Woods Hole launches events for Black History Month

It's Black History Month and the Woods Hole Diversity Initiative is back for a month full of talks, performances and celebration throughout the village.

This year’s theme, selected by the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, is “African Americans and the Arts,” one that Amy Galvam, current co-chair of the Woods Hole Diversity Initiative's 2024 Black History Month planning committee, was particularly excited to execute due to the Cape's rich arts and culture scene.

“We intentionally tried to come up with things that represented all different kinds of art so that people would be attracted to ... events from lots of different ways," she said.

Throughout February, talks, a dance performance and an art reception will take place across Woods Hole at different times throughout the day — a schedule Galvam, co-chair Amanda Poston of the Woodwell Climate Research Center, and a subcommittee of volunteers created to accommodate the diverse demographics and schedules of the community.

“This is a Woods Hole group,” Galvam said. “I'm hoping that people, the scientists, can go and be part of these if we made it part of their workday as opposed to trying to draw a crowd for an evening event. We hosted something at Falmouth Academy intentionally so that we could draw from a different population."

Galvam hopes this year's celebration serves as a reminder of the contributions Black people have made to the United States and the importance of uplifting and celebrating their work.

“I'm hoping people will take that away and maybe break down some barriers, have some fellowship, remind each other that we are all part of a much bigger community,” she said. “I think since COVID, people don't come out to things very much and I think we can get very siloed and closed off into our own small worlds. Opportunities like this are so important to help you see who your neighbors are and that you're part of something bigger.”

2024 Black History Month celebration events hosted by the Woods Hole Diversity Advisory Committee

2024 Black History Month Art Competition

Following the theme of this year’s Black History Month, the Woods Hole Diversity Advisory Committee is hosting an art competition open to all Cape Cod high schoolers. Participants must submit works focusing on an influential figure or important moment in African American history or in the style of a prominent African American artist with whom they share a personal connection.

“Whatever takes their creativity and motivates them to want to do something is what we're encouraging them to do,” Galvam said.

Three winners, selected by judges Alice Kociemba of the Falmouth Cultural Council, Robin Joyce Miller of Cotuit Center for the Arts, Edith Copenhaver of Highfield Hall and Claudia Smith-Jacobs of the Falmouth Art Center, will be awarded cash prizes, donated by the Woods Hole Diversity Initiative, at the Harambee Community Celebration on Feb. 29.

“We intentionally limited the scope to Cape kids and kids who were in high school so that we would give them one more thing to showcase for kids who are thinking about going to college,” Galvam said.

Specific requirements and submissions can be found online at www.woodsholediversity.org/bhm2024/.

2024 Black History Month Reading List

For Black History Month in part with the Woods Hole Diversity Initiative, Eight Cousins Books in Falmouth has created a 2024 Black History Month Reading List featuring titles about African Americans and the Arts.

With 20 titles — including + "Radiant Child: The Story of Young Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat and Kwame Alexander's "This is the Honey: An Anthology of Contemporary Black Poets" — the list is designed for all ages. Full reading list: www.eightcousins.com/ or www.woodsholediversity.org/bhm2024/.

'Black Art and Activism: What America Means to Me' reception for artist Robin Joyce Miller

Local artist Robin Joyce Miller will talk with CAI’s Mindy Todd begins at 6 p.m. Feb.1 at Falmouth Academy (7 Highfield Dr.) and is free to attend. A live stream of the talk will be available on the academy’s Facebook. To register, visit www.falmouthacademy.org/community/.

'Women in Jazz and Gender Justice' Terri Lyne Carrington

Grammy Award-winning jazz drummer and composer Terri Lyne Carrington is the next interviewee for CAI’s Mindy Todd during “Women in Jazz and Gender Justice,” a lunchtime lecture on Feb. 9.

At the talk, Carrington will discuss her music along with her work as the founder and the artistic director for the Berklee Institute of Jazz and Gender Justice.

“She realizes how many doors are closed, especially for women in jazz music,” Galvam said.

The event is free to attend and will take place at noon on Feb. 9 at the Redfield Auditorium. To register for the livestream of this event, visit www.woodsholediversity.org/bhm2024/.

'Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project' movie screening and poetry reading

In collaboration with the Woods Hole Film Festival, a special screening of “Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project” will be held on Feb. 10.

In this Grammy-nominated, feature documentary, filmmakers Michele Stephenson and Joe Brewster explore the life and legacy of acclaimed poet Nikki Giovanni and the pivotal moments in American history connected to her work through her own words.

Prior to the screening, local poets Jarita Davis and Tamora Israel will read a selection of their works.

The screening will take place at 7 p.m. on Feb. 10 at the Redfield Auditorium. Tickets are $16 for nonmembers, $12 for members and $10 for students and military. A limited number of tickets are subsidized by the Woods Hole Diversity Initiative through the Woods Hole Diversity Advisory Committee, use code WHDAC2024 at checkout. To purchase tickets or for more information, visit www.woodsholefilmfestival.org/.

'MA Arts Impact: An Executive Director’s Perspective'

As the highest-ranking cultural official in the commonwealth’s government, Mass Cultural Council Executive Director Michael J. Bobbitt knows a thing or two about arts and culture.

His insight on Massachusetts' arts and culture scene as well as a look into his leadership and legacy will be shared during a presentation at noon on Feb. 16 at the Redfield Auditorium. To register for the livestream of this event, visit www.woodsholediversity.org/bhm2024/.

'The Middle: Celebrating the Many Forms of Blackness,' a dance by Miranda and Krista Lawson

Sharing their story of growing up biracial, sisters Miranda and Krista Lawson bring their contemporary dance performance “The Middle” to Falmouth High School at 10 a.m. on Feb. 29.

Harambee Community Celebration

Closing the Black History Month celebrations is the annual Woods Hole Harambee Community Celebration starting at 5:30 p.m. on Feb. 29.

Festivities will commence over food, music — with performances from folk singer Naomi Westwater, Gabriella Simpkins and Stephanie McKay — and art. Works submitted to the 2024 Black History Month Art Competition will be exhibited at Harambee and winners of the three cash prizes will be announced.

Guests must register to attend by Feb. 20 for planning purposes. To register, visit www.woodsholediversity.org/bhm2024/.

'Before Brooklyn: The Unsung Heroes Who Helped Break Baseball’s Color Barrier,'

The University of Chicago’s Marine Biological Laboratory Falmouth Forum is hosting an additional Black History Month event on Feb. 23 “Before Brooklyn: The Unsung Heroes Who Helped Break Baseball’s Color Barrier.”

Journalist and author Ted Reinstein goes back to 60 years before Jackie Robinson, telling the story of those who helped pave the way for him to break baseball’s color barrier.

The event will take place at 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 23 at the Clapp Auditorium inside the Lillie Building on MBL Falmouth’s campus.

For more information on the 2024 Woods Hole Black History Month Celebration, visit www.woodsholediversity.org/bhm2024/.

Frankie Rowley covers entertainment and things to do. Contact her at frowley@capecodonline.com.

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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Black History Month events happening in Woods Hole