Anne's Arts & Activities Blog

 The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford will celebrate Black History Month with online talks, discussions and concerts from renowned poet Nikki Giovanni, music executive Mathew Knowles and Pitt-Bradford faculty.             To sign up for events or find out more about Black History Month at Pitt-Bradford, visit www.upb.pitt.edu/black-history-month. All events listed are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted.             Keynote speakers Giovanni, an internationally known poet, writer and social justice activist, and music industry leader Knowles will take place from 5 to 6 p.m. on Feb. 11 and 18, respectively.             Giovanni is a seven-time NAACP Image Award winner and the first recipient of the Rosa Parks Women of Courage Award. She holds the Langston Hughes Medal for Outstanding Poetry and is the author of 28 books, many of which have appeared on the Best Seller lists of...

Dr. Richard G. Frederick, professor of history at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford, will discuss the “International Sweethearts of Rhythm” as part of Black History Month activities. The event, sponsored by the university’s History-Political Science Club, will take place at 7 p.m. on Monday, February 6, in the Mukaiyama Room of the Frame-Westerberg Commons. It is free and open to the public. “The International Sweethearts of Rhythm began as a girls’ amateur swing band that was sent out by a small, African-American school in rural Mississippi to raise money for the school to stay open,” Frederick said. “To the surprise of everyone, they became a nationally-famous, very professional all-girls’ band which played in all the big venues of the early ’40s, entertained the troops during World War II, and travelled overseas at the end of the war.” Frederick explains that the band was originally formed by the founder of the Piney Woods School, Laurence C. Jones, wh...