African American Read-In at the Black Prairie Blues Museum 2025
Ends on
February 7th, 2025, 5:00-7:00pm
This Read-In is hosted by Dr J. Janice Coleman, The MSU Department of Art and Art Galleries, The Black Prairie Blues Museum, Mississippi State University Faculty and Students, and the greater Golden Triangle community.
There is space in the program for 30-40 presenters. The Read-In will take place at The Black Prairie Blues Museum in West Point, MS.
GUIDELINES:
- First and Last name of presenter
- Title and credits of Read-in Material
- up to 5 Minutes per presentation
- No presenting/reading from phones, material must be read from printed paper or orated.
- Presented material can be in any form but can include:
- Reading material such as literature, poetry, short stories, etc.
- Visual material such as short films, works of art, photography, slideshows, etc.
- Audio material such as singing, audio recordings, instrumentals, etc.
- See below for more info and examples of Read-In material.
--------------------------------------------
What is a Read-In?
During the month of February, schools, churches, libraries, bookstores, community and professional organizations, and interested citizens are urged to make literacy a significant part of Black History Month by hosting an African American Read-In. Hosting an event can be as simple as bringing together friends to share a book or as elaborate as arranging public readings and media presentations that feature professional African American writers.
What do you do for an African American Read-In?
The format of these events varies widely, but all events have a few things in common:
- Texts written by African American authors are shared.
- Participants either listen to or provide the readings.
- A count is taken of who attends, and that count is documented in the “report card” as a measure of the global reach of this program each year.
Beyond these commonalities, events have included:
- Readings by authors
- Poetry slams
- Musical acts, performances, reenactments, or plays
- Film screenings including discussions of paired texts
- A common reading in advance of a single text, like a book club
- Writing or art-making and the sharing of that by participants
- Featured guests such as local leaders or community heroes
- Book drives to collect books by African American authors to share with schools
- Activities for young children (e.g., bedtime stories)
- Media coverage to raise the profile of local authors
- Ongoing community outreach after the event that spreads the love of literacy
- Awards of recognition for African American authors within the community
More information and resources can be found here:
African American Read-In Toolkit
--------------------------------------------
Contact:
Dixie Boswell
MSU Exhibition & Gallery Coordinator
dboswell@caad.msstate.edu
Location:
Black Prairie Blues Museum
640 Commerce Street
West Point, MS 39773
Read-In schedule:
Doors open: 4:30pm
Read-In: 5:00pm - 7:00pm