CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The stories of history-making African-Americans – both well-known and unsung, told through video interviews – will be the focus of a Feb. 21 program at the Douglass Branch of the Champaign Public Library, 504 E. Grove St., Champaign.
The program, titled “The HistoryMakers,” will begin at 6 p.m. and is free and open to the public. Dinner and refreshments will be included. Those interested in attending are encouraged to register in advance.
“The HistoryMakers” initiative, based in Chicago, is a non-profit organization committed to preserving, developing and providing easy access to video oral histories of African-Americans who have reached significant personal achievements or played a role in history.
The local program will feature a 45-minute video compilation of about 10 interviews from The HistoryMakers archive. Following the video will be a discussion moderated by Sundiata Cha-Jua, director of the African American Studies and Research Program at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, which is one of the sponsors.
Other sponsors include the university’s Center on Democracy in a Multiracial Society and the offices of the president and provost.
To register, call or e-mail the center: 217-244-0188; jjconnor@illinois.edu.
