Center for Black Literature celebrates 20th anniversary

The Center for Black Literature (CBL) at Medgar Evers College, City University of New York, will celebrate its 20th anniversary on Thursday, Oct. 20.

To commemorate this milestone, CBL said on Monday that a special event, 20th Anniversary Jubilee: A Cultural and Literary Arts Experience, will take place as an in-person event at Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn.
Sonia Sanchez, a longtime supporter of the center, is the honorary chairperson for the celebration, and esteemed friends of the center — Greg E. Carr, Edwidge Danticat, Nikole Hannah-Jones, Karen Hunter, Talib Kweli and Cornel West — will serve on the honorary committee.

CBL said some committee members will attend and give remarks in person.

Vice President of the United States Kamala Harris, the daughter of a retired Jamaican-born economist, has sent a congratulatory statement to be read publicly at the jubilee.
Additionally, Members of Congress, New York State Assembly members, Council Members from the City of New York, the Mayor of New York City, or their official representatives will present proclamations at the celebration.

The center also announced that the two honorees for the jubilee celebration are Troy Johnson, president and founder of the African American Literature Book Club, for his literary activism and institution-building, and Cheryl Wills for her work as an award-winning journalist, television host and author for more than two decades.

CBL said BET, Meta Business Partners and Nielsen are corporate sponsors of the Jubilee.
Founded in October 2002 by Dr. Brenda Greene, CBL said in a statement that it has been committed to its mission to broaden and enrich the public’s knowledge and appreciation of Black literature.

Earlier this year, CBL, in partnership with the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) and the University of Pittsburgh School of Education, held a writing contest, Celebrating Black Writers: Voices Calling for Activism and Social Justice, for high school and college students.

The contest celebrates both CBL’s 20th Anniversary and the National Council of Teachers of English’s annual National Day on Writing.
Winners of the writing contest will be announced at the Jubilee celebration and will receive scholarships.

CBL said the jubilee will feature live music by the Ricardo Strobert Quartet (Ricardo Strobert, Alec Aird, Gene Torres and Larry Williams); a poetry performance by poet, curator, writer and educator Mahogany L. Browne (the first-ever poet-in-residence at New York City’s Lincoln Center and current executive director of the Bowery Poetry Club); and a dramatic performance by the critically acclaimed actor, director, producer and CBL Teaching Artist Michael Green, founder of Shades of Truth Theatre.

Also of note, legendary visual artist and activist Ademola Olugebefola, one of the founders of the WEUSI Artist Collective, will create special awards for the honorees.
The celebration will be hosted by Lurie Daniel Favors, Esq., attorney, activist, executive director of the Center for Law and Social Justice at Medgar Evers College, and host of the Lurie Daniel Favors Show on SiriusXM Urban View.