News Release 013
Black History Month celebrated in State Historic Sites
Volume 37-013 (For Immediate Release)
Contact: Sue Holst
573-751-6510
JEFFERSON CITY, MO., JAN. 27, 2009 – The Missouri Department of Natural Resources will commemorate Black History Month with special activities planned throughout the month of February at state historic sites in Missouri.
The following is a list of activities and programs that have been confirmed for Black History Month. Call the individual state historic site for additional information.
- Missouri State Museum, Jefferson City 573-751-2854. A prize-winning exhibit entitled “Lloyd Gaines: Paving the Way to Integrated Schools” will be on display in the History Hall of the State Capitol from Feb. 2-28. The exhibit was created by a Columbia, Mo., student Billy Swift and was a Missouri state entry at National History Day in 2008. Also, a photograph and lithograph exhibit by Adrienne Walker Hoard entitled “Picture Perfect: A Woman’s Decade in Post-Apartheid South Africa” will be featured in the Elizabeth Rozier Gallery at Jefferson Landing State Historic Site from an. 7 to Feb. 28.
- Thomas Hart Benton Home and Studio State Historic Site, Kansas City 816-931-5722. Several of Thomas Hart Benton’s drawings, two prints and one sculpture depicting African-American laborers during the 1930s and 1940s will be on display at the site during February.
- Arrow Rock State Historic Site, Arrow Rock 660-837-3330. An exhibit on the segregation of schools will be featured at the historic site through the end of March. Also, on Feb. 7 at 10 a.m., Debra Miles, Ph.D., will present a talk entitled “The Road to Brown v. Board of Education: Legal Cases Along the Way in Missouri.” Miles has her master’s degree in history and has a passion for African-American history. The presentation is a service of the State Historical Society of Missouri as part of its Missouri History Speakers’ Bureau.
- Deutschheim State Historic Site, Hermann 573-486-2200. “Hermann Black History Day” will be held at the historic site on Feb. 21 from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. The lecture will focus on the German and Hermann resistance to the institution of slavery and the inclusion of former slaves in the Hermann community in later years. Refreshments will be served. Throughout the month of February, there will be a small exhibit illustrating the resistance of slavery in Hermann through the articles and editorials of Eduard Muehl, editor of Hermann’s first newspaper the Licht-Freund and the later Hermanner Wochenblatt.
- Gen. John J. Pershing Boyhood Home State Historic Site, Laclede 660-963-2525. On Feb. 21, a Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) documentary film on the “Iron Riders” will be shown in the site office at 7 p.m. The film is about a group of Buffalo Soldiers that road their bicycles from Fort Missoula, Mont., to St. Louis, Mo., in 1897. This was considered to be an experiment to see how effective a bicycle would be as a troop transport. The unit traveled across northern Missouri and camped at the city park in Laclede. Popcorn and soda will be available for attendees.
- Battle of Lexington State Historic Site, Lexington 660-259-4654. On Feb. 28, Rose Nolan, author of the book “Hoecakes, Hambones and All That Jazz,” will talk about “African American Customs” beginning at 1 p.m. She will discuss the origins and legacy inherited by black Missourians. This includes the toe-tapping rhythms of ragtime and the flavors of soul food. A small exhibit on Scott Joplin and ragtime music will also be featured. The presentation is a service of the State Historical Society of Missouri as part of its Missouri History Speakers’ Bureau.
For more information on all state parks and historic sites, call the Department of Natural Resources at 800-334-6946 (voice) or 800-379-2419 (Telecommunications Device for the Deaf) or visit the Web at www.mostateparks.com.
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