By Joie’ Thornton
Brookhaven College English professor Hazel Carlos will host The African American Read-In at 10:30 a.m. Feb. 18 in the Performance Hall.
The African American Read-In is a nationwide event held to celebrate Black History Month, which was started as Negro History Week by Dr. Carter G. Woodson to bring national attention to the contributions of black people to American history. Black History Week became an official month in 1976.
Every year, the Dallas County Community College District’s African American Read-In is assigned a theme. The previous theme was “Earth, Wind and Fire: Poetry of the 1970s Black Arts Movement.” The reading included speeches and poems with authors ranging from Malcolm X to Langston Hughes and Gwendolyn Brooks.
Carlos selected this year’s theme, “From Chant to Slam: A Celebration of the Spoken Word.”
