The Chicago Muslim community commemorates Black History Month this February by organizing various events. Below is a list of events in which the community can participate and benefit by learning about the rich history, culture and contributions of African Americans.
Organizer: Muslim Community Center (MCC) Interfaith Team
Event: ‘How African Americans Helped Pave the Way for All of Us’
Date: Sunday, February 21, 2016 between 4.15 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.
Details: The event will include discussions on the civil rights movement and on how African American Muslims contributed in this journey. Speakers will include Dr. Alia Ammar, a neuropsychologist and activist, and Br. Mathew Ramadan, an entrepreneur and host of Radio Islam.
Location: Muslim Community Center (4380 N. Elston , Chicago, IL)
Organizer: Inner-City Muslim Action Network (IMAN)
Event: ‘Fresh Expressions’
Date: Friday, February 26, 2016 at 6:00 p.m.
Details: Fresh Expressions is a bi-monthly, grassroots, youth-organized open mic and performance showcase followed by an interactive community dialogue. This month, Noura Mint Seymali will be featured as a West African vocalist and will lead an interactive community dialogue around the challenges in being an artist, new mother and internationally-touring woman from Mauritania coming from a Muslim background.
Location: IMAN’s Youth & Arts Wellness Center (2744 W. 63rd St).
Organizer: Zakat Foundation
Event: ‘The Black Footprint: Recognizing the influence the Black Diaspora has made on Culture and Islam’.
Date: Friday, February 26, 2016 between 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Details: There will be spoken word, visual arts, and a recognition to Bilal ibn Rabah. Soul food will be served.
Location: Zakat Foundation Community Center (3018 E 79th Pl, Chicago, IL 60617)
Other Black History Month related events around Chicago:
WTTW, in partnership with the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events and the Center for Black Diaspora at DePaul University, presents a free Indie Lens Pop-Up screening and discussion of the documentary film, Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution. More information here.
Throughout February, DuSable Museum of African American History: ‘Freedom, Resistance & the Journey Towards Equality’ takes visitors on a journey through the black experience pausing at key milestones: Transatlantic Slave Trade; chattel slave system in the Americas; Emancipation; Reconstruction; the Great Migration; the Jim Crow era; Civil Rights and Black Power Movements; and on to the election of President Obama.
To view a listing of more Black History Month events around Chicago, click here.