APL Black History Month Highlights the Voting Rights Movement

The Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), in Laurel, Maryland, kicked off its Black History Month celebration on Feb. 5 in APL’s Kossiakoff Center. Spoken word performer Lady Brion opened the event with an original poem to honor this year’s theme, “African Americans and the Vote.”

Other upcoming Black History Month events at APL, free and open to the public, include:

Feb. 13: Black History Month Colloquium (Topic: Black America in the Fourth Industrial Revolution), 2–3 p.m., Parsons Auditorium, 11100 Johns Hopkins Road, Laurel, Maryland. The colloquium speaker is James Calvin, a Johns Hopkins Carey Business School professor with expertise in leadership development, community economic development and nonprofit organizations. Refreshments will be available outside the auditorium after the colloquium.

Feb. 16: 31st Annual Peabody Concert, 3 p.m., Kossiakoff Center, 11100 Johns Hopkins Road, Laurel, Maryland. This event features students of African descent from the Peabody Conservatory and is cosponsored by the Columbia, Maryland, Chapter of The Links, Inc.

Feb. 21: Black History Month Colloquium (Topic: Piezoelectric and Electret Polymers), 2–3 p.m., Parsons Auditorium, 11100 Johns Hopkins Road, Laurel, Maryland. The colloquium speaker is James E. West, professor at Johns Hopkins University in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and the Department of Mechanical Engineering. Refreshments will be available outside the auditorium after the colloquium.

Feb. 23: Jazz Brunch, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Sheraton Columbia Town Center Hotel, 10207 Wincopin Circle, Columbia, Maryland. This event will feature the band “With Love” and honors Jackie Akinpelu, a technical and organizational leader with over 30 years of experience modeling and developing operations and information systems. Jackie worked at APL for 13 years, developing analytical and simulation models for intelligence information assurance until her retirement in 2019. Tickets are $75 and can be purchased online at https://apl-jazz-brunch.ticketleap.com/apl-jazz-brunch-2020/.

Feb. 27: Black History Month Colloquium (Topic: Vanguard: What If Black Women Have Always Led the Movement for Women’s Suffrage?), 2–3 p.m., Parsons Auditorium, 11100 Johns Hopkins Road, Laurel, Maryland. The colloquium speaker is Martha S. Jones, Society of Black Alumni Presidential Professor and professor of history at Johns Hopkins University. Refreshments will be available outside the auditorium after the colloquium.