Black History Month is under way, with activities at UC Davis extending not only through February but into March.

Events on the main campus include book and poetry readings, a poetry slam, a film program, a guest professor's lecture on slavery, and an art exhibit and a lecture and workshop by the artist. Black History Month events at the UC Davis Health System in Sacramento include a brown bag lunch with a neurological surgeon as guest speaker, and two career development programs.

One of the featured speakers lined up for the main campus is Quincy Troupe, co-author of The Pursuit of Happyness, source of the current hit movie of the same name. Troupe is a former poet laureate of California, and he is coming to UC Davis to read from his recent poetry book, The Architecture of Language.

Troupe's appearance is scheduled from 6 to 8 p.m. Feb. 23 in Griffin Lounge at the Memorial Union. The UC Davis Student Mini-Poetry Slam is scheduled at the same time and place.

Milton Bowens is another artist participating in Black History Month on the main campus. He has assembled 15 of his paintings for an exhibit titled Blood on the Fields: A Lasting Impression of an American Story, described as a poetic look at plantation life and slavery and its role today in inner cities and ghettos across America.

Blood on the Fields can be seen in the Memorial Union Art Gallery through March 8. A reception is scheduled from 6 to 8 p.m. Feb. 28 in the gallery.

Other Black History Month events on the main campus:

Film — Christine Acham, Real to Reel: Trinidad, highlighting student productions from a 2006 Summer Abroad program in Trinidad and Tobago. 6-9 p.m. Feb. 21, MU II, Memorial Union.

Artist's talk — Bowens: "Thinking Out Loud," about the power of art and fine art as the last line of defense for freedom of speech. 12:10-1:30 p.m. Feb. 22, Memorial Union Art Gallery.

Collage workshop — Bowens: "Text Messaging," alternative ways of expressing thoughts, concerns, political and social awareness, and understanding the true power of communication. Feb. 28, for students only; contact the gallery for more information.

Lecture — Espelencia Baptiste, associate professor, Department of Anthropology and Sociology, Kalamazoo College, Michigan: "Memories of Slavery — Creating Citizens in Haiti and Mauritius." 12:10-1:30 p.m. March 5, 2215 Hart Hall.

Book reading — Riche Richardson, author of Black Masculinity and the U.S. South: From Uncle Tom to Gangsta. 12:10-1:30 p.m. March 7, Griffin Lounge, MU.

Black History Month events on the main campus are being sponsored by the African-American and African Faculty and Staff Association, Campus Unions, the Office of Campus Community Relations, the Cross Cultural Center, and the Student Recruitment and Retention Center.

For more information on the main campus's events, call (530) 754-9581.

UC Davis Health System

The UC Davis Health System events are sponsored by the health system's African-American Faculty and Staff Association. Here is the remaining schedule:

Brown bag lunch — With guest speaker James Boggan, professor of neurological surgery. Noon-1 p.m. Feb. 20.

California Capital City Black Expo '07 — The African-American Faculty and Staff Association plans to set up a booth at this event to offer health screenings and other information from the UC Davis Health System. The booth is scheduled to be open Feb. 23 and 24; the expo itself runs through Feb. 25 at the Sacramento Convention Center, 1400 J St.

Career development breakfast — 7-10 a.m. Feb. 27, Room G343, University Surgery Center auditorium.

Career development and employee retention reception — 2-5 p.m. Feb. 28, Room G343, University Surgery Center auditorium.

Earlier this month, the health system's African-American Faculty and Staff Association organized programs on health and healthy eating.

For more information about the health system's African-American Faculty and Staff Association, and to inquire about membership, contact the chair, Wanda Brown, (916) 734-8117 or wanda.brown@ucdmc.ucdavis.edu.