AARLCC is holding its first annual Africana Arts & Humanities Festival “Rootedness: Celebrating 50 Years of Black Literature and Culture," in recognition of BCL's 50th Anniversary.

As the Broward County Libraries Division celebrates the 50th anniversary of its founding in 1974, the African American Research Library and Cultural Center (AARLCC) has themed its first annual Africana Arts & Humanities Festival “Rootedness: Celebrating 50 Years of Black Literature and Culture.”    

This Year's Theme: "Rootedness: A Retrospective on 50 Years of Black Literature and Culture"

Festival Schedule:

Wednesday, March 20, 2024

6:00 PM - "Race and Reading: The Evolution of the Black Library" with historian Derek Davis, Evelyn Grooms, Edith Gooden-Thompson, Tanya Simon-Oparah, and Samuel F. Morrison

Join us for a discussion with historians, librarians, and library advocates to learn about the evolution of the Black library in Broward County.

The history of racism in access to literature is often overlooked, but segregation in libraries was widespread in the South. Broward County was no exception. Leaders in the Black community responded with self-determination, creating their own libraries to address the intellectual vacuum left by their exclusion from white-only public libraries. Join us for a discussion with historians, librarians, and library advocates to learn about the evolution of the Black library in Broward County. Panelists include historian Derek Davis; Evelyn Grooms and Edith Gooden-Thompson, both former educators, former members of the Friends of the Mizell Library, and former presidents of the Friends of AARLCC; Tanya Simon-Oparah, former AARLCC administrator; and Samuel F. Morrison, former director of Broward County Library and the founder of the African American Research Library and Cultural Center.

This event is sponsored by the Friends of AARLCC.

Thursday, March 21, 2024

10:00 AM - Opportunity Tour. Presented by the Fort Lauderdale Community Redevelopment Agency. Registration required.

10:30 AM - "Pulse of the People: How Black Media Has Shaped Cultural Conversations" with Bea Hines, moderated by Nadege Green, AARLCC.

12:30 PM, 1:15 PM, and 4:30 PM - Tours of AARLCC's Special Collections. Registration required.

2:00 PM - Screening and Talkback, "Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am." Sponsored by Florida Atlantic University, FIU Wolfsonian Public Humanities Lab, FIU Department of African and African Diaspora Studies  AARLCC.

7:00 PM - Jazz at The Circuit, "Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Songs of Hope and Change." Jazz at Lincoln Center presents an all-star ensemble of jazz musicians from around the country in a program of iconic music associated with Nina Simone, the Staple Singers and Cannonball Adderley. Featuring Brianna Thomas, Alphonso Horne, Aurora Nealand, Waldron Dunkley, Jim Gaisor, Corcoran Holt, Harvel Nakundi, Justin Poindexter and Jake Blasini. Tickets are available on Eventbrite. Destination Sistrunk, 1033 NW 6th Street.

Friday, March 22, 2024

9:00 AM –3:00 PM - Neighborhood Revitalization Symposium, Urban League of Broward County

3:30 PM and 4:25 PM - Tours of AARLCC's Special Collections. Registration required.

6:00 PM - Conversation with Michael Harriot, AARLCC.
“Destination Roots” (Reception) at AARLCC - 7:30 PM – 10:00 PM, AARLCC

Saturday, March 23, 2024

10:00 AM - "Cornrows and Crowns: A Conversation with Camille Yarbrough and Kahran Bethencourt." Sponsored by the Friends of Broward County Library and the Friends of AARLCC.

10:00 AM - Dr. Shawn Christian, “Prescience and Interiority in James Baldwin’s and Barry Jenkin’s If Beale Street Could Talk,” and Dr. Ayesha Hardison, “What’s Love Got to Do With It?: Black Womanhood, Nursing, and Romance”

12:30 PM - "West African Women, Work, and the Family: Niara Sudarkasa's Contributions to Africana Scholarship in the 1970s Perspective" with Dr. Erica Williams, Spelman College

12:30 PM - "From Islands to Mainland: Exploring the Legacy of Caribbean Immigration in the 1970s" with Dr. Sharon Austin, Professor of Political Science, University of Florida and Calibe Thompson, Executive Director of Island SPACE Caribbean Museum.

1:00 PM - Threads Tour of Black Broward. Sponsored by Broward Transit. Registration required.

2:15 PM - Dr. Daniel Black, Author and Professor. Presented by the Ujima Men's Collective.

2:15 PM - "From Alex Haley to the Present: A Genealogical Perspective" with Master Genealogist Tony Burroughs

4:30 PM - Threads Tour of Black Broward. Sponsored by Broward Transit. Registration required.

Sunday, March 24, 2024

2:00 PM - 6:00 PM - Rhythm by the River: A Festival Celebrating Black Voices. Presented by the Broward Center for the Performing Arts. Esplanade Park, 32 East Las Olas Boulevard, Downtown Fort Lauderdale.

Fest Date: March 21 - 23, 2024

Locations:
African-American Research Library and Cultural Center - 2650 Sistrunk Boulevard Fort Lauderdale, FL 33311
Urban League of Broward County, 560 NW 27th Ave, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33311
Destination Sistrunk, 1033 NW 6th Street, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33311

Click here for more information.