SWAMPSCOTT – Swampscott Unites, Respects, Embraces (S.U.R.E.) Diversity will hold a Black History Month celebration at First Church on Feb. 27. Starting at 7 p.m. the event will feature music, poetry, and history surrounding the theme of the event, “Black History is Our History!” according to a press release from S.U.R.E. Diversity.
“Our purpose is to show, through word and deed, how Black history and culture is an integral, illuminating, and vital part of the American tapestry,” said S.U.R.E. Diversity Chair Keli Khatib. “As a community, we need to know this often hidden part of our history.”
S.U.R.E. Diversity is a volunteer-based community group that aims to “celebrate all aspects of human diversity,” according to its website surediversity.org.
The website said the group works to educate and empower its community, and that it has led many successful campaigns for this purpose.
“Through events organized by our dedicated members, we work to offer meaningful discussions and events,” it added.
The Feb. 27 event will feature local poet Enzo Silon Surin. Silon Surin won the 2021 Massachusetts Book Award from the Massachusetts Center for the Book for his poetry book When My Body Was a Clinched Fist. His new book, American Scapegoat, will be released in May.
The Swampscott High School Chorus will also perform that night, according to the press release. It added that Historical Commission Chair Nancy Schultz will provide an overview of the town’s Black history “will give an overview of Black history in Swampscott.”
“I will be discussing some of Swampscott’s lesser known ties to slavery and to the history of the South,” Schultz said. “The talk will underscore the Historical Commission’s commitment to exploring Swampscott’s many and diverse histories.”
The press release also said that “a knowledgeable and diverse panel will reflect on the theme (of the event).”
The panel will include Rabbi Michael Ragozin of Congregation Shirat Hayam, Pastor Ian Holland of the First Church, Congregational, Swampscott Senior Center Director Heidi Whear, and Tristan Smith, a recent legislative candidate and the head coach of track and field at St. Mary’s High School. They will “share their journey and the impact of Black history and culture on their lives,” the press release said.
