The St. Petersburg Museum of History kicks off its 2006 edition of the Wine and Cheese Lecture Series this week, and in conjunction with Black History Month, hosts an evening of enlightened dialogue with some local African-American talents. Poets Mary McNair-Nelson (Poetic Expressions of Life and Love) and Rosalie Peck (Threshold First Book of Poetry) read passages from their works and talk about their varied experiences; Quincy S. Smith discusses his book, My Skin Was My Sin: The Progeny of Africa in America; keynote speaker, historian and author Randy Lightfoot shares insight about blacks who made important contributions to the Tampa Bay area; and humanitarian Virginia J. Scott shows a civil rights film, Faces in the Water. Of course, attendees also enjoy wine, cheese, tasty snacks and a peek at Florida's Got the Blues, the museum's latest exhibition. Thurs., Feb. 16, 7-9 p.m., 335 Second Ave. N.E., St. Petersburg, $5, 727-894-1052, www.stpetemuseumofhistory.org.
This article appears in Feb 15-21, 2006.