Arts Events Commemorate Black History Month

February, nationally recognized as Black History Month, brings a number of arts and entertainment events on black themes to Orange County. It also brings a widespread aspiration that, eventually, the commemoration won’t be necessary at all.

“We’ve graduated from Black History Day to Black History Week to Black History Month--hopefully we won’t have to do that kind of thing” in the future, said Jo Caines, director of community relations for KOCE Channel 50, where the first of several Black History Month programs airs tonight.

“Hopefully, one of these days, none of these special events will be necessary because (attention to various cultures) will be part of the natural flow of life,” said Milton A. Gordon, president of Cal State Fullerton, which also has scheduled a variety of Black History Month activities.

Organizations sponsoring such events agree that Black History Month is valuable, especially in Orange County, where blacks constitute just 1.8% of the population, according to the latest U.S. Census Bureau figures. The month provides a chance to focus attention on blacks’ contributions to contemporary life and American history, officials said, as well as to increase cultural sensitivity, particularly critical in an area where hate crimes have been on the rise.

Beyond that, it can mean more jobs for blacks, at least in the theater world, said actor Dominic Hoffman, now appearing in Jon Bastian’s macabre Civil War-era social satire “Noah Johnson Had a Whore . . . “ at South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa.

“It’s like affirmative action: people don’t hire blacks unless there is affirmative action,” Hoffman said. “I do think there would be a whole lot fewer plays (featuring) blacks if there weren’t a Black History Month. . . . I’d rather have it not be necessary, but it is necessary.”

Many here would prefer that limited observances that honor any race or gender be replaced by a system that routinely takes note of such cultures or people.

UC Irvine dance professor Donald McKayle is pleased that the university now devotes a full academic term to examining black history. This winter UCI is observing African Consciousness Quarter for the second time.

But even the school’s extended period is insufficient, said McKayle, who hopes to bring the Dallas Black Dance Theatre to campus this quarter. “How can you understand the building and design and economics of this country with a footnote? You can’t. It has to come into the full body of what it is that made this country.”

Catherine Lord, chairwoman of UC Irvine’s art department, has an even stronger view. She has scheduled exhibits and programs about black American culture throughout the school year, including a major traveling show of black photographers that ends today. But none had anything to do with February’s celebration, she said.

“It’s important to do programming that integrates (all) people of color into what goes on regularly here,” Lord said. “There’s a great poster by (the New York women’s art collective) Guerrilla Girls that says ‘Question: If February is Black History Month, what happens the rest of the year? Answer: Discrimination.’ ”

“We were actually trying to confuse things by scheduling a major performance by Chicano artists during Black History Month,” Lord added wryly. Guillermo Gomez-Pena and Coco Fusco will be in residence at the university in late February and will perform in early March, she said.

Some leading local arts institutions are offering nothing in conjunction with Black History Month. These include the Orange County Performing Arts Center, where a spokesman would only say that “We have nothing special planned.”

But other groups that aren’t doing anything this month say it’s because they haven’t been confining programs on black culture and other minorities to one month or even one quarter each year.

Newport Harbor Art Museum has no black art in the galleries during February, but its next major exhibit, “Devil on the Stair,” features at least five black artists, a spokeswoman said. Administrators and students at both UC Irvine and Cal State Fullerton who are organizing Black History Month activities say such events take place throughout the year. And South Coast Repertory officials say they didn’t schedule either “Noah Johnson . . . “ or a current Caribbean setting for Shakespeare’s production of “Twelfth Night,” about half of whose cast is black, to coincide with the observance. That is “all for the better,” SCR actor Hoffman said.

Scoti Erdmann, education curator at Bowers Museum in Santa Ana, expects that Bowers’ outreach personnel will visit some 120 school classrooms this month with hands-on workshops about African masks and textiles. But she, too, strives for a less-segregated approach.

“We really (teach) about history in general and if we talk about the history of America, we need to talk about all the people that (compose) that history,” Erdmann said.

Often, a school may have a very specific request, but she will offer a “cross-cultural” program, she said. “We go in and say, ‘OK, this is the culture you asked about, but did you know that these (customs or traditions) occur in this culture or that culture?’ So we offer them a broader perspective.

“I hate that Black History Month is so limited,” Erdmann said. “We take advantage of it, but I hope we evolve to a celebration of world arts and culture 365 days a year. Until then I’ll really try to preach the gospel of cultural understanding.”

The Black History month arts events in Orange County:

KOCE CHANNEL 50

* Today, 5 p.m. “Remembering George Washington Carver” highlights Carver’s contributions to art, science and agriculture.

* Today, 8 p.m., “Marian Anderson,” the life and career of the singer.

* Feb. 11, 10 p.m. “The Dancing Man--Peg Leg Bates,” a profile of legendary jazz dancer Clayton Bates who rose to fame despite the loss of most of one leg.

* Feb. 17, 9 p.m. “The Colored Museum,” a controversial comedic play with music that explores contemporary African-American values and attitudes.

* Feb. 24, 9 p.m. “Tap Dance in America,” with Gregory Hines and other dance stars.

CAL STATE FULLERTON

* Through Dec. 6 . “West African Kingdoms: Ritual and Royalty,” an exhibit of West African artifacts, including masks, carvings, textiles and bronze works. Museum of Anthropology, Humanities-Social Sciences Building, Room 313. Hours: 1 to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday. Information: (714) 773-3977.

* Feb. 11-13, Black Artists Display, Health Center lobby.

* Feb. 27, 8 p.m. “An Evening with Langston and Martin.” Danny Glover co-stars with Bay Area actor-director Felix Justice in a show about the lives and philosophies of Langston Hughes and Martin Luther King Jr.; University Center.

All events are free. 800 N. State College Blvd., Fullerton. Information: (714) 773-3211.

UC IRVINE

* Wednesday, 7 p.m., Gospel Choir Revue, a student group. UC Irvine Student Center.

* Feb. 12, 5-9 p.m., video screening of films including “Eye on the Prize,” a documentary on the civil rights movement. UC Irvine Student Center.

* Feb. 20, 7 p.m., “Uhura,” poetry reading. Cross Cultural Center.

All events are free. Campus Drive and Bridge Road, Irvine. Information: (714) 856-7215.

SADDLEBACK COLLEGE

* Through Feb. 28, “Alfonzo Moret: Speaking in Tongues,” a video installation and mixed media works that debunk myths about African-American culture. Saddleback College Art Gallery. Hours are 12:30 to 5 p.m. Tuesday; 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Wednesday; 12:30 to 5 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday; and 12:30 to 4 p.m. Friday. 28000 Marguerite Parkway, Mission Viejo. Admission: free. Information: (714) 582-4924.

ORANGE COAST COLLEGE

* Feb. 19, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Jazz performed by OCC music instructor Alan Remington’s jazz ensemble. Outside near campus commons. Free.

* Feb. 28, noon. Jazz performed by OCC music instructor Lee Bradley’s jazz ensemble. Science Building, room 169. Free. 2701 Fairview Road, Costa Mesa. Information: (714) 432-5792 or 432-5142.