Category: Life – The Midweek Magazine

The day commercial sex workers took to the streets of Lagos would not be forgotten in a hurry. It was an unusual kind of rally. Women (young and old) in white t-shirts with diverse inscriptions, red umbrellas in-hand, marched through the streets, demanding that their rights be met. Evelyn Osagie and Blessing Olisa report.

Prostitution is blight on the human race…for if you men did not impose chastity on women as a necessary virtue while refusing to practice it yourselves, they would not be rejected by society for yielding to the sentiments of their hearts, nor would seduced, deceived and abandoned girls be forced into prostitution. (Flora Tristan, 1803-1844)

Protest from the bus stop

They came from all corners. As women (young and old) gathered in front of a building at Aladiye Bus-stop in Somolu that hot afternoon. Their action left visitors and residents of the area guessing what was brewing.

People stopped to see what the gathering was all about. “Who are these women?” many asked aloud.

And when they started changing their blouses and tops into custom-made t-shirts with the inscription: “sex workers rights=human rights”, it was evident that they meant business. It was not a rainy day. But, as if to protect themselves from the “prying eyes” of everyone, they each held, in one hand, a red umbrella and a banner bearing words of their clamour.

They were commercial sex workers. It was their day penultimate Monday and they came out in masse to mark it. Like the umbrella they were carrying, which, they said, “symbolised their resistance against all forms of discrimination”, they came, clamouring for better treatment from all.

Hearing them speak and taking a closer look revealed that many among them have had some form of education and were parents.

 

Protest on the streets

 

And as they marched from their meeting point through the streets of Somolu to the Local Government Secretariat, residents and passers-by could not but stop and stare in utter bewilderment.

Their loud and passionate chants of “sex work is work; we need our rights” pulled residents out of their houses.

Undaunted, the protesters hollered in songs and chants: “Condoms are many, waiting for users, condoms are many, waiting for your turn” and “Me I no go suffer, I no go die for AIDS…gold circle condom na my papa.”

Under the auspices of Safe Haven Development Initiative and Women of Power Initiative (WOPI), they came clamouring for legislation ensuring their protection, better treatment as humans and the undisputed access to fundamental human rights and amenities such as health care, health insurance, among others.

“We have become objects of baseless remarks by those who even patronise us,” they alleged. “They call us “prostitutes”, “call girls” or “ladies of the red light district”, but we are women working like every other citizen of this country for their daily bread,” the protesters said.

“Abeg make una help us beg the police people to leave us alone. Dem too dey down grade us. I am a mother and I have three children. Na situation make me dey there, no be say I dey happy say I dey there today,” came the ardent protest from Favour.

Like Favour, each had interesting stories to tell on why the trade became their source of livelihood; and together they emphasised that: “We are not beggars.” Many said they were not happy being in the trade, but for the president of the sex workers community, Pat Udoh that was not the case.

In her words, “Everywoman is a sex worker; So far say she makes love. I am proud to be a sex worker because with this I put food on my table, I can take care of my family and children like any other worker. As I am, I don’t think I can work for any other person. I can only work on my own.”

As a mother, Udoh said she discourages young people from selling sex, but added that: “If the child comes of age, every person has the freedom to do whatever they want,” noting that it is, however, important to give a child sex education.

She recounted: “When I entered sex work, none of my family members knew until later. Now that my children are not here, they are in the East; I don’t know what they are doing there. Even if they don’t sell sex, when they come of age, they will have sex. The only thing to do is to tell them to do it in the right way. If my son says he wants to get married to a sex worker now…? I will allow him 100 per cent.”

 

Drama in the council

 

On arrival at the council’s secretariat, staff of the secretariat, who seemed flabbergasted at the scene at first, immediately started taking pictures and videos with chaotic excitement.

After the protesters settled into the council’s multipurpose hall, sex workers’ rights advocate, who is also the Executive Director of Safe Haven Development Initiative, Margaret Onah, spoke on the history and purpose of the celebration, saying it is meant to promote the welfare, integration and empowerment of commercial sex workers. The rally, Onah said, was sponsored by Red Umbrella Fund.

While enumerating her constituency’s concerns, Udoh, who is also the coordinator of Women of Power Initiative (WOPI), Lagos State Chapter, called for legislation that would protect them from harassment and molestation, while urging the government to look into their plights.

She named “harsh treatment by the police”, “molestations and harassments by ‘area boys’ and the public”, “denial of proper medical care which has led to many untimely deaths and inaccessibility to good health care due to bias opinion towards their profession” and “lack of economic empowerment” as some of the challenges they are facing.

Ayinke Stephen, a sex worker and a person living with HIV, reiterated Udoh’s statement, adding that sex workers are contributing immensely to the fight against HIV and AIDS.

To back up her claims, the group sang: “Me I no go suffer, I no go die for AIDS…Gold Circle condom na my protection, Gold Circle condom na my protection.”

Ayinke protested molestation from police, saying: “When we are out there, the police people come to raid us, they disgrace us; we are mothers with children in the universities. Sometimes they will come to raid, collect money from some of us and even sleep with us. I am a PLWHA; we counsel the men that come to us on the importance of using condom because we don’t want a situation whereby because of one-minute enjoyment, they infect others. By educating our customers on sexual matters and advising them to employ the use of condoms we are adding value to society.”

On why she became a sex worker, she said: “I got into sex work because I didn’t have luck with getting married, although I wish I could. I always had disappointments. So I decided to stay alone and look for something to do to take care of my children and I got into prostitution to manage myself. It is not that I am enjoying this, but getting a job in Nigeria is not easy and I am not too educated. I can do business if I get money.

When asked if she is given N10, 000 to start a business by a reporter, Ayinke responded abruptly: “I don’t see what N10,000 can do o, even if it is to start selling pure water because when you put table or cooler along the road, Governor Fashola will still tell his men to come and pack people and take them to their task force office; from there to Kirikiri.”

Forced into the trade of flesh by the vicissitude of life, Evelyn said she is tired of the line of business. Hear her: “E don reach five years wey I dey do this work. No be say I like am, but na condition make crayfish bend. Before, na market I dey sell but I come lost my business and even because of the warri crises. My children dey warri, but dem no know wetin I dey do for Lagos. No be say this work na better work, but as Nigeria take tight so, how person go do? But e good make person do am sharp sharp make im find wetin im go do make im commot for there. For me, the work don even tire me sef. If I better opportunity, I go leave am o.” she said in Pidgin English with deep emotion in her voice.

As each tabled her concerns, the Vice Chairman Somolu Local Government Area, Abiodun Orekoya, who represented the Chairman, Hon. Ggolahan Gbagbo, listened with rasp attention. He praised them for taking the initiative to air their views. While urging them to patronise the government health facilities in the area and across the state, he said they won’t be discriminated upon. On their grievance regarding legislation, urged the sex workers to seek redress from the National Assembly.

He said: “You want a reform of the laws to give you more protection: that can only be done by the National Assembly as lawmakers. So I encourage you to go to them and let them know you want the laws amended to protect you. The little we can do as a local government is to ensure that you are not discriminated against, especially when it comes to health issues.

“Because of your profession, you are vulnerable to sexually transmitted diseases. Feel free to walk into health centres and tell them your problems. I am aware that you have not been patronising the health centres. Health is wealth. Go for HIV test and regular medical examination to ascertain your state of health. It is only when you are alive that you can spend the money you make.”

With the words of former House of Assembly Deputy Speaker, Hon. Ike Ekweremadu in 2011 in mind, “I did not sponsor any bill on prostitution…I condemn all forms of human trafficking, including prostitution. As a Knight of the Church, definitely, I must condemn any act that is immoral, including prostitution, for this is not the way to live”, seeking redress for sex workers as Orekoya advised would be a hard nut to crack, some of the protesters observed.

However, the protesters said they are undaunted, adding that they would continue to clamour for their rights and legislations that would better protect them until their voices are heard.

 

 

• See video: “Sex work is work” at www. staging.thenationonlineng.net

Book review

Title: Dancing Mask

Author: Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo

Reviewer: John Uwa

Publisher: Kraft Books

Pagination: 140

Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo is a contemporary Nigerian African writer whose fictive oeuvre does not only adumbrate contemporary feminist issues, but also raises a finger of protest in the theory and practice of feminism in Africa and the rest of the world.

Her “accommodationist” ideology which provides an alternative ideological canvas for the criticism of African feminist fiction strikes my critical curiosity; but not in the same way that this collection (Dancing Mask) elicits some sort of curiosity to reveal that which the “dancing mask” conceals. This curiosity could plunge one into some sort of confusion about the nomenclature by which this new poetic voice may be identified in literary discourse; Ezeigbo the Novelist, or the Poet?

This confusion may have been informed by Nnolim’s (2010) classification of poetic craftsmanship into the “poet qua poet” and “the versifier”. To him, the “poet qua poet” is he who is totally committed to the art of poetry without doing anything that is really significant outside of it. The “versifier” on the other hand is the poet who writes one or two lines when his poetic muse comes visiting occasionally, and afterwards, goes back to his original vocation. Charles Nnolim is one critic of African literature who has, and will continue to inspire the younger generation of African critics that has much respect for the man and his achievements. Notwithstanding, it is not difficult to hold a point of view which suggests that Nnolim’s classification is more of a polemical fiat that is based on analytical convenience and critical preference more than a literary axiom. This point of view is informed by the fact that Ezeigbo currently has four published collections of poetry. These collections have been equally well-received in the same way as the five novels she has so far written.

This observation is important to the review of this collection where Ezeigbo legitimately recommends herself as a poet that cannot be ignored in the criticism and evaluation of modern Nigerian poetry. In Dancing Masks, Ezeigbo reveals her maturity from her first three collections of poetry by presenting a superior socio-political vision for which established poets like Tanure Ojaide, Odia Ofeimun, Niyi Osundare and Tayo Olafioye have variously received critical reception.

A semiotic analysis of the Dancing Masks renders a spectacle of people, grappling with floods of socio-political aberrations that are masked in hope and humour, signified by two dancing masks on the front cover page of the collection. By this token, the masks become a motif through which greater insight is provided into themes of social relevance in contemporary Nigeria. Ezeigbo presents us with a mask behind which most people live, and “behind which certain human tendencies are disguised”.

The collection is divided into five parts, and each deals with distinct contemporary issues in Nigeria. The first section “Signs of the Times” which contains nineteen poems deals with the themes of nature, woman, sex, prostitution, exploitation, sexual violence, corruption, love etc. In this section, Ezeigbo seems to be moved by a miscellany of poetic muse which allows her to peck on various contemporary issues of our society from environmental pollution to other social aberrations. Like Chielo, the priestess of Agbala in Things Fall Apart, when Ezeigbo is in her creative elements as this collection proves, we see a personality that is paradoxical to her every day gentle and motherly disposition; and with the vigour of a prophetic muse, Ezeigbo reverberates the end-time prediction of Apostle Paul in 1st Timothy 4: 1-5 and 2nd Timothy 3: 1-5. To paraphrase the quote, men whose hearts have been seared with a hot iron will speak lies in hypocrisy. Men shall become lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, unthankful, traitors, heady, high-minded, fierce, trucebreakers, incontinent, despisers of those that are good and lovers of pleasure.

In “Weird world” and “Winter whiplash” Ezeigbo exhibits her romantic tendencies in dealing with the changing manifestation of nature; but unlike the “nature” poets who praise the beauty of nature, Ezeigbo goes a step further to question the disaster that is wrought by nature, especially the pollution that “uncoils like deadly snake”. The implication of such vision is that both poems can favourably bow to contemporary literary theory like eco-criticism. At the level of symbolism, Ezeigbo can be said to be confronting agents of exploitations and the “get-rich-quick” syndrome of contemporary society, where people no longer wait for their turn or legitimate course of earning a living. This is what she implies by “berries fruiting before their time” and “spring flowers blooming before theirs”. (19) The poetic touch of both poems is enhanced by her use of formal elements such as simile, extended metaphor, apposition and allusions. “Skeletal motion” as used in the last stanza of the first poem for instance, is an apposition that is used to clarify the nature of existence on which “life leans”. This is given further clarification by the extended metaphor of the last two lines.

Ezeigbo keeps the steam of her deployment of formal poetic elements in full motion when in “Ways of dying”, she employs elements like oxymoron, personification, apostrophe and simile to raise some existential issues that facilitate the cyclical ironies of human existence. Unlike William Wordsworth whose loss of “visionary gleam” readily connects him to the supernatural realm, Ezeigbo suggests that there are those who will not give in to nature’s hostilities without giving it a fight. To her, these people are like the “legendary cat” and only bow out after they are “done and ready proper” (26).

Using seven irregular verses in conformity with the free verse tradition in “News flash”, this emergent poetic voice takes a poignant look at governance and exploitation. The word “Ajabu” and the words “Ghana-must-go-bag factory” in the fifth verse are images or symbols which help in creating some sort of imaginative or mental pictures of  the high level of financial misappropriation and corruption that is being practised at the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, by elites and the political class. The poet also indicts those who have embraced the policy of “siddon look”, and the “mutes and mumu”. The corrupt mentality of public service holders that the “public service is not free service” is also presented as a paradox in the second stanza. The painful irony of these paradoxes is that those who ought to stand for truth and justice have kept sealed lips. This is why in “Murderer of conscience”, Ezeigbo makes a defiant appeal to all those who are disposed and predisposed to standing for justice and truth, but have tarried. Using apostrophe in the first four lines, metaphor and extended metaphor in lines 8, 9 and 10 of the first verse, Ezeigbo opines that there are defenceless people who have been permanently placed in exploitative limbo, subjugated and oppressed; people who must be defended by those whose consciences have not yet been seared with a hot iron. By this token, Ezeigbo is exhibiting her Marxian instinct and thus calling for an egalitarian society of fairness and equity.

 

The role of women cannot be over emphasised critics have said at the presentation of The 100 Unsung Heroines in Lagos.

The project, which was initiated by a young artist, Bayo Omoboriowo, seeks to celebrate and support women, who are touching lives and effecting change in their homes and the environment.

The star-studded unveiling of project drew dignitaries including the wife of the United States Ambassador to Nigeria, Mrs Pamela Schmoll; the Senior Economic Advisor, Open Society Foundations, Dr Obiageli Ezekwesili; Former President, Nigerian Traller Operators Association and Chief Executive Officer, Morbod Fisheries Limited, Mrs Margaret Orakwusi; Mrs Olufunmilayo Tejuosho; Osayi Oruene, Modupe Adefeso-Olateju and music sensation, Waje, among others.

Project was launched to commemorate Nigeria’s centenary and the 2014 International Women’s Day, the organisers said.

Regoe Lovefans Alfredo-Durugo was one of the 100 Unsung Heroines that was celebrated for her input in the education of children in Makoko slum and its environs, Lagos.

Dr Ezekwesili, who gave the keynote address, described women as the “bedrock of economic growth of any given nation which must not be disregarded”, adding that their contributions to the development of every society, nation and sector play important roles, although huge, often times go unnoticed and unrewarded.

She said: “Research has proven that in a community where women earn income, more children go to school and fewer children are affected by disservices”.

She praised Omoboriowo initiative, saying countries that understand the importance of individuals the wake of developments never ignore the women folk. “That is why I am delighted that through this project our women, whether educated or not educated will understand that they have accomplished greatness because women made up of this list of 100Unsung Heroines are amazing women, their accomplishments is not by any stretch of imagination diminished by the accomplishment of any other woman. In celebrating these one hundred women, I want you to know that what you are actually doing is celebrating your mothers. Many of our mothers will never get the opportunity to be seen for what they have done and yet they have done incredible things,” she said.

Ezekwesili spoke on the importance of educating a girl child, observing that it will help not just in transferring them into human capital. “When women are able to make decision effectively, it has a very collateral positive effect.”

Omoboriowo said women like Alfredo-Durugo, who break their backs everyday for their nation and families in order to provide food and quality good education for their wards, are “the Unsung Heroines”.

“By January this year, our great nation Nigeria became 100 years old. Our women have contributed immensely to the nation’s socio-economic development and have increasingly become vocal and active in initiatives and efforts to influence and shape the formulation of progressive policies. Many of these women have unique stories of their journey to survival and success.

“Using the women of Nigeria in the informal sector as a case study, this project aims to highlight the unique role the women play in the everyday development of our nation as they go about their daily activities. We are on a trip to project the unparalleled energy and resilient spirit of a select portion of the Nigerian women in the informal sector making a difference in their own way thereby birthing a better nation to the world,” Omoboriowo said.

Inspired by a woman at Mushin market, who sells soft drinks by the roadside to educate her children abroad, whom he had met while looking for Nigerian women with intriguing stories, Omoboriowo said: “I was surprised; and more determined to capture the exceptional images of women like her. Though many negative things are happening in the country and we are not so happy but God has been faithful to give us exceptional Nigerian women who deserve to be seen and celebrated.”

Book review

Title: The Victims

Author: Isidore Okpewho

Reviewer: Chinasa Ekekwe

Pages: 200

Isidore Okpewho’s The Victims portrays polygamy as a harbinger of disaster. It tells the story of unhappy women who had the hard luck of getting married to an “irresponsible man”.

The story revolves around “Nwabunor” whose husband, “Obanua”, marries a second wife after three years of searching for a child with sadness and anxiety tormenting their lives.

Their home had once been peaceful, filled with love and happiness until Obanua gets incited by his mother to marry a second wife since his first has only one son, “Ubaka”. The tragedy begins when Obanua marries Ogogua who already has a set of twins, Ndidi and Ogo for a Portuguese merchant.

Nwabunor sees Ogogua as a threat, determines that none would push her out of her rightful position; she makes her intention known by moving her belongings to Obanua’s room before Ogogua’s arrival. This leads to more complications. Nwabunor, who has passed the bloom of youth, had more to lose blames everyone for her misfortunes.

On the other hand, in spite of her beauty and youth, young vibrant Ogogua is seen stealing from her mate and becomes an adulteress.

This rivalry between the women leads to the calamity that ensued. And as the storm rages on, Obanua realises too late that he has lost total control of his home. Frustrated, he gradually withdraws from his unsettled home the solace of palm wine bottles.

The problem in the house climaxes with Nwabunor destroying Ogogua and her children. This she does by procuring a deadly portion from an herbalist which she uses not only to kill her and her childen, but also her own son. The calamity turns her mad, while Obanua continues his friendship with bottles of wine.

Although The Victims, which has also been shot into a film at Ozala in Delta State, is set in a rustic African village with “river” where “Ubaka” goes to fetch water, it also has mixed feel of a town. It is typical of stories in most polygamous homes in African. In it, the author highlights the ills of polygamy, warning that men marry the number of women they can handle.

Aside rivalry and conflict other thematic preoccupations include immorality as seen in Ogugua’s promiscuous acts with Gwam Odafe; poverty as seen in Obanua’s inability to take care of his family. The family suffered gravely when he lost his job.

Rebellion, frustration and hatred are other themes in the work. These are in the rivalry between the wives, which subsequently leads Nwabunor to seek to the counsel of “Ese Nwozomudo”, a dreadful herbalist in the town, where she collected the poison that wiped out the family, excluding Obanua. The theme of irresponsibility is also seen in Obanua attitude of seeking solace in drinking palours instead of facing the issues staring him on the face.

About 90 years ago, the Black History Month was pioneered by the renowned African American historian, Dr. Carter Godson Woodson, to protest the exclusion of the contributions of African Americans from history textbooks in the United States. At this year’s celebration at Ibadan, Oyo State capital, renowned Pan Africanist and Director, Africa-wide Centre for Advanced Studies of African Society, Cape Town, South Africa, Prof Kwesi Kwaa Prah, examined Pan-Africanism and the challenges of global African unity, reports Assistant editor (Arts) OZOLUA UHAKHEME.

The gathering was a mix of academics, traditional rulers, artists, civil servants and students. The newly built International Conference Centre (Hall A), University of Ibadan, Oyo State, provided the ideal ambience for a discourse on the challenges of global African unity, especially the peoples’ actions and inactions towards forging a united Africa.

The event, which was held last Thursday, was not all about long speeches as an art exhibition was mounted at the university’s Institute of African Studies to complement the discourse.

Apart from the core issues on Pan Africanism, other aspects of Africa’s tangible and intangible heritage were strategically presented to the audience. Minutes before the start of the programme, screening of video clips on FESTAC 77, dance-drama performances and the podium’s backdrop, a collage of African cultural elements formed parts of the menu.

Setting the tone for the day’s deliberation, the Director-General Centre for Black and African Arts and Civilisation (CBAAC), Prof. Tunde Babawale described the event as a ‘way of keeping Pan Africanism alive and revisit it as a panacea to our marginalisation in the international division of labour’. He said it was also motivated by the numerous socio-economic and political challenges facing the African continent and her vast Diaspora and the desire to frontally confront them.

“It is sad to note that despite decades of experimentation with different economic policies and programmes, the world’s absolute poor still live on the continent. With only a few exceptions, most countries on the continent are caught in the poverty trap, with more than half of the population living below the poverty line and on less than one dollar per day.

“Poverty is so severe in Africa that about 22 out of the 25 poorest countries in the world are in Africa. The problem of poverty has been compounded by needless political crises that often resulted in violent conflicts on the continent. The desire to find workable solutions to these problems informed our decision to choose the theme of this year’s celebration,” he said.

But the guest lecturer, Prof Prah said the real unity Africans are desirous of is that which shares the interwoven characteristics of the peoples’ culture. He noted that ‘if we have unity, we will be a world power, everybody will deal with us and there will be no playing game’. He said constraints such as tribalism, ethnicism, xenophobia feelings and other contending interests must be addressed in order to deepen and accelerate the development of people-to-people relations amongst global Africans.

According to him, the states we have inherited from the colonial powers were not created with the intention of global prosperity, equality and power for Africans. They have no bearing on Africans as historical and cultural constructs, which existed before the Western encounter. These states make us pre-colonial, colonial and post-colonial realities; in other words these states conceptually make us adjuncts of Western imperial histories. They hide our true historical and cultural character as Africans; our identities as Africans.’

He said despite pockets of ethnic feelings mobilised by dominant interests for power, unity among Africans will undermine the structural basis of ethnicism/tribalism, adding that a broad and compounded structure will make it difficult for any ethnic formation to assume hegemonic posture. He stressed that the weaknesses and socio-conflictual problems in African society must be corrected by cultivating the ethos of tolerance, openness and the celebration of cultural especially among the ruling class.

“It is important for intellectuals to hold the political elites accountable for the fanning of xenophobic and ethnic feelings as means to political ascendancy. Tolerance of cultural diversity is crucial for the survival of modern world…But diversity should not be allowed to run parallel to socio-economic divisions or caste lines in the society,” he said.

Prof Prah reassured that the 21st Century will be Africa’s century because neo-colonialsim would be brought to an unceremonious end at the same period when the process of an African renaissance will take off. He noted that this would not happen automatically as the process will require agency both in theory and practice. The only challenge, he said, is how to fashion the theory and practice to achieve the goal. Democracy, social justice, fairness, respect for human rights and the ideas of secularism, decentralisation and multi-culturalism, he noted, must be built into the process of the demise of neo-colonialism.

Continuing, he said: “The extent to which we are able to minimise and avoid the difficulties ahead will depend on how much democratic practice and process we utilise on the way forward. If we pursue the emancipation and development process in an open and permissive way then the hindrances, constraints and societal blockages will be reduced to a minimum.”

But even more immediately is how do we move forward from where we stand today? he asked. “We need a cultural movement which will mobilise writers, teachers, artists, musicians among others, to focus minds on the celebration of our African belongings as baggage for a forward movement; a cultural rennaissane, which will strengthen our sense of identity as Africans and provide the pride and confidence necessary to forge ahead,” he said.

Prof Prah said Africans are trying very hard to be Ghanaians or Tanzanians and have not been completely successful, noting that unity will not make Africans rich, but can make it difficult for Africa and Africans to be disregarded and humiliated. “My generation led Africa to political freedom. The current generation of leaders and peoples of Africa must pick up the flickering torch of African freedom, refuel it with their enthusiasm and determination, and carry it forward,” he added.

Among guests that attended the event were Tourism, Culture and National Orientation Minister, Chief Edem Duke, represented by a deputy director in the ministry; Chairman board of CBAAC, Senator Yusuf Brimmo, a representative of deputy chairman House Committee on Tourism and Culture, Abdul Malik Cheche; Vice-Chancellor University of Ibadan, represented by Prof. Remi Raji; Director, Institute of African Studies, Prof. Dele Layiwola; Oba Dokun Abolarin, the Orangun of Oke-Ila, Oba Adedayo Olusino Adekoya, the Legusen of Ode-Ule.

On Wednesday last week, the US Consulate General, Lagos held a video conference and discussion session with renowned American Visual Artist/Philanthropist/Entrepreneur, Charles Bibbs as part of its commemoration of the Black History Month. It was titled: The Role of Art during the U.S. Civil Rights movement.