Scranton kicked off Black History Month early when the Greater Scranton Martin Luther King Commission (GSMLKC) annual awards and celebration dinner was held in the DeNaples Center in January. Linda Cliatt-Wayman, an award-winning educator nationally recognized for transforming low-performing schools, gave the keynote address.
The Multicultural Center offered several other events in celebration of Black History Month in February.
Award-winning slam and spoken-word poet Javon Johnson, Ph.D., presented the spoken-word performance, “And Your Kids Will Be Painted Black.” An assistant professor of performance and communication studies at San Francisco State University, Dr. Johnson’s work combines race and gender theory with comedy and lyricism.
There was also a screening of The Mask You Live In, a documentary that explores how America’s narrow definition of masculinity is harming boys, men and society at large.
