In a groundbreaking initiative to honor and rediscover a rich history, Marshall University is collaborating with the City of Huntington and Marshall Health Network to commemorate a great epoch in the American story – the centennial of Negro History Week/Black History Month.
Marshall University President Brad D. Smith and Burnis Morris, Carter G. Woodson Professor in the School of Journalism & Mass Communications and director of the Woodson Lyceum, are co-chairs of the Negro history Week / Black history Month Centennial Committee – whose members include Huntington mayor Patrick Farrell; Scott Raynes, CEO of Marshall health network; and Ericke S. Cage, president of West Virginia State University.
The observances involve free online courses, a symposium in March and performances by the outstanding artists (listed below) who share interesting perspectives about Black history – in the tradition estabilshed a century ago by D. Woodson, the revered Father of Black history who made his mark on our community before establishing Negro History Week in 1926.
Rising Stars Fife & Drum Band
Monday, February 2, 2026 7:00 PM
Joan C. Edwards Performing Arts Center
Shardé Thomas Mallory and Chris Mallory from Coldwater, Mississippi, are the dynamic duo behind The Rising Stars Fife and Drum Band. Shardé has led fife and drum bands since her granddad, Otha Turner, was alive and leading his own band that she was a part of. In 2003, Shardé started her band, Rising Stars, to continue her grandfather’s legacy. In recent years, the band has grown into a worldwide brand and monumental blues/roots history sensation. 
The mixture of old school songs with fresh funky beats is bound to keep the young and old on their feet!
Music featured in the major motion picture, “Sinners.”
DR. OLLIE WATTS DAVIS
AND THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS BLACK CHORUS
Saturday, March 7, 2026 4:00 PM
Joan C. Edwards Performing Arts Center
Described as “a bubbling stream of a voice, remarkably smooth down into a resonant, rich low register” (San Francisco Chronicle), Olie Watts Davis earns superlatives wherever she sings. Since her New York debut at Carnegie Hall, she has appeared with many of the nation’s leading orchestras; in opera with the San Luis Obispo Mozart Festival, the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Des Moines Metro Opera, Opera Theatre of Springfield, and Illinois Opera Theatre; and internationally for performances and residencies in the Americas, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia.
FREE Tickets
For FREE Tickets Call 304-696-6656
– or –
Get Tickets at the Marshall Artists Series Box Office Mon – Fri 12 PM – 4 PM or 1 Hour Prior To Each Event
2025 Black History Month Poster and Merit Award Winners
First Place (2025 Official Black History Poster of the Dr. Carter G. Woodson Lyceum)
Karson Echard
Marshall University junior (BFA graphic design, with a minor in marketing) from Pennsboro, West Virginia
Merit Award
Brooke Olivarri
Marshall University senior (BA Advertising/Public Relations with minors in marketing and journalism and mass communications) from Huntington, West Virginia
