2026 Black History Month

Friday, February 20, 2026, from 6:00–8:00 pm
at the Eddie Mae Herron Center

Black History Month Film Screening & Conversation. This special evening will feature short films by Ozark Vitality rooted in Black history and community leadership. Two My Ozarks mini-documentary episodes highlight work in Southern Missouri that echoes and connects with what the Eddie Mae Herron Center is doing in Northern Arkansas:

• Episode 12: Ms. Peoples, set at Timmons Hall in Springfield, follows educator Christine Peoples as she turns a historic African American church into a living classroom and gathering place through youth programs, storytelling, and cultural events

• Episode 14: Crockett & Tonya, filmed in West Plains, shows efforts to reclaim the historic Lincoln School and Black cemetery—and features Ms. Pat Johnson, whose example helps link these preservation and community-building efforts across The Ozarks.

Soaring Together: A Tuskegee Airmen Story, inspired by the real-life partnership of Tuskegee Airmen James Shipley and Harry Stewart Jr.

After the screening, filmmakers and community storytellers will lead a conversation about education, service, and the responsibility of preserving stories that have too often been overlooked or forgotten.

Free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served.