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San Diego College of Continuing Education

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Black History Celebrated at San Diego College of Continuing Education

February 10, 2021

Performances by renowned poet Alyce Smith Cooper, DJ/musician Shammy Dee, and Master Storyteller Mitchell Capel “Gran’daddy Junebug” are among the events planned for Black History Month at San Diego College of Continuing Education (SDCCE) beginning Wednesday, February 10, 2021. Events are free, virtual and open to the public.

“While we cannot be together in person this February, we are honored to bring uplifting star performers and social justice activists to the SDCCE community to celebrate and remember the legacy of African American icons and unsung historical figures who fought tirelessly to achieve equal advances for all people in the United States,” said Carlos Osvaldo Cortez, Ph.D., SDCE President.

SDCCE and San Diego Community College District Events:

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2021 11:00 am

Black Storytelling, A Virtual Family Affair

Gwendolyn Chamberlain, SDCCE’s CalWORKs Intake Coordinator and Civil Rights Activist joins Linda Brown, one of the founding members of the Black Storytellers of San Diego and San Diego Miramar College to share stories of the Black family as it relates to resilience, unity, love, and personal experiences. Chamberlain is a “Child of Freedom” and an eye-witness to the Civil Rights Movement in Meridian, Mississippi during the mid 1960s. She and several of her siblings were also students in the infamous “Freedom Schools” and are the subjects of books written regarding “Freedom Summer” (1964).

Zoom Link

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2021 12:00 pm

The Power of Poetry

Celebrating the Black Family: A Poetic Exploration of Unity, Survival and Resilience! Renowned San Diego poet Alyce Smith Cooper and acclaimed DJ/musician Shammy Dee will present “Spittin’ Truth to Power while Light leaping for the people”. Followed by a reading from poet Ernie McCray.

Zoom Webinar ID: 987 1395 7948 Passcode: 537991

Black History Celebrated at San Diego College of Continuing Education

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2021 12:00 pm

The Stories We Tell

Social justice leaders and artists will take the stage including, Master Storyteller Mitchell Capel “Gran’daddy Junebug”, activist and Chief Executive Officer of San Diego Urban Warriors Inc. Daj’ahn Blevins, award winning poet Simone Edwards, Self love alchemist Ishe and vocalist plus SDCCE’s Apprenticeship Readiness Program Coordinator Willie Lang.

Webinar ID: 958 7288 1160 Passcode: 916649

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2021 5:30 pm

Langston Hughes Project - Ask Your Mama! 12 Moods for Jazz

The Langston Hughes Project is a multimedia concert performance of Langston Hughes’ kaleidoscopic jazz poem suite “Ask Your Mama: 12 Moods for Jazz.” This is a virtual presentation with Dr. Ron McCurdy, professor of Music at the USC Thornton School of Music, and includes performance and discussion.

Zoom link Meeting ID 752 496 5099

MONDAY, MARCH 8, 2021 11:00 am

Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome and Healing as a Country

Joy DeGruy, Ph.D. will outline the history of slavery in our country, its current impacts, and discuss how we can begin to heal as a country.

Zoom link will be sent prior to event.

Lively Black History Month celebrations usually take place at SDCCE’s Educational Cultural Complex, the institution’s flagship campus that has been home to groundbreaking social justice advocacy including the efforts made by Coretta Scott King and the California Commission to establish Martin Luther King, Jr. Day as a federal holiday and performances by Stevie Wonder and Maya Angelou. SDCCE campuses remain closed in response to the coronavirus pandemic, teaching and learning continue remotely and online.

SDCCE’s Black History Month Events are made possible by a grant from the County of San Diego Community Enhancement Fund and the SDCCE Foundation.

For event links contact Lisa Carulli, lcarulli@sdccd.edu

Allura Olympia Garis
619-319-0209
alluragaris@gmail.com