The St. Louis County branch libraries have a full schedule of special February events celebrating Black History Month 2002.

The library headquarters and the 18 branches will have events during the month-long celebration. The Prairie Commons branch will have the most events, five. But, every county library will have at least one event.

(For a complete list of events for each library, just click here to link to the county library's Black History month website (http://www.slcl.lib.mo.us/events/bhm/index.html), or visit the main county library webpage at www.slcl.org.)

Also, you can pick up a complete printed schedule, entitled Dream Weavers, at your county library branch.

A number of the attractions involve noted local African-American personalities and groups. Several of them will appear at more than one branch.

For instance, the Anoa Dance Theater will appear at six different libraries. The group was started in 1984. It features dancers, vocalists, occupational therapists, musicians, arts administrators and writers.

Moja Moyo

The local Moja Moyo musical group will appear at five different libraries. The group includes eight drummers and eight dancers. By the way, Moja Moyo means "one heart" in the Ki-Swahili language.

Kenay Ajanaku and Company also will be at five different libraries. Ajanaku is a master storyteller and drummer, who talks about Africa through stories, songs and sounds.

Kenay Ajanaku

Loretta Washington

Storyteller Loretta Washington will share her favorite African-American stories at three different libraries.

One of the library presentations will tell the story of the Tuskegee Airmen, an all-black fighter squadron that flew 1,578 missions protecting bombers during World War II. Not a single bomber under their protection was lost during those flights.

Twenty-two pilots and six ground crewmen from the St. Louis area were in the Tuskegee Airmen.

Another way to celebrate Black History Month would be to go to Lambert Field and see the huge Black Americans in Flight mural that hangs there.

Panel two of Black Americans in Flight mural