If you are looking for a way to celebrate Black History Month, the local NAACP Youth Council is putting on just the event.

“The Youth Council is going to be portraying (black leaders) from the past and the present,” said Brookhaven/Lincoln County NAACP Youth Council Adviser Chasta Merchant.

“Black History” is Saturday, Feb. 23, at 6 p.m. at the Good Samaritan Hall on Chippewa Street.

The young men and women will be performing monologues, acting as Rosa Parks, Harriet Tubman, Muhammad Ali, President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, Michael Jackson, Beyonce, etc. The actor/actress will even sing and dance like Jackson and Beyonce.

There will also be a fashion show, with models dressed in African attire.

The NAACP Youth Council ranges from ages 5 months to 23 years. The age cutoff is 25.

“We learn how to conduct ourselves and be future leaders,” said Merchant.

The council holds meetings and goes on trips, such as in 2011 to the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis.

At the black history event, a youth council member, Charlotte Hill, will perform a praise dance and the Youth Council will recite the mission statement of the NAACP:

“The mission of the NAACP is to ensure the political, educational, social and economic equality of rights of all persons and to eliminate racial hatred and racial discrimination.”

Merchant said the main purpose of this event is, “to enlighten our kids on their history and where we came from and so they can know about the things our forefathers and mothers had to go through. Because if it wasn’t for them, we wouldn’t be where we are today.”

Entrance to the event is free, but a collection will be taken.

“We came up with this event as a fundraiser to raise funds for the youth council,” said Merchant.

To get involved with the NAACP, contact Chasta Merchant or local president, Bernetta Character.

“We have black and white members,” said Merchant, assuring that the NAACP is for everyone.

The group meets the first Saturday of every month at 10 a.m. at the Good Samaritan Hall.