Louis Armstrong House Museum Hosts Presentations and House Tours in Honor of Black History Month

In honor of Black History Month, each Saturday in February at 2:00 pm the Louis Armstrong House Museum will celebrate the contributions of the jazz great to the Civil Rights Movement with house tours and family-friendly presentations. These events are included with the admission price to the museum.

Louis Armstrong was one of the world's greatest entertainers. He was loved and revered internationally as the father of jazz. He was a genius trumpeter and singer, a goodwill ambassador, charismatic movie star, prolific writer, and talented collage artist. But he was rarely viewed as a civil rights pioneer.

In honor of Black History Month, the Louis Armstrong House Museum staff offers weekly family-friendly presentations on the life and legacy of Louis Armstrong, including a look at the many barriers Armstrong broke during his remarkable fifty-year career. The presentations explore Armstrong's controversial response to the Little Rock Nine school desegregation crisis in 1957: refusing to go on a State Department-sponsored tour to the Soviet Union. View the FBI file that carefully tracked Armstrong's whereabouts after his public call for change.

A guided tour of the Armstrong House will follow each presentation. Reservations are required as space is limited. To make a reservation, email reservations@louisarmstronghouse.org or call the museum atv718-478-8274. 

WHEN: Saturdays, February 6, 13, 20, 27, 2010 at 2 pm

WHERE: The Louis Armstrong House Museum is located at 34-56 107th Street invCorona, Queens. For directions, visit www.louisarmstronghouse.org 

ADMISSION: Event included in Museum admission.
$8 for adults; $6 for seniors/students/children, free for members.

BACKGROUND:
Jazz great Louis Armstrong moved to Corona, Queens, with his wife Lucille in 1943. The couple spent the rest of their lives in the house. Thanks to the vision and financial support of the Louis Armstrong Educational Foundation, their residence-still containing its original furnishings-is a National Historic Landmark administered by Queens College. House tours explore the life and legacy of Louis Armstrong and include recordings of him enjoying a meal with Lucille at his dining room table, chatting with friends in his living room, and practicing the trumpet in his den.

For more information on the Louis Armstrong House Museum, including directions, visit www.louisarmstronghouse.org.