Armstrong Atlantic State University (AASU) will host a session of the 2009 National African American Read-In, on February 13, from noon to 3 p.m. in Fine Arts Hall 206, on the AASU campus, 11930 Abercorn Street. The event is free and the public is invited.

AASU students, faculty, and staff will read from selected works by various African American authors, such as Langston Hughes and Barack Obama, as well as Caribbean, Cuban, and Jamaican writers. The event will include a reproduction of a scene from Lorraine Hansberry's "A Raisin in the Sun," and a dramatic reading of Sojourner Truth's "Ain't I a Woman." Music and a narrative by Kalenda Eaton, AASU's assistant professor of African American literature, will weave the pieces together.

This year marks the 20th anniversary that the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) has sponsored the African American Read-In, dedicated to the discussion and reading of books by African American writers with the goal to make the celebration of African American literacy a traditional part of Black History Month. For this year only, the NCTE has extended the read-in for the entire month of February.

Across the nation, schools, churches, libraries and community organizations will host similar events in support of the read-in, which has been endorsed by the International Reading Association. Over a million readers of all ethnic groups from 49 states, the West Indies, and African countries have participated over the years.

For additional information about the AASU African American Read-In, contact Kalenda Eaton at Kalenda.Eaton@armstrong.e du, or 912.344.3141.