Congressman will open Black History Month programs at WCC
By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on February 4, 2007 2:01 AM
Wayne Community College will celebrate Black History Month with several special events this month, all free and open to the public.
The lineup also coincides with the 50th anniversary of the college, said Janice Fields, minority affairs coordinator.
"It's an educational process for our students," she said. "We're just excited to be able to offer these types of activities to the students and to the community."
Rep. G.K. Butterfield will speak at 9 a.m. Monday in Moffatt Auditorium on "Black History: Honoring Past and Present Contributions of African-Americans."
Wayne County Board of Education Chairwoman Shirley Sims and Thelma Smith, vice chairwoman, will be featured on a program Tuesday, Feb. 13, at 1 p.m. in Walnut 10. Their topic will be "Highlighting 50 Years of Education in Wayne County."
"(Combined) they have been in the educational system 50 years or more," Ms. Fields said. "We thought it would be good for our students to hear about that history."
At the end of the month, local African American artist Lawrence Durham, a native of Mount Olive, will be featured speaker and have his art exhibited at the college.
An exhibit of his works will be on display Feb. 21-23 in the seminar room of Wayne Learning Center. He will give a lecture at noon Feb. 20, which will be followed by a reception.
A 1970 graduate of Southern Wayne High School, Durham has completed post-graduate work at Duke and East Carolina universities. He was the first black artist from North Carolina to produce a major exhibit at the N.C. Museum of the Arts in Raleigh in 2001 and is presently chairperson of the Black Artist Guild.
He is also a member of the North Carolina Arts Council, is employed at Cherry Hospital as an educational specialist and is owner and operator of Biblical Art.