Malcolm X Symposium set for Feb. 26

By Abby Cowels
Staff Writer

LCC is host this year to the Malcolm X Symposium, a presentation of history through the arts.

The event will be held in the Gannon Building on Monday, Feb. 26 from 5 to 8 p.m. Seats are still available, register here.

“Feb. 21 (marked) the 60th year since Malcolm’s assassination,” said Dr. Willie D. Davis Jr. (Babakubwa Kweku). “Around this time, we like to give something in commemoration of his memory, so we established the symposium.”

Kweku, one of the symposium hosts and an artist himself, explained how significant art has been within the Black Power concept.

 “Because the theme this year is Expressions of African Americans and the Arts, we wanted to celebrate Malcolm through the arts,” Kweku said. “We wanted to illustrate history through contemporary art, making this just as educational as it is entertainment.”

The symposium will be a display of culture and creativity. Everyone is welcome to join the celebration. Students, staff, faculty and the community are encouraged to engage in these various art forms and cultural expression.

“It’s about expression,” Kweku said. “There will be reenactments of historical events and special guests like Leola Taylor, she’s an actress; and poet Chill the Domakken will be there. It’s about taking history and presenting it in a form of art,”

 Kweku gave one of his favorite quotes by Larry Neil, a powerful figure within the Black Arts Movement:

“This movement is the aesthetic and spiritual sister of the Black Power concept,” he quoted. “As such, it envisions an art that speaks directly to the needs and aspirations of Black America.”

For more information on the Malcolm X Symposium visit here. To visit Kweku’s local African World Museum (appointments only) see here.