State Historical Society of Missouri Black History Month Programs in February

The State Historical Society of Missouri is hosting a series of free documentary film screenings and a special art exhibition to honor Black History Month at the Center for Missouri Studies.

Beginning Feb. 7 through May 18, “A Historic Look at Black Labor in St. Louis seen through the eyes of artist Spencer T. Banks (1912-1983)" will be on display at Ellis Library on the University of Missouri campus. The exhibit, developed by SHSMO art curator Joan Stack, explores the work by Banks, who created artwork and photography for Black businesses in St. Louis. His comic strip Pokenia ran in the St. Louis Argus from 1939-40. The exhibition is open to the public during regular library hours.

On Feb. 11, noon to 1 p.m., the public is invited to a screening of the documentary Greenwood, a short film about the restoration of Greenwood Cemetery in North St. Louis. Columbia, Mo. filmmaker Jim Karpowicz delves into the historic significance of the cemetery and the individuals laid to rest there. Shelley and Raphael Morries of the Greenwood Cemetery Preservation Association will be in attendance to answer audience questions following the film.

The feature documentary “I’m so Glad: Kansas City and the Roots of Black Gospel Music, the Untold Story" will be screened February 13, 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and includes a Q&A with the film's producer and director Paul Wenske of Kansas City. The film illustrates how the same forces that shaped jazz in Kansas City's 18th and Vine District also shaped Black gospel music lovers and changed the American musical culture from New York to Hollywood. The film won Best Heartland Documentary at the Kansas City FilmFest International in 2024.

Finally, February 25, 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., “Silence in Sikeston” looks at the 1942 lynching of Cleo Wright – and the failure of the first federal attempt to prosecute a lynching – continues to haunt Sikeston, Missouri. In 2020, the past reverberates in the present when a young Black man is killed by police. The film investigates history, trauma, and resilience in the community over 78 years. Following the one-hour screening, SHSMO executive director Gary Kremer and the film's host Cara Anthony, KFFF Health News Midwest correspondent, will discuss the film and answer audience questions.

SHSMO hosts many digital resources for those studying the experiences of Black Americans in Missouri. Past presentations of the African American Experience in Missouri Lecture Series are freely available online. The African American Experience Research Guide connects website visitors to the lecture series, podcast episodes, digital photographs, scholarly articles, oral histories, and other resources for exploring the lives of Black Americans in Missouri. Visit the guide at https://shsmo.org/research/guides/african-american.