Sixth Annual Drum Gathering
The public is invited to celebrate the rhythms of drums. Bring your conga, djembes, bells, and shakers. There will be dancing, singing, and music on Sat., Feb. 4 from noon to 6 p.m. at Hillside Community Center, 925 S. Institute in Colorado Springs.
For more information, call 719-385-7901 or 303-450-245.

Faces Of The Black West Photo Exhibit At BAWM
The Black American West Museum new photo exhibit, Faces of the Black West, premiers Feb. 1, 2006 during Black History Month through photographs and rare artifacts Faces of the Black West, portrays   men, women, and children who emigrated to the West during the mid to late 1800’s.  The Museum’s unique collection of Black western artifacts illustrates the many contributions of Black pioneers, cowboys, buffalo soldiers, miners, homesteaders, and business owners. 
For more information, call 303-292-2566.

Sankofa February Art Shows
The Sankofa Arts Collective presents “Lift Every Voice,” by members of the collective with an opening Saturday, Feb. 18 from 2 to 4 p.m. at The Blair Caldwell African American Research Library, 2401 Welton St. in Denver. The show runs Feb. 11 to 28. Artists of the Collective will also have work at Blackberries Ice Cream and Espresso Bar during February, with “Our History, Our Selves,” running Feb. 1 to 28. The month of March will feature another group show in honor of Women’s History Month. Collective members will present art for/by/about women in “Women’s Work,” at the Blair Caldwell AARL.
For more information, call 303-907-4589 or 720-865-2401.

Café Nuba Celebrates Sixth Anniversary
Celebrate six years of “rippin’ the mic and rockin’ the party” at “Café Nuba: It’s Hot & It’s Black” featuring poetry, live art, theatre, music, and dancing with veteran hip-hop songstress and spoken-word artist, Ursula Rucker (Philadelphia). DJ Musa will be spinning house with afro-beat, soul, and funk beats all night long. There will be special invited artists, open mike, NUBA Slam Competition worth $250, raffle tickets, early bird giveaways, and PodSLAM.org winners will be announced. Café Nuba will be held Friday, Feb. 24 at The Walnut Room, 3131 Walnut St. in Denver from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. Tickets are $10 for 21 and older with ID.
For more information, visit www.panafricanarts.org or call 303-298-8188.

Martin Luther King Exhibit at AARL
Martin Luther King’s Visit to Denver exhibit will be displayed on Level One at the Blair-Caldwell African American Research Library, 2401 Welton St., in Denver. This exhibit is free to the public. Library hours are Monday, Tuesday from noon to 8 p.m.; Wednesday, Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and closed Thursday and Sunday

Juanita Gray Service Awards Slated
The Juanita Gray Community Service Award and Colorado Black Hall of Fame will be held at the Ford-Warren Branch Library, 2825 High St. on Feb. 4 from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Program will include awards presentation and Hall of Fame induction. Reception will follow.
Reception following program

Trace Your Ancestry Program
Blair-Caldwell Fundraiser
“Journey to the Past: Tracing Your Ancestry through DNA” will be held on Feb. 9. This fundraiser for the Blair-Calwell Library will include a discussion of the results of DNA findings of prominent Denverites who took DNA testing. This event will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. at New Hope Baptist Church, 3701 Colorado Blvd. Ticket are $12.50. 
For more information, call 303-796-0132.

African American Quilts On Display
The Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum in Golden is presenting an exhibit of African-American quilts, “Improvisation, An African-American Tradition,” through March 25. These quilts were made by the Tutwiler Quilters of Tutwiler, Mississippi. The quilts in this show are crafted by impoverished women who have created a cottage industry from their quilting arts. One of the best kept secrets in the quilting world, their artwork reflects strong traditions in African-American design.
Rocky Mountain Quilt museum is located at 1111 Washington Avenue in Golden, open Mon. through Sat., 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tickets are $5 for adults, $4 for seniors, $3 for children ages six to 12, and free to museum members. For more information call 303-277-0377.

It Takes A Village To Stop AIDS In The Black Community.
It Takes a Village, Inc., a leading provider of HIV prevention and care services in the metro Denver African American community, will provide interactive training to build skills around HIV prevention, knowledge and care for African Americans. Learn, discuss, debate and interact. Feb. 7., 12 to 3 p.m., at It Takes a Village, 1532 Galena Street, 2nd floor, Aurora.
Registration is free and lunch is provided. Registration deadline is Feb 3. Seats are limited. For more information or to register, call Mariko LuQman at 303-367-4747.

Third Annual Cookin’& Jazz Slated For February
The Denver Black Pages announces the third annual American Family Insurance Black History Month celebration, “Cookin’ & Jazz--Celebrating Black Heritage in Food and Song,” which will be held from 6 to 10 p.m. Friday, Feb. 17 at the Seawell Grand Ballroom, Denver Center for Performing Arts. This affair will feature some of Colorado's finest restaurants and caterers who will tempt your taste buds with a sampling of ethnic foods, while we tantalize your eardrums with live jazz. Then, work the meal off as you dance the night away. Bring your Valentine. Singles are welcome, too!  In fact, we're planning something special for our ‘'unattached” guests. Ticket prices are $55 for singles and $99 for couples and may be purchased online at www.DenverBlackPages.com.  Reserved seating only and advance tickets sold. 
For more information or reservations, call Carla Ladd at 303-400-5928.

Metro State’s African/African American Studies Department To Address Academic And Global Issues During Black World Conference
In observance of Black History Month, the Metropolitan State College of Denver’s African/African American Studies Department will host several campus activities, highlighted by its 23rd Annual Black World Conference on campus from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., Feb. 23 and 24.
The first day of the conference, “Career Opportunities for African/African American Studies Majors: Education that Changes the Great World House,” will be held in the Tivoli Turnhalle and provide a forum for sharing ideas about careers for students majoring in African and African American Studies. Metro State President Stephen Jordan will welcome attendees at noon, and Dr. Eddie S. Claude, Jr., associate professor or religion and acting director of African American Studies at Princeton University, will serve as keynote speaker.

The second day of the conference, “African/African American HealthEducation: Healing and Transforming the Black World,” will include a morning roundtable discussion (8:30 to 10:30 a.m.) addressing the healthcare crisis in Black communities here and abroad at St. Cajetan’s Center.  Metro State Board Trustee Virginia “Gin” Butler will provide welcoming remarks.  Several prestigious experts in the field will be on hand to facilitate and lead attendees through a solutions-based dialogue including Brother Jeff, Dr. Terri Richardson, Dr. Renee Cousins, Metro State’s Gesemia Nelson, Dr. Evelyn Gordon, Dean Brown,m Dr. Jandel Allen-Davis and Julie McCree-Carrington.
A Shades of Genius Awards Program will round out the afternoon, with community service honors awarded to Drs. Cousins, Richardson and Allen-Davis.
The two-day event is free and open to the public.
For more information, call Dr. Ronald Jemal Stephens, Professor and Chair, Department of African/African American Studies at 303-556-8470.

CEH Sponsors Black History Live Tour
The Colorado Endowment for the Humanities (CEH) will help celebrate Black History Month by sponsoring Black History Live--a five-day tour held in Denver and along the Front Range featuring Hasan Davis, a noted poet, scholar, storyteller, youth advocate, and Chautauquan from Kentucky. While on tour, Davis will appear as African American characters from the past, such as York, the only Black member of the 1803 Lewis and Clark expedition; Angus Augustus Burleigh, a 19th Century ex-slave, soldier and scholar; and Joe Louis, the Black boxer who, in 1938, KO’d German Max Schmeling at the beginning of World War II. Hasan also will be doing "empowerment solutions" presentations for at-risk youth.
The tour will be held Monday through Friday, Feb. 6 through 10, and will travel to schools, churches and libraries including Simchat Torah Beit Midrash Church, Full Circle Inter-Generational Project, Inc,, and Blair Caldwell African American Research Library, in Denver; Denver metro area high schools; Tefla Educational Opportunity School and East Middle School in Colorado Springs; and Smoky Hill Library and Thunderidge Middle School in Centennial. 
For more information on times and locations for Black History Live, call the CEH office at 303-894-7951, ext. 17 or visit www.ceh.org. This CEH sponsored tour is free and open to the public. 

Black American West Museum: “We Tell It Like It Was”
In February, Black History will be celebrated at the Black American West Museum all month long. The celebration begins with a new exhibit, Faces of the Black West.  Other events and activities include guided tours, family days, a film fest, children and adult programs, lecture series, free days, and Member’s Only activities. 
The Black American West Museum will present the history and the stories of Black men, women, and children who helped settle and develop the great American West. The Museum’s unique collection of Black western artifacts illustrates the many contributions of Black pioneers, cowboys, buffalo soldiers, miners, homesteaders, and city founders. 
Since 1971, the Museum has been the only destination for visitors from around the country and the world to learn about the Black West.
For more information, hours of operation or to schedule a personal tour by one of our experienced docents call 303-292-2566. The BAWM is located at 3091 California St. in Denver.

Eyes on the Prize Free Public Viewing
To celebrate Black History Month, Blair-Caldwell African American Research Library will be holding public viewings of the documentary Eyes on the Prize. This documentary is an award winning film of the Civil Rights Movement and the struggles of African-Americans to gain equal rights in America. The viewings will be in four parts, consisting of two episodes each, viewed over a four  week period:

• Awakenings (1954-1956) and Fighting Back (1957-1962) will be shown on Feb. 8 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. These two episodes tell the story of Emmett Till’s lynching in Mississippi.
• Ain’t Scared of your Jails (1960-1961) and No Easy Walk (1961-1963) will be shown Feb. 14 from 6:30 to 8 p.m.  These two episodes chronicle the mass demonstrations, marches in Albany, GA., Birmingham, Ala., and the March on Washington D.C.
• Mississippi: Is This America? (1962-1964) and Bridge to Freedom (1965) will be shown Feb. 21 from 7 to 8 p.m. These two episodes focus on Mississippi and the enormous battles that took place there for the right to vote.
• Power! (1966-1968) and The Promised Land (1967-1968) will be shown Feb. 28 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. These two episodes look at communities attacking inequality, Martin Luther King’s stance against the Vietnam War, and his assassination. 

Seating is limited and will be based on a first come first served basis. These films are recommended for ages 12 and up.
For more information call the Blair Caldwell African American Research Library at 720-865-2401. Blair-Caldwell African American Research Library is located at 2401 Welton St, in Denver.

Play Showcase Festival To Feature One Day I Saw A Black King
The Brooks Center, located at 1400 Williams St., will feature One Day I Saw A Black King by Denver novelist JD Mason, who also published a book by the same title, as well as, Don't Want No Sugar and On The Eighth Day She Rested.  
A total of 17 plays by 14 Denver and Colorado playwrights will be presented Feb. 24 to 26 by area actors.   Reading sessions will include multiple plays and cost only $5 each.  The event will kick-off with a reception at 6 p.m. on Friday. 
For more information or to make reservations e-mail BrooksCenterArts@Yahoo.com.

Local Civil Rights Legend To Visit Denver
Many may be surprised to hear that one of Denver’s very own faced the death penalty for his civil rights activism in the early ‘60s.  John Perdew, a Denver native and civil rights activist, was held in prison for months on charges of insurrection in 1963.  As a result of his experiences, Perdew now performs in a play written by acclaimed playwright, Curtis L. Williams titled Education of a Harvard Guy. The play will have one stop in Denver, at Regis University’s Student Center on Feb. 16 at 8 p.m.
The arrest of John Perdew made big news in Colorado in the ‘60s.  Perdew was a graduate of South High School from a prominent Denver family. The play exhibits the torment and brutality Perdew experienced in the community as well as in prison in Americus, GA, for his assistance in helping Black citizens obtain the right to vote.
Seating for the event is limited. 
For more information or to RSVP, call Byron Plumley at 303-964-3660 or e-mail bplumley@regis.edu.