ZSR Library’s Special Collections & Archives is celebrating Black History Month with forthcoming blog posts, events, and featured books and collections. To begin highlighting our varied and deep collections, we will be joining other archives and archivists at Hoots Beer Company on February 11th from 5-6:30 for “Hop Into History.” along with Winston-Salem State University, Reynolda, and the Forsyth County Public Library, we have been hosting these pop-up exhibits at Hoots for a number of years. Also joining us for the February Hop is Unifour One who will be registering people to vote.

The goal of this event and future “Hops” is to engage with the community while showcasing some of the rich history we hold within the ZSR Library Special Collections & Archives. The theme for February is Black History Month, allowing us to display primary, archival, and print materials that help illustrate the African American experience. The events are open to the public, family friendly, and casual. Besides having history on display, we have coloring postcards, stickers, magnets, and more for people to take away with them.

A sneak peak of the types of materials we will be showcasing on February 11th include but are not limited to:

The Afro-American Society was founded by Howard Stanback and Mark Friedman. It has a total of 33 members. The name of the group would be changed to Black Student Alliance in 1983. This photograph is from the University Archives Photograph Collection.

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The Omega Psi Phi fraternity (chapter Lamda Eta) at Wake Forest University was founded in 1975. This photograph from an Omega Psi Phi dance is part of the University Archives Photograph Collection.

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Professor Emerita of English Dolly A. McPherson. McPherson was the first full-time African American female faculty member at Wake Forest when she was hired in the 1970s. For 27 years, from 1974 until retiring in 2001, she was a lively presence in the English department and in her classroom. Photograph from the University Archives Photograph Collection.

We will be holding more Hop Into History events at Hoots Beer Company this spring on the following dates: March 10th and April 14th (both from 5-6:30). We hope you can join us for this and future events! Follow us on social media for updates Twitter– Facebook – Tumblr – Online – Instagram