Public Relations | Press Releases

African American Fraternal & Civic Groups Celebrated
in Black History Month Exhibits at C.W. Post
African American churches of Long Island, paintings &
stained glass by local black artists also featured

January 30, 2006–Brookville, N.Y. – The founding of Alpha Phi Alpha, the nation’s first black college fraternity at Cornell University in 1906 would help shape the century to come. Its members included such men as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall and Olympic champion Jesse Owens. Alpha Phi Alpha and the black fraternities and sororities that followed joined civic groups like the Urban League in service to the black community at large and the civil rights movement.

In observance of Black History Month, the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University presents “Celebrating Community: A Tribute to Black Fraternal, Social and Civic Associations,” one of a series of four exhibits running throughout February in the B. Davis Schwartz Memorial Library at the C.W. Post Campus in Brookville.

Other Black History Month exhibits at the library include:

“The African-American Mosaic,” an exhibit by the Library of Congress drawing upon the work of pioneering black historians Carter Woodson (1875-1950) and Daniel A.P. Murray (1871-1925).
“African American Churches of Long Island,” an exhibit of photos by Robert L. Harrison, noted photographer, poet, historian, author and playwright, that shows the religious and architectural diversity of black houses of worship in Nassau County.
“Culture and Reflection: A Tribute to African American History Month,” an exhibit of oil painting and stained glass by three local artists. The exhibit, held in the library’s Hutchins Gallery, is curated by Delores Contreras, who is pursuing a Master’s degree in Interdisciplinary Studies with a concentration in museum studies, art history and Latino culture at C.W. Post. She has been a member of the staff of the African American Museum of Nassau County.

The exhibits run from Friday, Feb. 3 through Tuesday, Feb. 28 in the lobby of the library, with the exception of Culture and Reflection, which is held in the library’s Hutchins Gallery. They are free and open to the public. Lobby hours are 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. The Hutchins Gallery is open Tuesday through Saturday from 2 to 5 p.m. For more information, contact Manju Prasad-Rao at (516) 299-2868.