February 2, 2018
Celebrate Life, All Lives Matter event, VIP meet and greet, 5:30-6:30 p.m.; celebration, 6:30-8 p.m.; The Salem Center, 7235 Bonneval Road. Speakers are the Rev. Alveda King, a niece of Martin Luther King Jr.; and Niger Innis, Congress with Racial Equality. $25, with hors d’oeuvres. $30 at the door; $60 VIP Meet and Greet. Reservations, (407) 619-4373 or celebratelife-jax.eventbrite.com.
Soulebration: Spoken Word Competition, 7 p.m., Unity Plaza Community Center, 220 Riverside Ave. The first 20 people will be selected to audition, only four will compete. Work must be related to Black History and must be clean. Program in conjunction with the Black History Month Concert on Feb. 26. unityplaza.org.
February 3, 2018
Flight to Freedom, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., Fort Mose Historic State Park, 15 Fort Mose Trail, St. Augustine. Event re-creates the experience of the slaves who traveled to Fort Mose in search of freedom. Includes the guided Flight to Freedom Trail, lined with re-enactors portraying the various characters who would have impacted a freedom seeker’s journey to Spanish Florida. Free; museum admission $2. (904) 461-2033.
Film, 2pm, South Mandarin branch library, 12125 San Jose Blvd. Features the true story of the Freedom Writers, which draws heavily from the published journals of the students themselves. Rated PG-13 for violence and language. (904) 288-6385 or jaxpubliclibrary.org.
Black Heritage and Civil Rights Walking Tour, 4 p.m., Tour Office, 4 Granada St., St. Augustine. Features a guided tour to locations that were significant in the city’s Civil Rights Movement and hear stories of the struggle for civil rights while walking in the footsteps of Martin Luther King Jr. and Andrew Young. Free. Reservations required. (904) 825-0087 or staugustineblackheritagetours.com.
February 6, 2018
Musical Revue to Unsung Heroes in Spirituals, Jazz and Blues, 6 p.m. Tuesday, Senior Care Center, 805 Dilworth St., St. Marys; 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Southeast Georgia Health System’s Linda S. Pinson Conference Center, 2415 Parkwood Drive, Brunswick. Features performances by A Project for Cultural Affairs with Frazier Music Entertainment, a group comprised of professional artists schooled in African art forms. Includes tributes to Ella Fitzgerald and Johnny Mathis. (855) 275-7447
February 7, 2018
Black History Moments, 11:45 a.m., Oceanway Senior Center, 12215 Sago Ave. (904) 696-4331.
February 8, 2018
Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship Luncheon, 11:30 a.m., University of North Florida’s University Center, Building 43, Room 1044. Speaker is Terry McMillan, author of “Waiting to Exhale,” on Speaking From the Heart. $30. (904) 620-2878 or bit.ly/1nk1cy2.
National African-American Read In, 6-7:30 p.m., Hilliard branch library, 15821 County Road 108. Includes a performance by the West Nassau Mass Choir. Readers are encouraged to prepare a poem or prose selection by an African-American author to read aloud. Free. (904) 845-2495.
“A Raisin in the Sun,” 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Feb. 20, 3 p.m. Feb. 21, 8 p.m. Feb. 22-24, Valdosta State University’s Lab Theatre, 1500 N. Patterson St., Valdosta. Production contains adult themes. $15 adults, $12 seniors, $10 children/non-VSU students; VSU students get in free. (229) 333-5973.
Black History Facts, 10 a.m., Moncrief Senior Center, 5713 Teeler Ave. (904) 764-0330.
February 20, 2018
Kingsley Heritage Celebration, 1 p.m., Kingsley Plantation, 11676 Palmetto Ave. Features a performance by the Caribbean Dance Theater and storyteller Mama Koku. Includes a Kids Corner. (904) 251-3537.
“Lift Ev’ry Voice & Sing” Martin Luther King Jr. Concert, 3 p.m., Hendricks Avenue Baptist Church, 4001 Hendricks Ave. Includes performances by the Jacksonville Children’s Chorus and the Hampton University Choir. $18. (904) 353-1636, ext. 2, or jaxchildrenschorus.org.
February 21, 2018
Black History in the Golden Isles, 3 p.m., Ashantilly Center, 15591 Georgia 99, Darien. Features Kevin Kiernan, professor emeritus at the University of Kentucky, with “Hidden Bits of Black History in the Golden Isles in the late-19th Century.” Program followed by a reception. $15 members, $20 nonmembers. (912) 437-4473 or email ashantillycenter.org.
Black History Moments, 11:45 a.m., Oceanway Senior Center, 12215 Sago Ave. (904) 696-4331.
African-American Film Fest Double-Feature, 2-6 p.m., Graham branch library, 2304 Myrtle Ave. N. Features “A Raisin in the Sun” starring Sydney Poitier based on the play by Lorraine Hansberry; and “Say Amen, Somebody,” part-history lesson, part-revival meeting in this documentary that stresses the importance of gospel music and its transforming effect in the present. (904) 630-0922 or jaxpubliclibrary.org.
“Rosenwald,” 6 p.m., Fernandina Beach branch library, 25 N. Fourth St. Julius Rosenwald never finished high school, but rose to become the president of Sears. He was influenced by the writings of Booker T. Washington and joined forces with African-American communities during the Jim Crow South to build over 5,300 schools during the early part of the 20th century. Peck High School in Nassau County is one of the Rosenwald schools. Free. (904) 548-4857.
February 24, 2018
Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration, 11 a.m., J.S. Johnson Senior Center, 1112 Jackson St. (904) 630-0948.
Black History Program, 1 p.m., Hammond Senior Center, 3312 W. 12th St. Program includes Wayman Community Development and Biltmore Elementary School. (904) 786-8554.
Black History Play/Fundraiser, 10 a.m., C.T. Joseph Senior Center, 6943 Buffalo Ave. (904) 768-4762.
Name That Black History Fact, 11:30 a.m., J.S. Johnson Senior Center, 1112 Jackson St. (904) 630-0948.
Martin & Mahalia, 6 p.m., Regency Square branch library, 9900 Regency Square Blvd. Features the friendship between Martin Luther King Jr and Mahalia Jackson and the historical significance of this friendship. Includes making a friendship bracelet. (904) 726-5142 or jaxpubliclibrary.org.
Book Discussion, 7 p.m., Bradham Brooks Northwest branch, 1755 Edgewood Ave. W. Features “The Fire Next Time” by James Baldwin. (904) 765-5402 or jaxpubliclibrary.org.
Book Discussion, 7 p.m., Barnes & Noble, St. Johns Town Center, 10280 Mid Town Parkway. Features Jarik Conrad, local entrepreneur, keynote speaker and award-winning author, with “The Fragile Mind.” Includes a discussion, a question/answer session and a book signing. (904) 928-2027.
February 26, 2018
Black History Month Program, 11 a.m., Jim Fortuna Senior Center, 11751 McCormick Road. (904) 996-0211.
Black History Moments, 11:45 a.m., Oceanway Senior Center, 12215 Sago Ave. (904) 696-4331.
Black History Celebration, presented by My Village Project Community Fund, 5:30 p.m., Jessie duPont Center, 40 E. Adams St. Program recognizes and highlights the many organizations that are serving the community. Includes music, food, education, performances and networking. Free. (888) 316-6039, ext. 702,
“I Shall Not Be Moved,” 7 p.m. Feb. 26-27, 2 p.m. Feb. 28, Theatre by the Trax, 1000 Osborne St., St. Marys, Ga. $12 adults, $8 children. Reservations, (912) 729-1103.
Soulebration Concert, 4:30-8 p.m., Unity Plaza, 220 Riverside Ave. Features musical tribute honoring the timeless works of a variety of celebrated black artists, local comedian and host A-Train, saxophonist Pierre Kendrick and the Spoken Word competitors vying for a $100 prize. unityplaza.org.