FREEPORT — Highland Community College’s Clarence Mitchell Library will present “The Black Chicago Renaissance,” at 2 p.m. on Feb. 20 in the Clarence Mitchell Library for Black History Month. Guest speaker, Dr. Amira Millicent Davis will guide participants through the Chicago Black Renaissance. The presentation focuses on the early to mid-20th-century migration of Southern Blacks to Chicago and the cultural revolution they trailblazed in their new setting. The presentation will include a Q&A and an opportunity for attendees to share their family migration stories.

The event is being co-produced by the Illinois Humanities Road Scholars Speakers Bureau, which invites Illinois authors, artists, and educators to share their expertise and enthusiasm with people throughout the state, enabling local nonprofit organizations to present free-admission cultural programs to their communities. 

Amira Millicent Davis holds a Master’s in Education in Curriculum and Instruction and a Ph.D. in Educational Policy Studies with a concentration in African American Studies from the University of Illinois-Urbana. She also conducted postdoctoral research on Supplementary Saturday Schools in London. 

Dr. Davis is the author of Jalimusa: An Epic Tale of Black Women’s Mothering. Several of her book chapters and articles are in publication, and she has been invited to present at numerous conferences. Amira is a mother, grandmother, and activist-artist-educator using African drums, percussions, and stories to entertain, educate, and motivate.

The event is free and open to all audiences. For more information on the program contact Laura Watson at 815-599-3456 or laura.watson@highland.edu.