Reparations commission to present ‘The Power of Truths’

NORTHAMPTON — The Northampton Reparations Study Commission and Self-Evident Education are presenting “The Power of Truths: Cinematic Chronicles of Race and Resistance,” on Tuesday at Edwards Church, 297 Main St.

The free presentation, scheduled from 6:30-8 p.m., will feature Ousmane Power-Greene, chair of the Northampton Reparations Study Commission, and Michael Lawrence-Riddell, executive director of Self-Evident Education. Power-Greene and Lawrence-Riddell will screen two short documentaries, “A Mother’s Bond” and “If You Cross This Boundary, We All Die!,” that explore the way slavery shaped the Black experience in Massachusetts in the mid-19th century.

After the screenings, Power-Greene and Lawrence-Riddell will invite the audience to discuss the relevance of these stories of enslavement and freedom to the country’s modern struggle for reparative justice in the “age of Trump.”

“A Mother’s Bond” explores the history of slavery through a heartbreaking tale of Catherine Linda – a woman enslaved in Georgia, but told she could be free when she arrives in Northampton in1845. “If You Cross This Boundary” explores William and Ellen Craft’s story as an example of the lengths enslaved people were willing to go to secure their freedom and their futures in Massachusetts.

Power-Greene is the E. Franklin Frazier Chair of Africana Studies and professor of history at Clark University in Worcester and an author. Lawrence-Riddell is an award-winning public school educator with 20 years of classroom experience. He has conceived this platform in response to the urgent need for society to honestly and rigorously engage in work to understand the histories and legacies of race and institutional racism.

Big Love Little Performances fundraiser for Big Brothers/Sisters

NORTHAMPTON — The third annual Big Love Little Performances will take place Thursday night, a lip-sync and karaoke event to raise funds for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Hampshire County. The event starts at 6 or 6:30 p.m. at The Iron Horse Music Hall, 18 Center St.

The Valentine karaoke theatrical spectacular with include celebrity judges Vincent Jackson, executive director of Northampton Area Chamber of Commerce; Cristiano Gazzara, local performer and wine specialist; state Rep. Lindsay Sabadosa; and June Millington, godmother of Women in Rock, songwriter, and co-founder of Institute for the Musical Arts.

Emceed by Monte Belmonte, Tara Brewster and Kelsey Flynn, the event will feature food, an auction, poetry on demand, a valentine creating station, fresh flowers and tarot readings.

The evening is a 21-plus event, and tickets are as follows: $75 for VIP (entrance at 6 p.m.), $55 for general admission (entrance at 6:30 p.m.), and $25 for General Admission Community Equity Scale pricing. For tickets or performance registration information: getmeregistered.com/4BLLP2025

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Hampshire County, under the direction of the Center for Human Development, creates and supports one-to-one mentoring relationships that ignite the power and promise of youth. Big Brothers Big Sisters of Hampshire County is celebrating its 50th year as a mentoring agency.

400 high schoolers to attend UMass Honor Band Concert

AMHERST — The UMass Amherst Department of Music and Dance will host hundreds of talented high school musicians from over 70 schools on Saturday, Feb. 15, for the 39th Annual High School Honor Band.

This annual program provides hundreds of New England’s finest wind and percussion students the opportunity to rehearse and perform wind band literature of the highest caliber while learning from UMass faculty and world-renowned guest conductors or composers.

Department Chair and Wind Ensemble Conductor Matt Westgate, UMass Symphony Band Conductor Lindsay Bronnenkant, and Minuteman Marching Band and UMass Concert Band Director Timothy T. Anderson will each work with students throughout the day, and will conduct three bands in a concert that evening at 7 p.m. in Tillis Hall at the Bromery Fine Arts Center.

Joining them will be this year’s guest composer and conductor, Erika Svanoe, known for her lyrical melodies, nods to classic literature, and musical deconstruction, humor, and pastiche. Her works have been performed internationally by school, university, community, and professional bands. Her first major work, “The Haunted Carousel,” won the 2014 NBA Young Band Composition Contest.

The Honor Band schedule for students will also feature master classes with UMass faculty, a concert with the UMass Wind Ensemble, and a forum to interact with UMass music students. The concert in the evening is free and open to the public.