Statehouse to Host Black History Month Events

Annette Jefferson will portray Rosa Parks during a historical reenactment on Tuesday. The Statehouse will celebrate Black History Month with historical reenactments and a children’s art exhibit honoring civil rights legend Rosa Parks.

Historical reenactments will be presented in the Atrium each Tuesday at noon throughout February. The 45-minute vignettes are presented by We’ve Known Rivers, a group of historical reenactors based in Columbus. The performances will be streamed live on the Ohio Channel at ohiochannel.org.

The following performances are scheduled:

Feb. 7: Civil rights activist Rosa Parks, portrayed by Annette Jefferson
Feb. 14: Poet and Dayton native Paul Laurence Dunbar, portrayed by Anthony Gibbs
Feb. 21: Professor Henry “Box” Brown, portrayed by Rory Rennick
Feb. 28: George Washington Williams, portrayed by Gibbs

The art exhibit honoring Parks, called “The Power of One,” will be on display in the Map Room through the end of the month. The exhibit features artwork by students in kindergarten through third grade on the theme of how they would change the world for the better. The exhibit is named after Parks because of her historic act of refusing to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Ala., bus on Dec. 1, 1955. Parks’ act of civil disobedience sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott and was one of the pivotal moments of the civil rights movement. For more information about Statehouse Black history Month events, visit ohiostatehouse.org.