Cuba Gooding Jr. might grab the spotlight in the new film “Red Tails,” about African-American fighter pilots in World War II, but one of the men behind the character Gooding plays* was a pilot with Sacramento ties. George Roberts served as the operations officer in the 99th Pursuit Squadron in World War II, and he was one of the first five graduates out of the group that would later be known as the Tuskegee Airmen. Roberts came to Sacramento with his wife, Edith, in the 1960s, where he worked for Wells Fargo. Though he died in the 1980s, Edith, 92, still lives in the area, and she proudly visits local schools and civic groups to educate them on the history of pilots. “It was a different

In celebration of Black History Month, the Old City Cemetery Committee will be giving a free tour at 10 a.m. on Saturday detailing the fascinating history of African-Americans during the 1800s. Bob LaPerriere will be the main tour guide Saturday along with other members of the committee. “I was involved in starting the Old City Cemetery Committee,” LaPerriere said. “ Now I’m the tour coordinator for this particular tour”. LaPerriere has been giving tours for 25 years. Every year he conducts a tour at the old cemetery, which covers the extensive history of physicians and medicine from the 1800s. This tour celebrating Black History Month is not shown every year. It’s been at least eight

In celebration of Black History Month in February, there will be a free viewing of the documentary, For Love of Liberty: The Story of America’s Black Patriots, at Valley Hi-North Laguna Library, 7400 Imagination Parkway, Sacramento (off Bruceville Road and south of Cosumnes River Boulevard). The film will be shown in two parts: Part 1 at 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, February 22; and Part 2 at 6:30 p.m., Thursday, February 24. To illuminate the largely untold experiences of African Americans in the United States’ armed forces, the film serves up history from as far back as the American Revolutionary War to the conflict in Afghanistan. Ten years in the making, the two-part documentary examines why,

February is Black History Month, and Sacramento Press staff reporters Brandon Darnell, Kathleen Haley and Suzanne Hurt interviewed local historians and city staff to highlight some of Sacramento’s movers and shakers in the black community. Those who have visited Folsom’s Historic District may have driven by or through Leidesdorff Street, which intersects with Riley Street and Folsom Boulevard. But most probably don’t know about the man it was named after. William Alexander Leidesdorff was a major landowner in the 1840s, in what is now the Folsom and Rancho Cordova area. Leidesdorff, of African-Carribbean and Danish descent, was originally from the Virgin Islands, according to author Sue

As part of its Black History Month speaker series, the Sol Collective is sponsoring “Roots of Democracy: Islam, Black Nationalism to Hip Hop culture. Guest speaker Rashad Baadqir will address the early roots of Black Nationalism and Afro-Islam to the impact of Hip Hop music and culture. Baadqir is a Multicultural Competency Consultant, author, and speaker The program starts at 7pm at the Sol Collective located at 2574 21st/near Broadway in Sacramento. For more information you can contact the Sol Collective via Facebook.  

The civil rights movement of the 1960s is often viewed as centralized in the South, but blacks in Sacramento faced similar challenges, and a KVIE documentary tells those stories. “It was just a really horrific time in Sacramento,” said Bryan Shadden, a producer at KVIE who worked on the film, “African Americans in California’s Heartland: The Civil Rights Era.” The documentary first aired four years ago, but is being shown again Feb. 17 to coincide with Black History Month. Shadden worked on a story about busing African-American students out of Oak Park after Stanford Junior High School burned in 1963. Students were bused to almost all-white schools in an effort to integrate the races.

As someone who enjoys fun and festive community events, I am more than happy to report on one of the best events in the area that took place over the weekend, the Black Expo. This was my second visit to the annual expo, which is held during Black History Month and provides a means of networking and showcasing the best of black business and culture. I was eager to see what had changed between last year and this. I heard from some who can remember the expo's past, and it is heartening to learn that it has come a long way since it began 14 years ago. No longer an obscure event with little fanfare or sponsorship, the Black Expo welcomed thousands of people over the weekend. More than 100 spo

 B Street Theatre's new production, "The Conductor: Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad," is a great experience. The play, which is part of B Street Theatre's Family Series, made its debut in time for Black History Month. It tells the story of Harriet Tubman as she helps a slave, Jeremiah, escape to freedom in 1850s America. Jerry Montoya authored this B Street Theatre original production. "The Conductor" was written with children in mind, but that doesn't mean it is dumbed down. Instead, it portrays the struggles of being a slave in a way that is easy to understand and accessible for young viewers but is harrowing and intense enough that the experience is not diminished. This m

Chuck D is a rebel without a pause. The co-founder of seminal hip-hop group Public Enemy is a rapper, author and activist. He refers to himself as a "raptivist," and "an ambassador for hip-hop." Thursday night, D will give a free speech at Sacramento State, where he'll be talking about rap, race, technology and communication. The event will also be a celebration of Black History Month. D likes to talk. Given that he writes a blog, tours the world on speaking gigs, and owns the SLAMjams music label, which recently threw together an iTunes album for Haiti, he is surprisingly available. He called me for an unscheduled interview, just a few minutes after I e-mailed him. "You can't go throug