The National Center for Civil and Human Rights (The Center) will mark Black History Month with concerts, a conversation with a civil rights lion, a new season of a Peabody Award winning podcast and family activities each weekend in February. Presenting sponsor PNC Foundation has extended its partnership with The Center for three years to support inspiring programs which explore the profound achievements of civil rights organizers who withstood systemic oppression and fought for equal citizenship for generations of Black Americans.

“PNC is committed to driving real change in areas in which we can make the greatest impact, and we believe The Center’s programming for Black History Month will have a significant and positive impact on the residents of Atlanta and Georgia,” said Eddie Meyers, PNC regional president for Georgia. “PNC is proud to pay tribute to the incredible feats Black people achieved throughout history and to recognize Black Americans who are beacons of light, alongside The Center, through this impactful and moving programming.”

For the first time since the pandemic began in 2020, The Center’s Black History Month events are in-person, following two years of virtual programs. Music will anchor the current series with performances from notable Atlanta musicians discussing how jazz and gospel music were integral to the civil rights movement.

“We are excited to welcome visitors to celebrate and reflect on this history of bravery and resistance,” said Jill Savitt, The Center’s president and CEO. “Black History Month is an ideal time to look back at the lives and examples of iconic and unsung activists for strength and insight as we confront persistent modern oppression. We are grateful to PNC Foundation for providing support and resources to enrich our programs over the next three years, to inspire folks to engage in thoughtful and difficult conversations about race, equity, and justice.”

Upcoming Black History Month programming includes:
February 18: All That Jazz: A Black History Concert, A Jazz Listening Experience of the Reactions to, and Reflections on the African American Experience - Top Atlanta musicians will transport listeners in the improvisational rhythms and transformative power of jazz and perform Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s favorites. Guest curator Sam Yi, founder of Churchill Grounds who has helped shape Atlanta’s jazz scene for more than 25 years, recruited vocalist Julie Dexter, tenor saxophonist Mike Walton, trumpeter Joe Gransden, pianist Louis Heriveaux, bassist Craig Shaw, and drummer Lil John Roberts for an evening of music and conversation at the Glenn Room. Dr. Gary Motley, director of jazz studies at Emory University, will discuss how jazz evoked the sound, spirit, anguish, and hope of the civil rights movement, as well as peek into Dr. King’s record collection.

February 23: A Conversation with Ernie Suggs and Ambassador Andrew Young – Journalist Ernie Suggs, who has reported on race and culture for the Atlanta Journal Constitution for 25 years, sits down with Ambassador Andrew Young at the Glenn Room for a conversation about Suggs’s book “The Many Lives of Andrew Young.” The former Atlanta mayor will share stories about his life and his perspective on the future of activism. The discussion ties into The Center’s spring exhibition of the Morehouse College Martin Luther King Jr. Collection exploring the March on Washington on its 60th anniversary. Purchasers are invited to a reception, book signing, and exhibit tour.

February 25: Lift Every Voice: A Black History Concert, A Choral Experience spanning African American Spiritual and Gospel Music - Celebrated Atlanta chorus The Trey Clegg Singers performs an evening of Black gospel music in The Center’s main lobby. To introduce the performance, Morehouse College humanities professor and historian Dr. Clarissa Myrick-Harris will interview Dr. Uzee Brown, professor of music at Morehouse, about the connection between Black sacred music and civil rights in the 1950s and ‘60s. Listeners will be immersed in the lyrics and rhythms that inspire movements, evoke revolution, lighten a heavy heart, and calm the fears of a troubled spirit.

February 28: Premiere Celebration of “Buried Truths” with Hank Klibanoff – WABE-FM hosts a premiere of Season 4 of its Peabody Award-winning podcast “Buried Truths” at the Glenn Room. The podcast is hosted and based on a course taught by Emory Pulitzer Prize-winning professor and journalist Hank Klibanoff. Season 3 focused on the shooting of Ahmaud Arbery. Klibanoff will discuss the podcast’s Season 4 return to the civil rights era and examine the 1958 killing of James Brazier, who died from police beating and neglect from medical and legal authorities in Dawson, Georgia. Reception to follow.

Each weekend in February – The Center hosts Black History Month activations throughout our building for the whole family including a performance February 11 by Giwayen Mata - the all-sistah, dance, percussion, and vocal ensemble - plus children’s story times, art projects, games, and giveaways every weekend.

For more information and to reserve your tickets, visit www.civilandhumanrights.org/bhm.