FEBRUARY 2012 THROUGHOUT MUSIC CITY Nashville's calendar in February (and January) is filled with events celebrating Black History Month. From art exhibits to musical performances, Music City is honoring the contributions of African Americans to our society. View the online African American Guide to Nashville at taagtn.net. See some of these great events during the month of February: January 11-February 2 Belmont MLK Celebrations at Belmont. The theme of this year's programs is Jazz, Freedom, and Democracy: Living Dr. King's Symphony of Brotherhood. Events include worship services, lectures, concerts and discussions. January 12 Fisk University Fisk University MLK Convocation. Elder Darryl M. Taliaferro Executive Overseer of Mt. Zion Baptist Church is the guest speaker. Call 615-329-8767 for more information. January 12-18 Lipscomb University Lipscomb University MLK Celebration. Events include an MLK Service Day. freedom march, discussions, exhibits and film screenings. January 14 Grand Ole Opry House The Stellar Awards celebrates its 27th year in 2012. The awards show honors the best and brightest in the gospel music industry. January 15 Schermerhorn Symphony Center Let Freedom Sing! A Musical Tribute to Martin Luther King Jr. The annual free concert is open to the public to celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. King. Melinda Doolittle will join the performance this year. Contact the Symphony for tickets. January 16 Vanderbilt University MLK Day: The Road to Freedom. Vanderbilt's annual commemorative series celebrates the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with events including a candlelight vigil, a special keynote address by John Lewis and more. January 16 Tennessee State University Gentry Complex Martin Luther King Jr. City March and Convocation. Experience Nashville's celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. through a unified city march and convocation program with speaker Dr. Steve Perry (educator, speaker, author). January 22 Grand Ole Opry House 105 Voices of History. The Nation's 1st and only Historically Black Colleges and Universities National Concert Choir will perform with special guests Shirley Caesar and Wynonna Judd.  Thursdays, February Jazz & Jokes Music City Soul Series. In celebration of Black History Month, each concert presents a different group of artists to perform in this soul music concert series. Feb. 9: Regi Wooten & Friends Feb. 16: Herschel Bailey Feb. 21: Kirk Whalum Feb. 23: Ladies of Soul: Kim Fleming, Lo Carter, April Rucker February 2 The Hermitage: Home of President Andrew Jackson Black History Month at The Hermitage: Music. Led by Brandon Boyd, Music Director at Fifteenth Avenue Baptist Church in Nashville, this is a celebration of African-American musical tradition. The event is free and open to the public. Friday & Saturdays, February 4-18 Nashville Downtown Library Anansi the Spider. This colorful marionette puppet show is based on the African tale of Anansi the Spider. February 7 Hilton Nashville Downtown 44th Equal Opportunity Day Luncheon. Presented by the Urban League of Middle Tennessee. February 11 Nashville Downtown Library Separate Can Never Be Equal: The Other Side of Segregation. Join the conversation about the other side of segregation through research findings. February 11 The Hermitage: Home of President Andrew Jackson Black History Month at The Hermitage: Genealogy. John Baker, author of The Washingtons of Wessyngton Plantation, will discuss his research into the genealogy of his family, dating back to enslavement at the Wessyngton Plantation, and give tips into tracing the genealogy of families who were enslaved. The event is free and open to the public. February 11 Nashville Downtown Library Community Cinema: More Than A Month. Watch a 29-year-old African American filmaker's cross-country campaign to end Black History Month. February 11, 18, 25 Gray Line Tours The Journey: The History of African Americans in Nashville, Tennessee See how deep and wide the roots of the African American culture run in Nashville in this fully-narrated 3-hour interactive tour. February 16 Scarritt-Bennett Center Table Talk for Women Lunch. Talk on African-American Women and the Enslavement featuring speaker Dr. Nancy J. Dawson, artistic director and playwright for Music is Spirit. 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. February 18 The Hermitage: Home of President Andrew Jackson Black History Month at The Hermitage: Honor. A ceremony will take place to honor the enslaved community at The Hermitage at the Enslaved Memorial. The event is free and open to the public. February 18 Nashville Downtown Library Black History House. Beyond the Truth: Brown Tales of Innocence and Experience showcases youth and adult poets speak of innocence and experience. February 24 & 25 Scarritt-Bennett Center Stories From Da Dirt. Performances depicting the lives of three women who are escaping from slavery, by an all female African-American historical performance group whose programs focus on the dynamics of race and gender in the U.S. shortly following the beginning of the Civil War. February 25 The Hermitage: Home of President Andrew Jackson Black History Month at The Hermitage: Freedom. Representatives from the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati, Ohio will join us as The Hermitage is named as a Freedom Station, along with a discussion of the Underground Railroad in Nashville. The event is free and open to the public. February 25 Nashville Downtown Library Nyama Drum Ensemble. Enjoy traditional rhythms and dance from West Africa. Ongoing The Hermitage, Home of President Andrew Jackson Stories from the Hermitage Slave Community. This exhibit gives voice to the Hermitage Slave Community by combining images of the slaves weathered and worn hands and faces with personal information about them. These stories and images reflect the struggle and contributions of individuals and families who supported the Hermitage plantation and the Jackson family. Ongoing Tennessee State Museum The Civil War and Reconstruction. The exhibit features a section devoted to Tennessee's African-American Union soldiers. Ongoing Nashville Downtown Library The Civil Rights Collection. The collection at the Nashville Public Library features black & white photos from the civil rights era in Nashville and a circular table in the center of the room representing the lunch counters of Nashville - locations of many sit-in protests that fueled the Civil Rights Movement.. Check out the Music City events calendar for more things happening in February. Book a Room. Book a Vacation Package. Come back later in the year to explore these exciting exhibits at the Frist Center for the Visual Arts: Bill Traylor: Drawings from the Collections of the High Museum of Art and the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts May 25-September 3 Born into slavery in 1854 on a plantation near Montgomery, Traylor began making art at the age of 82. His works are notable for their flat and simply defined shapes and vibrant compositions, in which memories, folk legends and observations relating to African American life are merged. Creation Story: Gee's Bend Quilts and the Art of Thornton Dial May 25-September 3 This exhibition explores parallels and intersections in the works of the world-famous Gee’s Bend quilters and the self-taught master of assemblage art, Thornton Dial. Dial shares with the quiltmakers of Gee’s Bend a debt to African American aesthetic traditions. Carrie Mae Weems: Three Decades of Photography and Video September 21-January 13 Carrie Mae Weems is a socially motivated artist whose works invite contemplation on issues surrounding race, gender and class. While African-Americans are typically her primary subjects, Weems wants “people of color to stand for the human multitudes” and for her art to resonate with audiences of all races.