New College Black History Month Features Symposium, Art Exhibit, Healing Dialogues and Concert

February 16, 2022 – Sarasota

New College of Florida hosts its annual New Schools of Black Thought Symposium: Reclaiming Wellness on Saturday, Feb, 19 at Sainer Auditorium. The keynote address on “Melanin, Mindfulness and Music” will be delivered at 7 p.m. by Mya Cato, a wellness coach and founder of Meeyogi. Her talk will be preceded by a poetry reading by spoken word artist Melanie Lavender. 

The day begins at 3 p.m. outside Sainer Auditorium with yoga, creative writing, and earth box workshops, a guided tour of the New College Food Forest, health screenings by the Multicultural Health Institute, a New College Council on Green Affairs booth, and vendors from Newtown Farmers Market, Scott’s Exotic Plants and Original Art, and The Veggiegasms Cookbook author Asmaa’a Zabriskie. 

At 4:45 p.m., there will be a panel discussion on “Health, Wellness and Healing” presented by Odessa Ammons (Multicultural Health Institute), Stevey Jones (Meditation and Mindfulness), Shavonne Rose (Art and Healting), and Asmaa’a Zabriskie (Healthy Eating and Plant-Based Medicine). The event will also feature a vegan soul food dinner provided by Happy Soul, a restaurant located in Palmetto, Florida.

Throughout February, New College is hosting a series of events in honor of Black History Month. The festivities kicked off February 4 with “Healing Dialogues: The Healing Drum.”  There will be two additional Healing Dialogues: “Maternal Health and Women’s Knowledge” on Thursday, Feb. 17 featuring Amelia Villada (Sarasota HypnoBirthing) and Maneesha Lal (New College of Florida), and My Sister’s Keeper on Thursday, Feb. 24 that will feature a dialogue between T. Ayo Alston, founder and artistic director of Ayodele Drum and Dance in Chicago; Janet Taylor, a community psychiatrist and expert in healing racial trauma; Deidra Larkins, Sarasota native who runs a local Sister Circle dedicated to Black women’s health and wellness; and Queen Zabriskie, associate professor of Sociology and Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies and Interim Dean of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at New College of Florida. 

As part of the African Diaspora Film Festival, My Name is Pauli Murray will be screened on Monday, Feb. 21, followed by a panel discussion with Professor Emily Fairchild, attorney Sonia Fuentes, Associate Dean Yoleidy Rosario-Hernandez, Judge Karimu Hill Harvey, and Judge Charles Williams. Dr. Lisa Merritt will lead a virtual journey through the paintings in the Ringling Museum art exhibition “Eleanor Merritt: Remembrance” on Tuesday, Feb. 22 at 2 p.m. The Visions in Black juried art exhibition, which features two-dimensional fine art by artists of African descent who reside in Florida, will be on display at Art Center Sarasota through March 5. 

The final weekend of Black History Month at New College will include the Sur La Bay concert on Friday, Feb. 25 from 7 to 10 p.m. on the College Hall Bayfront. This celebration of Black music dance and culture features an Afrobeat dance workshop by T. Ayo Alston and musical performances by The Barker Project and Greg Banks.

The films featured in the African Diaspora Film Festival are part of the Southern Circuit Tours of Independent Film Makers and sponsored by WSLR 96.5 + Fogartyville, ALSO Youth, Manasota Branch of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH), the Boxser Diversity Initiative, the Peace Education and Action Center, E. Scott Osborne, and New College of Florida. Funding for Healing Dialogues is provided in part through a grant from Florida Humanities with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Additional funding for the programs during the month has been provided by a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

To find a complete symposium itinerary and more information about Black History Month at New College, please visit http://www.ncf.edu/black-history-month.