences the ecstasy, pain, and beauty of falling in love, while grappling with his own sexuality.
- More information: Visit bit.ly/3wLNMB7.
Interrupting Oppression: Black Maternal Health
- Who’s Hosting: YWCA
- When: Feb. 21, 6-8 p.m.
- Where: Student Memorial Center, Millersville University, 113 Shenks Lane, Millersville
- Admission: Free. Dinner will be provided at no cost.
- Details: An engaging discussion about Black maternal health and destigmatizing abortion as well as ways to elevate the urgency of the issue to create change in the local community.
- More information: Visit: bit.ly/3HrHrAS.
The Black Artist Waystation Art Showcase
- Who’s Hosting: YWCA
- When: Feb. 24, 7-9:30 p.m.
- Where: Pennsylvania School of Art & Design, 204 N. Prince St., Lancaster city
- Admission: Free
- Details: This event features the work of artists Keisha Finnie, Thunda Khatt, Sir Dominique Jordan and Kearasten Jordan.
- More information: Visit bit.ly/403cxWw.
Black History Month on Screen
- Who’s Hosting: NAACP Lancaster Branch
- When: Feb. 25, 1 p.m.
- Where: Lancaster Public Library, 125 N. Duke St., Lancaster city
- Details: Showing of “The Woman King.” Based on historical events in the 1800s, “The Woman King” tells the story of how a group of all-female warriors protects the African kingdom of Dahomey with skills and fierceness unlike anything the world has ever seen. Movie will be followed by a question-and-answer session.
- Admission: Free
- More information: Register at bit.ly/3XumOJP.
Step Show & Dance Battle
- Who’s Hosting: Crispus Attucks Community Center
- When: Feb. 25, 5:30 p.m.
- Where: McCaskey East High School, 1051 Lehigh Ave., Lancaster city
- Details: This event features some of the best step teams and dance teams from the region.
- Admission: $15; Tickets can be purchased online at bit.ly/3XTsWej.
- More information: Visit caplanc.org/aahistory/.
Black History Quiz Bowl
- Who’s Hosting: Crispus Attucks Community Center
- When: Feb. 26, 1 p.m.
- Where: E.R. Martin School, 2000 Wabank Road, Lancaster city
- Details: Students from the School District of Lancaster demonstrate their knowledge of Black history through current events, history, politics, sports and entertainment.
- Admission: Free
- More information: Visit caplanc.org/aahistory/. Register at bit.ly/3R2xxZq.
Black History Month film series, “Alice”
- Who’s Hosting: Zoetropolis
- When: Feb. 28, 6 p.m.
- Where: Zoetropolis, 112 N. Water St., Lancaster city
- Admission: Pay what you can
- Details: Alice spends her days enslaved on a rural Georgia plantation restlessly yearning for freedom. After a violent clash with plantation owner Paul, Alice flees through the neighboring woods and stumbles onto the unfamiliar sight of a highway, soon discovering the year is actually 1973.
- More information: Visit bit.ly/3wLNMB7.
