The City of Rome and neighboring communities will gather to commemorate Black History Month at the annual “Celebrating Black History Month” at 6:30 p.m. on Feb. 10, at Rome Free Academy (RFA).
The event is free of charge and open to the public. All are welcome.
Perennially hosted by the Rome City School District (RCSD), the NAACP Rome Branch , and the African American Heritage Association of Rome, NY (AAHA) , this year’s celebration will interpret the 2026 theme of our national Black History Month – “A Century of Black History Commemorations,” “with a special emphasis, according to an RCSD statement, on the spirit of being an overcomer and overcoming, hand-in-hand.”
Tuesday’s program will feature “music, including a performance by the RFA Concert Choir, dance and dramatic performances, including by local non-profit youth organization, the Utica Royalties, storytelling, art, and poetry” with contributions from RCSD students, staff, community partners, and “special guests.” A small reception open to all guests will also be held in the RFA lobby directly following the event.
Keynote Speaker Brother Courtney Muhammad
Keynote Ppeaker Brother Courtney Muhammad, Student Minister, is the owner/manager of The Carol L. Crooms Business, Education and Cultural Activities Center (BECA) Center in Utica , which identifies on social media as a working legacy of “the life & work of community leader Carol L. Crooms, “an educational, recreational, health and wellness, & community space used primarily by Utica’s communities of color & open to people from all walks of life.” Guest speakers from RCSD, AAHA and the NAACP will also make remarks during the program.
This article originally appeared on Observer-Dispatch: Black History Month Celebration Feb. 10 at RFA
Reporting by Cara Dolan Berry, Utica Observer Dispatch / Observer-Dispatch
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