For Black History Month 2024, the BIPOC elected officials of Orange County have released their video presentation of the poetry reading of “Rosa Parks” by Nikki Giovanni.
WATCH THE VIDEO at https://youtu.be/f2fzoCZ48xk
Giovanni is one of the foremost authors of the Black Arts Movement. She has published numerous collections of poetry -- including her first self-published volume, Black Feeling Black Talk (1968), and New York Times best-seller, Bicycles: Love Poems (2009). The poem "Rosa Parks" is from Quilting the Black-Eyed Pea, HarperCollins Publishers Inc. (2022).
The elected officials representing the Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) coalition are as follows:
- U.S. Congresswoman, N.C. District 4
Valerie P. Foushee - N.C. House of Representatives
Allen Buansi
Renée Price - N.C. District Court 15B
Judge Joal Hall Broun - Carrboro Town Council
Barbara Foushee
Eliazar Posada - Chapel Hill Town Council
Camille Berry
Paris Miller-Foushee - Hillsborough Board of Commissioners
Robb English
Matt Hughes - Orange County Board of County Commissioners
Jean Hamilton
Phyllis Portie-Ascott
Anna Richards - Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Board of Education
Rani Dasi
Riza Jenkins
Vickie Feaster Fornville - Orange County Schools Board of Education
Jennifer Moore
André Lamont Richmond
Black History Month
Since its beginnings as a weeklong recognition by historian Carter G. Woodson in 1926, Black History Month has grown to include opportunities for education, reflection, and celebration.
Everyone is invited to participate in Black History Month events this February and continue interest in the meaning and impacts of Black Americans throughout the year. The public is invited to attend the 34th annual Pauli Murray Awards program on Feb. 25 at the Whitted Building in Hillsborough.