Elected Officials Present Poetry Readings for Black History Month
For Black History Month 2024, Orange County’s BIPOC elected officials have released their poetry reading of “Rosa Parks” by Nikki Giovanni.
View the video on the Town of Hillsborough’s YouTube channel.
Giovanni is one of the foremost authors of the Black Arts Movement. She has published numerous collections of poetry — including her first self-published volume, Black Feeling Black Talk (1968), and the New York Times bestseller Bicycles: Love Poems (2009). The poem “Rosa Parks” is from Quilting the Black-Eyed Pea, HarperCollins Publishers Inc. (2022).
The elected officials representing the Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) coalition are as follows:
- U.S. House of Representatives — Valerie P. Foushee
- N.C. House of Representatives — Allen Buansi and Renée Price
- N.C. District Court 15B — Judge Joal Hall Broun
- Orange County Board of County Commissioners — Jean Hamilton, Phyllis Portie-Ascott and Anna Richards
- Carrboro Town Council — Barbara Foushee and Eliazar Posada
- Chapel Hill Town Council — Camille Berry and Paris Miller-Foushee
- Hillsborough Board of Commissioners — Robb English and Matt Hughes
- Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Board of Education — Rani Dasi, Riza Jenkins and Vickie Feaster Fornville
- Orange County Schools Board of Education — Jennifer Moore and André Richmond
Black History Month
Since its beginnings as a weeklong recognition by historian Carter G. Woodson in 1926, Black History Month has grown to include opportunities for education, reflection and celebration.
Everyone is invited to participate in Black History Month events this February and to continue to show interest in the meaning and impacts of Black Americans throughout the year. Learn more about events using the following resources:
- Discover Orange County’s Black Community page
- Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau’s calendar
- Orange County’s Black History Month calendar
- Visit Hillsborough’s calendar
Earlier this month, Hillsborough Mayor Mark Bell issued a proclamation in honor of Black History Month 2024. See the news release for more information about the proclamation and this year’s theme for Black History Month.
