ASALH 2022 Theme: Black Health & Wellness
Keynote Speaker: C. R. Gibbs
Author | Scholar | Speaker
Saturday, April 9, 2022
11:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Virtual Meeting via ZOOM
Lecture Description: This presentation is a sweeping exploration of the ways that African people began to take care of themselves, develop wellness philosophies and products and respond to the challenges of existing in extremely diverse and sometimes hostile environments.
Often shown as a land of privation and despair, Africa, before colonization, developed innovative strategies to protect the human body from disease, extend life, and pioneer good nutrition as well as influence kitchen traditions around the globe.
Mr. C.R. Gibbs is the author/co-author of six books and a frequent national and international lecturer on an array of historical topics. He has appeared several times on the History Channel, French and Belgian television, and he wrote, researched, and narrated “Sketches In Color,” a 13-part companion series to the acclaimed PBS series, “The Civil War” for WHUT-TV, the Howard University television station.
The Smithsonian Institution’s Anacostia Museum features Mr. Gibbs among its scholars at the museum’s Online Academy website. He is also a D.C. Humanities Council scholar.
In 1989, he founded the African History & Culture Lecture Series whose scholars continue to provide free presentations at libraries, churches, and other locations in the Washington-Baltimore area.
In 1997, he led 26 people across the African continent. He won the 2008 Award for Excellence in Historic Preservation in Public Education, given annually by the Mayor of the District of Columbia.
In 2009, the Congressional Black Caucus Veterans Braintrust honored Mr. Gibbs for his more than three decades of articles, exhibits, and presentations on the military heritage of African and African Americans.
In 2011, he provided historical commentary for WUSA-TV, Channel 9’s coverage of the dedication of the King Memorial.
In February 2013, he also appeared in the PBS documentary, “Meet Me At Equality” on the 1963 March on Washington. That same year, Mr. Gibbs also spoke at the annual observance of International Emancipation Day in Toronto, Canada.
In 2014, Mr. Gibbs was a featured speaker at the National Civil War Project, a joint event sponsored by Arena Stage & George Washington University. Also that year, Mr. Gibbs was chosen one the 50 most influential people in the city by the Washington Informer newspaper.
His books are: “Black, Copper, & Bright: The District of Columbia’s Black Civil War Regiment,” ” Black Inventors: From Africa To America,” “Black Explorers: 23OO BC To The Present,” “Friends of Frederick Douglass”(a children’s book), “The Afro-American Inventor,” & “Black Georgetown Remembered” (co-author).
DR. EDNA B. MCKENZIE BRANCH OF ASALH 