The University of Alabama’s Black History Month celebration consists of a variety of innovative and informative events including exhibits, tours, forums, games, movie screenings, performances and workshops.

Included in the activities is University Libraries’ exhibit “Celebrating the Life of Frankie Taylor Thomas; The University of Alabama’s First African American Faculty Member.” This year is the 50th anniversary of the 1969 hiring of Thomas as an instructor in University Libraries. The exhibit will feature other accomplishments and will be up throughout February on the first floor of Gorgas Library.

Other events, which are free unless otherwise noted, include:

Hallowed Grounds — Slavery at UA Tour: 3 p.m. Mondays, Feb. 18 and 25. Meet in front of Gorgas House historic marker. The tour is one hour. Sponsored by UA gender and race studies.

Say Their Names Pop-Up Museum: The exhibit is at the Intercultural Diversity Center. Co-sponsors are the Intercultural Diversity Center and gender and race studies.

Forgotten Hero — The Autherine Lucy Campus Tour: 2-3:15 p.m. Tuesdays, Feb. 12, 19 and 26. Co-sponsors are Dr. Meredith M. Bagley and the department of communication studies.

Black Power Hour — #Blacklove: Noon-2 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 12, Ferguson Center Great Hall. Sponsored by the Intercultural Diversity Center.

Campus Dialogues — “Being Allies in Racist Spaces”: 1 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 13, Ferguson Center Great Hall. Co-sponsors are Crossroads Community Engagement Center, Office of Student Involvement and Ferguson Student Center.

Autherine Lucy in 1956, the year she became the first African-American to attend the University of Alabama. Tours of the campus emphasizing Lucy’s history there are being offered this month. (Encyclopedia of Alabama, courtesy of W.S. Hoole Special Collections Library, The University of Alabama Libraries)

Dr. Ethel Hall African American Heritage Month Celebration: 11 a.m. Friday, Feb. 15, Hotel Capstone. Sponsored by the School of Social Work.

Tuscaloosa Africana Film Festival: Saturday, Feb. 16, Central High School. The children’s screenings will be from 2 to 5 p.m., and the main screenings from 6 to 11 p.m. The main screenings will include the Alabama-based and Oscar-nominated documentary, “Hale County This Morning, This Evening.” Admission is $10; free for UA students with an ID. Co-sponsors are Afram South, Inc. and Edward A Ulzen Memorial Foundation.

Life While Black Abroad: Noon to 1 p.m. Monday, Feb. 18, Gorgas Library 205. Sponsors are Education Abroad, Crossroads Community Engagement Center and the Black Faculty and Staff Association.

The Wave — Island Art: 6 p.m. Monday, Feb. 18, Intercultural Diversity Center. Co-Sponsors are the Caribbean Students’ Association and the Intercultural Diversity Center.

“Sonia Sanchez” Documentary Screening: 5 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 19, Gorgas Library 205. Co-Sponsors are the Crossroads Community Engagement Center and University Libraries.

Campus Dialogues — “Political Tension and Student Activism”: 1 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 20,  Ferguson Center Great Hall. Co-sponsors are the Crossroads Community Engagement Center, Office of Student Involvement and Ferguson Student Center.

Black History Trivia Night: 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 20, Reese Phifer Hall Room 216. Co-sponsors are the Women and Gender Resource Center and College of Communication and Information Sciences.

The Blackout: This series of events celebrates Black History Month and black culture through the arts. Co-sponsors are Alabama Students for Poetry, D.R.E.A.M., Black Faculty and Staff Ambassadors, Black Student Union, University Programs, College of Arts and Sciences, College of Communication and Information Sciences, Intercultural Diversity Center, Graduate Student Association, Alabama Forensic Council, Safezone Resource Center and the Capstone Association of Black Journalists. Scheduled events are:

• Feb. 21, 6 p.m., Ferguson Ballroom — banquet with world-renowned poets performing poems about black history and culture.
• Feb. 22, 2 p.m., Gorgas Library 205 — poets lead workshops on producing art about hidden histories and social justice.
• Feb. 22, 7:30 p.m., Moody Auditorium — students performing art about UA campus history.

Black Student Union Week: Feb.  25-March 1. Co-sponsors are University Programs, Office of the Dean of Students and the Center for Service and Leadership. Scheduled events are:

• Feb. 25, 3 p.m., Hallowed Grounds Tour with Dr. Hilary N. Green. Meet in front of Gorgas House historic marker.
• Feb. 26, 6-8 p.m., Game/Trivia Night. Location is TBA.
• Feb. 27, 7-9 p.m., Bowling Night,  Bama Lanes.
• Feb. 28, 7 p.m., State of the Black Union, Ferguson Center Ballroom.
• March 1, 6-9 p.m., Battle of the DJs, Ferguson Ballroom.

10th Annual Discerning Diverse Voices Symposium: Feb. 28-March 1, 9 a.m.-4:45 p.m., Gorgas Library Room 205. Sponsored by the College of Communication and Information Sciences. Details TBA.

UA Crossroads coordinates Black History Month activities each year. For more information, go to https://crossroads.ua.edu/black-history-month/.

During Black History Month, Alabama NewsCenter is celebrating the culture and contributions of those who have shaped our state and those working to elevate Alabama today. Visit AlabamaNewsCenter.com throughout the month for stories of Alabamians past and present.