[272] Actor Hill Harper headlines MTSU Black History Month celebration

MURFREESBORO — An activist actor heads the list of events on tap for “A Century of Black Life, History and Culture,” MTSU’s 2015 celebration of Black History Month.

Hill Harper, best known for his work on the television series “CSI: NY” and “Covert Affairs,” will be the featured speaker at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 11, in the second floor ballroom of the Student Union.

Harper, who earned a bachelor’s degree from Brown University and a law degree from Harvard University, also is the founder of the Manifest Your Destiny Foundation. The nonprofit organization is “dedicated to empowering underserved youth through mentorship, educational and motivational programs,” according to www.mydf.org.

“He has been visiting campuses and talking about helping African-American males to progress through the college experience,” said Jonell Hinsey, director of MTSU’s Intercultural and Diversity Center and chair of the Black History Month Committee.

The Unity Luncheon, a Black History Month tradition, will honor community leaders who are 60 years of age or older and have lived in the Middle Tennessee area for 25 years or more.

Bishop Joseph Walker III, pastor of Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Nashville, will be the featured speaker. The luncheon is slated for 11 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 10, in the second floor ballroom of the Student Union. Tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for students and can be purchased online by visiting www.mtsu.edu/aahm/unity-awards.php and clicking on the “Unity Luncheon” tab at left.

Journalists who covered the shooting death of a black youth by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, and its violent aftermath will discuss the challenges they faced at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 10, in Tucker Theater.

The panelists for “From the Front Lines of Ferguson: Covering the New Civil Rights Movement” are St. Louis Post-Dispatch photographer/videographer David Carson, USAToday staff reporter Yamiche Alcindor and Antonio French, St. Louis alderman and social media reporter.

Other highlights include:

• “Harlem Street Portraits,” an exhibition of photographs by Harvey Stein at the Baldwin Photographic Gallery through Feb. 26, second floor, John Bragg Mass Communication Building;
• Reception for Harvey Stein, 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 5, Room 103, John Bragg Mass Communication Building;
• “Reflect, Reclaim, Rejoice: Preserving the Gift of Black Sacred Music,” a film produced, written and directed by MTSU graduate student Henri Giles and narrated by actress Alfre Woodard of the TV series “State of Affairs,” 6 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 3, second floor theater, Student Union;
• “Protective Custody,” an HIV/AIDS information table by Nashville-based Project UNO, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Friday, Feb. 6 (National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day), first floor lobby, Student Union;
• “The ‘Hard Driving’ of NASCAR’s Wendell Scott: The Politics of African-American Survivability and Counter-Mobility,” 3 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 10, Room N116, Cason-Kennedy Nursing Building;
• “Dear White People,” a satirical movie about “being a black face in a white place,” according to www.facebook.com/DearWhitePeople, 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. showings Feb. 12, 13 and 14, discussion to follow, second floor theater, Student Union;
• “A Raisin in the Sun,” Lorraine Hansberry’s award-winning play, 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays Feb. 13-22, Murfreesboro Center of the Arts, 110 W. College St., Murfreesboro; tickets are $15 for adults, $13 for seniors, students and military personnel and $11 for children with a $2 discount per ticket for groups of 10 or more, available at www.boroarts.org, the box office or by calling 615-904-2787;
• “What Does It Mean to be Black in America?,” a group discussion in the “Let’s Be Honest” series, 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 17, Room 219, Monohan Hall;
• “House of Privilege,” an interactive activity enabling participants to experience different types of societal privilege, tours at the top of each hour from 1 to 6 p.m., Friday, Feb. 20, Tom Jackson Building;
• “From the Front Lines of Media: MTSU Alumnus Jeffery Reid on Media Diversity,” 5 p.m. Monday, Feb. 23, Room 160, College of Education Building;
• John Pleas Faculty Recognition Award Ceremony, honoring a leading African-American MTSU faculty member, 3 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 26, Tom Jackson Building; and 
• “Soul Beats,” an African-American culture festival featuring music, art and stepping, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 28, Patterson Park Community Center, 521 Mercury Blvd., Murfreesboro;

All MTSU Black History Month events except for the Unity Luncheon and “A Raisin in the Sun” are free of charge. For more information, contact Hinsey at 615-898-5797 or jonell.hinsey@mtsu.edu.