BRUNSWICK, Georgia: Feb. 9, 2010 – In recognition of Black History
Month and the extraordinary accomplishments of African Americans who helped
change the social and political landscape of America, Southeast Georgia
Health System invites the public to a month-long art exhibition and a
special Black History Month Celebration.
Through March 2, the Health System is hosting an art exhibit, “Now
& Then” by artist S.A.(Shirley) Hunter, in the Outpatient Care
Center, 2500 Starling St. The exhibition is open Mondays-Fridays, from
9 a.m.-5 p.m. and Saturdays, 9 a.m.-1 p.m.
The Health System is also hosting a Black History Month Celebration on
Tuesday, Feb. 23, at the Brunswick Campus, 2415 Parkwood Drive. This special
event, featuring The Temple of Truth Theatre of Voices and local author
Michelle Johnson, will take place at 5:30 p.m. in the Linda S. Pinson
Conference Center.
The Temple of Truth Theatre of Voices is group of young people, ranging
in age from eight to 13, who recite and present poetry, which reflects
both culture and history at festivals, cultural centers, elementary schools,
and churches. They have performed at numerous venues including the Ritz
Theatre and College of Coastal Georgia in Brunswick, Epworth by the Sea
on St. Simons Island, the Apex Museum and Jimi King Gallery in Atlanta,
and tributes to the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. In 2009, they performed
for the Black History Month Celebration at the Health System’s Senior
Care Center-St. Marys. The group has received many recognitions, including
winning first place in the East End Talent Youth Competition of the Zora
Neale Hurston Festival of the Arts and Humanities in Eatonville, Florida.
Eatonville is one of the first incorporated African American municipalities,
and hometown of writer, folklorist, and anthropologist Zora Neale Hurston,
whose best-known work is the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God.
Johnson, a native of Charlotte, N.C., lives on Sapelo Island in Hog Hammock,
the last intact, island-based Geechee-Gullah community in Georgia and
is the author of Sapelo Island’s Hog Hammock. She is a graduate
of Stanton College Preparatory School in Jacksonville, Fla., and the University
of Florida in Gainesville. She has won a national journalism award and
several state and local awards for her column writing for The Florida
Times-Union in Jacksonville. She is also a former assistant features editor
at The Greenville News in South Carolina, and former arts editor for The
Charlotte Observer in North Carolina. She is currently the manager of
the Hog Hammock Public Library on Sapelo Island, and the community relations
coordinator for the Three Rivers Regional Library System, based in Brunswick.
Johnson will discuss her book research and share stories of Sapelo and
Hog Hammock. Following her talk, she will sign copies of her book, which
will be available for sale. Light refreshments will be served at the celebration
and both this event and the exhibition are free of charge and open to
the public. For more information about the exhibition, celebration, or
any other Health System events, classes, or seminars, visit the online
calendar at www.sghs.com.