For Black History Month, Rock Island native Jonathan Burnett wants to educate people about a jazz legend from the Q-C whose son went on to become the first African-American governor of Massachusetts. On Monday, Feb. 8 at 6 p.m., the first cut of the short documentary, “The Strangeness: The Pat Patrick Story,” will be shown free on Facebook, through Azubuike African American Council of the Arts. Much information has been documented on legendary white musicians from the Quad-Cities. However, less is known about the contributions made by African-Americans, Burnett said recently. “We know Bix... Read More

In September 1959, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., visited Hawaii – shortly after it formally became the 50th state in the Union, and spoke to its leaders. That little-known trip is the subject of a planned documentary and a Facebook Live discussion with its filmmakers on Monday, Martin Luther King Day. The Quad-Cities based Azubuike African American Council for the Arts is hosting the free event Jan. 18 at 6 p.m., where Azubuike executive director (and Rock Island native) Jonathan Burnett will interview his father, Academy Award-winner Charles Burnett, director of the new MLK documentary,... Read More