For Black History Month, the Dr. M.T. Pope House and the City of Raleigh Museum will focus on African American Emancipation through education, business ownership, and civic engagement, with academic presentations and music.

The theme for the African American Symposium is “Joy Cometh in the Morning”. After the Civil War, formally enslaved African Americans rejoiced in their newfound freedom, but they understood that there was still work to be done. “Joy Cometh in the Morning” explores how African Americans embraced their freedom. Many expressed their liberation through music, while others began to assert their rights as citizens. This year’s topics will include the history of Shaw University’s Leonard Medical School, one of the first four-year medical institutions in the United States. Additionally, there will be a focus on Black women in widowhood and their experiences navigating the government to collect widows' pensions. Finally, there will be an interactive performance highlighting the unrelenting joy of African Americans.

Reserve free tickets via Eventbrite and use code JOY to enter a giveaway for Dr. Brandi C. Brimmer's book "Claiming Union Widowhood: Race, Respectability, and Poverty in the Post-Emancipation South".

Presenters
10-11 a.m., Dr. Brandi C. Brimmer
"Claiming Union Widowhood: Race, Respectability, and Poverty in the Post-Emancipation South"

11 a.m. - noon, Marie Stark
"Freedom Through Education: A Look at Shaw University’s Early Years"

1- 2 p.m., Shenette Swann
Audience interactive musical performance

This program is supported in part by North Carolina Humanities, the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, www.nchumanities.org