The spirit at the historic inauguration of the first African-American president can be kept alive by taking part in two free programs this Black History Month offered by Lay Park and the University libraries.

During the fourth annual African-American Film Festival at Lay Park, attendees can watch recent movies from black directors or with predominantly black casts, while also enjoying carnival-style popcorn and soda at no extra cost.

“We wanted to keep it casual,” said Henry Devereux, the program specialist at Lay Park. “We didn’t want people to get too bogged down on the historical significance, and we wanted to develop fellowship in the community.”

When the festival first began, two films were shown each day — one for children and one for adults – but more children started showing up so the members decided to scale it down to one film rated PG-13 or lower in a room that fits about 25 people.

Each week, depending on the audience that shows up, Devereux said he will choose a film from titles, such as “College Road Trip,” “The Pursuit of Happyness” and “Raisin in the Sun,” a made for TV movie based on the Broadway play of the same name.

The University libraries will screen programs by recent recipients of the George Foster Peabody Awards, which are given for international TV and radio broadcasting.

“We hope to start a dialogue around black history,” said Mary Miller, the Peabody Awards Collection archivist. “These topics don’t just apply to African-Americans, but to all of us.”

The first showing took place on Feb. 3, while the other screenings will continue at 7 p.m. the Miller Learning Center on the three remaining Tuesdays of the month, with guest speakers present for discussion after each viewing.

Topics addressed in these programs include a hard-hitting report by ABC on AIDS within black communities and an episode of the comic-strip based show “The Boondocks,” which features Martin Luther King Jr.