St. Louis Public Library

The St. Louis Public Library is proud to celebrate Black History Month 2011 with a full slate of programs throughout the system. This year's national theme is "African Americans and the Civil War."

All Black History Month activities at the St. Louis Public Library are FREE and open to the public, but seating is limited and on a first-come, first-served basis. Please call the appropriate Branch to reserve space.

For more information, see the special Black History Month booklet available at all St. Louis Public Library locations, or visit the Library's website at http://www.slpl.org . 

 

February 1

Carpenter |3309 S. Grand Blvd., 772-6586 |4-5 p.m.

Remember FortPillow

Make a small pillow in honor of this Civil War battle.

 

February 1

Julia Davis|4415 Natural Bridge Ave., 383-3021 |6-8 p.m.

Film: Glory

Based on the letters of Colonel Robert G. Shaw, an officer in the Union Army during the Civil War, who volunteered to lead the first company of black soldiers.

 

February 2

Barr|1701 S. Jefferson Ave., 771-7040 |4-5 p.m.

Remember FortPillow

Make a small pillow in honor of this Civil War battle.

 

February 3

Schlafly|225 N. Euclid Ave., 367-4120 |4-5 p.m.

Remember FortPillow

Make a small pillow in honor of this Civil War battle.

 

February 4

Carpenter|3309 S. Grand Blvd., 772-6586 |1-2 p.m.

Black Soldiers in the American Civil War (Session I): To Rally With the Hearts of Lions: African-American Soldiers in the Civil War. More than 180,000 black men served in the Union Army. Presentation examines their training and everyday duties, the dangers they faced, and suggests ways their service can be documented.

 

February 5

Julia Davis|4415 Natural Bridge Ave., 383-3021 |2-4 p.m.

Book Talk/Panel Discussion

Dr. Louis S. Gerteis leads a discussion about African Americans and the Civil War.

 

February 5

Barr|1701 S. Jefferson Ave., 771-7040 |2-6 p.m.

Film: Roots (Parts 1 & 2)

The unforgettable 1977 television mini-series. Adults

 

February 7

All Branches| All Day

African-American Read-In Chain

Celebrate African-American authors.

 

February 7

Barr |1701 S. Jefferson Ave., 771-7040 |10-11 a.m.

Susie King Taylor: A Teacher, Laundress, Civil War Nurse & Author. Carole Shelton portrays an African-American nurse who escaped to safety with the Union Army. Grades 3-8

 

February 7

WalnutPark |5760 West Florissant Ave., 383-1210 |10-11 a.m.

Bobby Norfolk Presents In the Shadow of Lincoln: A House Divided Against Itself Cannot Stand.Bobby Norfolk portrays a freed slave & performs first-person narratives, songs & poetry highlighting the key players, events & political forces that brought ordinary people into extraordinary circumstances. Grades 3-8

 

February 7

Baden |8448 Church Rd., 388-2400 |10 a.m.-Noon

Chat 'n' Brew: Glory

Based on the letters of Colonel Robert G. Shaw, an officer in the Union Army during the Civil War, who volunteered to lead the first company of black soldiers.

 

February 7

Schlafly|225 N. Euclid Ave., 367-4120 |6-8 p.m.

Films: Black Communities After the Civil War and A History of the Negro in America.

 

February 8

Cabanne|1106 Union Blvd., 367-0717 |10-11 a.m.

Bobby Norfolk Presents In the Shadow of Lincoln: A House Divided Against Itself Cannot Stand.Bobby Norfolk portrays a freed slave & performs first-person narratives, songs & poetry highlighting the key players, events & political forces that brought ordinary people into extraordinary circumstances. Grades 3-8

 

February 8

Carpenter |3309 S. Grand Blvd., 772-6586 |10-11 a.m.

Sojourner Truth: Spy, Abolitionist & Women's Rights Activist. Stephanie Boykin depicts Sojourner Truth & her life as a spy for the Union Army. Grades 3-8

 

February 8

Kingshighway|2260 S. Vandeventer Ave., 771-5450|4-5 p.m.

Remember FortPillow

Make a small pillow in honor of this Civil War battle.

 

February 8

Julia Davis |4415 Natural Bridge Ave., 383-3021 |6-8 p.m.

Film: The 54^th Massachusetts

This documentary traces the first northern African-American unit in the Civil War.

 

February 9

Buder|4401 Hampton Ave., 352-2900 |10-11 a.m.

Susie King Taylor: A Teacher, Laundress, Civil War Nurse & Author. Carole Shelton portrays an African-American nurse who escaped to safety with the Union Army. Grades 3-8

 

February 9

Cabanne|1106 Union Blvd., 367-0717 |1-2 p.m.

Living in the Midst of War

Program uses slave narratives to explore the everyday lives of African Americans during the Civil War. Adults

 

February 9

Divoll|4234 N. Grand Blvd., 534-0313 |2-4 p.m.

Film: The Civil War (Parts 2 & 3)

Ken Burns' landmark documentary about the United States' most destructive—and defining—conflict.

 

February 9

Baden|8448 Church Rd., 388-2400 |4-5 p.m.

Remember FortPillow

Make a small pillow in honor of this Civil War battle.

 

February 9

Schlafly|225 N. Euclid Ave., 367-4120 |7-8:30 p.m.

Author Isabel Wilkerson

The Pulitzer-Prize-winning author discusses the decades-long migration of black citizens who fled the South seeking a better life in northern and western cities in her new book, The Warmth of Other Suns.

 

February 10

Machacek|6424 Scanlan Ave., 781-2948 |10-11 a.m.

Bobby Norfolk Presents In the Shadow of Lincoln: A House Divided Against Itself Cannot Stand.Bobby Norfolk portrays a freed slave & performs first-person narratives, songs & poetry highlighting the key players, events & political forces that brought ordinary people into extraordinary circumstances. Grades 3-8

 

February 10

Baden |8448 Church Rd., 388-2400 |4-5 p.m.

Sojourner Truth: Spy, Abolitionist & Women's Rights Activist. Stephanie Boykin depicts Sojourner Truth & her life as a spy for the Union Army. Grades 3-8

 

February 10

Divoll|4234 N. Grand Blvd., 534-0313 |4-5 p.m.

Remember FortPillow

Make a small pillow in honor of this Civil War battle.

 

February 12

Schlafly|225 N. Euclid Ave., 367-4120 |2-3 p.m.

The Music of Charles & Niki Glenn

Songs that celebrate the accomplishments & struggles of African Americans. Adults

 

February 12

Barr|1701 S. Jefferson Ave., 771-7040 |2-4 p.m.

Film: Roots (Part 3)

The unforgettable 1977 television mini-series. Adults

 

February 14

Schlafly|225 N. Euclid Ave., 367-4120 |6-8 p.m.

Film: Forgotten Battle of FortPillow and the Birth of the Ku Klux Klan.

 

February 15

Divoll|4234 N. Grand Blvd., 534-0313 |10-11 a.m.

Susie King Taylor: A Teacher, Laundress, Civil War Nurse & Author.Carole Shelton portrays an African-American nurse who escaped to safety with the Union Army. Grades 3-8

 

February 15

Machacek|6424 Scanlan Ave., 781-2948 |10-11:30 a.m.

Film/Discussion: The 54^th Massachusetts

View and discuss this documentary, which traces the first northern African-American unit in the Civil War.

  

February 15

Machacek|6424 Scanlan Ave., 781-2948 |4-5 p.m.

Remember FortPillow

Make a small pillow in honor of this Civil War battle.

 

February 15

Julia Davis|4415 Natural Bridge Ave., 383-3021 |6-8 p.m.

Film: Birth of a Nation

The Stoneman and Cameron families fight on different sides in the Civil War. After the War, they return to a South changed by Reconstruction.

 

February 16

Kingshighway|2260 S. Vandeventer Ave., 771-5450|10-11 a.m.

Bobby Norfolk Presents In the Shadow of Lincoln: A House Divided Against Itself Cannot Stand.Bobby Norfolk portrays a freed slave & performs first-person narratives, songs & poetry highlighting the key players, events & political forces that brought ordinary people into extraordinary circumstances. Grades 3-8

 

February 16

Divoll |4234 N. Grand Blvd., 534-0313 |2-4 p.m.

Film: The Massachusetts Colored 54^th Infantry

Chronicles the formation and battlefield heroics of the first all-black Union regiment in the Civil War.

 

February 16

Buder|4401 Hampton Ave., 352-2900 |4-5 p.m.

Remember FortPillow

Make a small pillow in honor of this Civil War battle.

 

February 17

Julia Davis|4415 Natural Bridge Ave., 383-3021 |10-11 a.m.

Sojourner Truth: Spy, Abolitionist & Women's Rights Activist. Stephanie Boykin depicts Sojourner Truth & her life as a spy for the Union Army. Grades 3-8

 

February 17

WalnutPark|5760 West Florissant Ave., 383-1210 |4-5 p.m.

Remember FortPillow

Make a small pillow in honor of this Civil War battle.

 

February 18

Schlafly|225 N. Euclid Ave., 367-4120 |1-2 p.m.

Black Soldiers in the American Civil War (Session II): The Crimes of This GuiltyLand: Captain John Brown's Assault on Slavery.Some abolitionists felt that freedom for blacks in the United States should come gradually through non-violent means. Captain John Brown believed that freedom should occur quickly, and by any means necessary, up to and including lengthy and violent civil war.

 

February 19

Carpenter|3309 S. Grand Blvd., 772-6586 |2-3 p.m.

The Music of Charles & Niki Glenn

Songs that celebrate the accomplishments & struggles of African Americans. Adults

 

February 19

Barr|1701 S. Jefferson Ave., 771-7040 |2-4 p.m.

Film: Roots (Part 4)

The unforgettable 1977 television mini-series. Adults

 

February 21

Schlafly|225 N. Euclid Ave., 367-4120 |6-8 p.m.

Film: Inside Buffalo

The film tells the story of the 92^nd Buffalo Division, the all African-American, segregated combat unit that fought with outstanding heroism in Italy during World War II.

 

February 22

Julia Davis|4415 Natural Bridge Ave., 383-3021 |6-8 p.m.

Film: Andersonville

Looks at the atrocities that occurred in the 1864 POW camp run by the Confederacy in Georgia.

 

February 23

Schlafly|225 N. Euclid Ave., 367-4120 |10-11 a.m.

Susie King Taylor: A Teacher, Laundress, Civil War Nurse & Author.

Carole Shelton portrays an African-American nurse who escaped to safety with the Union Army. Grades 3-8

 

February 23

Cabanne|1106 Union Blvd., 367-0717 |1:30-3 p.m.

Film: Glory

Based on the letters of Colonel Robert G. Shaw, an officer in the Union Army during the Civil War, who volunteered to lead the first company of black soldiers.

 

February 23

Julia Davis|4415 Natural Bridge Ave., 383-3021 |4-5 p.m.

Remember FortPillow

Make a small pillow in honor of this Civil War battle.

  

February 24

Cabanne|1106 Union Blvd., 367-0717 |4-5 p.m.

Remember FortPillow

Make a small pillow in honor of this Civil War battle.

 

February 24

Buder|4401 Hampton Ave., 352-2900 |7-8 p.m.

Black Soldiers in the American Civil War (Session III): Black Codes and Fugitive Slave Laws.

Black codes and fugitive slave laws were two of the direct causes of the Civil War. Black codes were laws passed by states specifically designed to limit the political and economic power of persons of African descent. Federal fugitive slave laws made it easier for slave owners to secure the return of runaway slaves. Program discusses those laws and the heavy restrictions they placed on black freedom and opportunity.

 

February 26

Julia Davis|4415 Natural Bridge Ave., 383-3021 |2-4 p.m.

The Music of Roland "Bob" Harris.

Harris sings soulful songs. Adults

 

February 26

Barr|1701 S. Jefferson Ave., 771-7040 |2-6 p.m.

Film: Roots (Parts 5 & 6)

The unforgettable 1977 television mini-series. Adults

 

February 27

ChristChurch Cathedral|1210 Locust St.|2-4 p.m.

Keynote Speaker: Eugene Robinson

The Pulitzer-Prize winning Washington Post columnist and associate editor discusses this year's Black History Month theme "African Americans and the Civil War."

 

February 28

Schlafly |225 N. Euclid Ave., 367-4120 |6-8 p.m.

Film: Within Our Gates

A powerful story about racial prejudice and its consequences.