17 Jan 2024 Black History Celebration
Carteret Community College Celebrates Black History Month
Morehead City, N.C. (January 17, 2024) – Carteret Community College will conduct its 27th Annual Black History Celebration on February 19 at 6 p.m. in the Crystal Coast Civic Center. This annual event celebrates the academic achievements of exceptional young African American students at the 8th– and 12th-grade levels in the public schools and at Carteret Community College. Students who have earned a grade point average of 3.0 or higher will be recognized.
The program will feature keynote speaker Hazel Collins. Mrs. Collins is a dance educator, creative force, and community organizer. She has taught for 25 years at Swansboro Dance Studio and 30 years at Dance Arts Studio in Morehead City, where she is currently teaching. She has held residencies and conducted classes in and around the surrounding counties, school systems, and community organizations. Mrs. Collins attended the Lenard Davis Center for Performing Arts at City College of New York as a dance major. She trained with the Chuck Davis Dance company, pioneers in the performance and teaching of African dance in this country. Additionally, Mrs. Collins trained with the Jean-Leon Destinee Troupe, the Haitian Dance Troupe, the Tanawa Congolese Dance Company, and Les Ballet de Ladji Camara de Guinea. She was a founding member of the International African American Ballet Company and artistic director of Express Yourself Africa Dance Troupe. Mrs. Collins has performed at Carnegie Hall and the Avery Fisher Hall of Lincoln Center, and she choreographed “The Lion and the Jewel” at the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater of Lincoln Center, all in New York City. She has had the honor of performing for the Deputy Premier of China, Mayor Koch of New York City, and Ahmed Sékou Touré, former President of Guinea West Africa.
The annual event will recognize the 2024 Black History Theme: African Americans and the Arts, set forth by the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH), the founders of Black History Month. For more information about ASALH or the 2024 Black History Theme, please visit www.asalh.org.
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