Multimedia

Photo Exhibits

In January 2004 the University mounted an exhibit at the Media Union, chronicling the U-M’s recent Supreme Court cases on affirmative action. U-M staff photographer Marcia Ledford contributes to this look back at Grutter v. Bollinger et al. and Gratz et al. v. Bollinger et al. For more information on the Traveling Exhibition, please read the News Service press release.

Digital Media Archive

The University Library has developed a Digital Media Archive that is an excellent resource for historical materials. The Archive includes historical photos from the Library of Congress, as well as special local materials on school desegregation efforts in the Ann Arbor area.

Videos and Presentations

Here you’ll find streaming video of many of the Brown-related lectures and events that took place on campus during the semester. Also included is “Michigan, 1954,” a video produced by the U-M’s Dialogues on Diversity program.

January 12: MLK Symposium Opening Lecture: “A Conversation with the Brown Sisters”
January 19: 17th Annual Martin Luther King, Jr., Keynote Lecture, by Professor Lani Guinier, Harvard Law School
February 12: “School Desegregation in the 20th Century: The Long Shadow of Little Rock,” with Ernest Green, one of the “Little Rock Nine”
March 25: “School Desegregation in the 21st Century: Fulfilling the Promise of Brown,” with Gary Orfield, Co-Director, Harvard Civil Rights Project, and Beverly Tatum, President of Spelman College
March 31:“Color-Blind Affirmative Action,” presentation by Glenn Loury, Professor of Economics, Boston University
April 1: Nancy Cantor Distinguished Lecture on Intellectual Diversity. “The Effect of Negative Stereotyping on Academic Performance,” Claude Steele, Professor of Psychology, Stanford University
May 7: Keynote address by Theodore M. Shaw, Director-Counsel, NAACP Legal defense and Education Fund, at the School of Education conference on “Brown v. Board, 1954–2004” School Integration and K-12 Education
May 8: School of Education Conference Workshop led by Jacqueline Jordan Irvine, Charles Howard Candler Professor of Urban Education, Emory University
May 17: Provost’s Seminar on Multicultural Learning, presentations by Lawrence Bobo, Professor of Sociology and African American Studies, Harvard University, and Patricia Gurin, Professor Emerita, Psychology and Women’s Studies, University of Michigan.

Lawrence Bobo
Patricia Gurin

(the above webcasts require RealPlayer)

Michigan, 1954 from Dialogues on Diversity.
Watch the Quicktime movie (11.2 MB)>>

Events

Following are the events, conferences, lectures, and films that took place during the Brown v. Board Theme Semester. Please click on the month you want to view.

January | February | March | April | May

JANUARY

12 Opening Lecture, MLK Symposium: “A Conversation with the Brown Sisters”

>>WATCH THE WEBCAST!

Rackham Auditorium
915 East Washington Street

Speakers: Linda Brown Thompson and Cheryl Brown Henderson, daughters of Rev. Oliver Brown, plaintiff in the Brown v. Board case.

“A Conversation with the Brown Sisters” is a lecture and interactive dialogue between Cheryl and Linda Brown and University of Michigan students. Cheryl and Linda Brown are the daughters of the late Reverend Oliver Brown, who fought for the integration of public education. The Brown sisters will share their experiences relative to the Brown decision and talk to students about the recent Supreme Court decisions on the Michigan cases. Audience members are encouraged to take part in the question & answer session that follows.

For more information please contact Silvia Carranza, 734-936-1055
Sponsored by the 2004 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Symposium Planning Committee and the Office of Academic Multicultural Initiatives.

>>MLK Symposium web page
>>more about Linda Brown Thompson
>>a personal perspective by Cheryl Brown Henderson

12 A Reception with the Brown Sisters

8:30pm
Foyer, Rackham Building
915 East Washington Street

The reception will be held in honor of Linda Brown Thompson and Cheryl Brown Henderson, after the lecture and discussion at Rackham Auditorium

For more information please contact Silvia Carranza, 734-936-1055
Sponsored by the 2004 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Symposium Planning Committee, the Office of Academic Multicultural Initiatives, and the U-M Chapter of the NAACP.

>>MLK Symposium web page
>>more about Linda Brown Thompson
>>a personal perspective by Cheryl Brown Henderson

13 Critical Conversations in Leadership
Brown v. Board of Education: Mistakes Made? Lessons Learned?

6:30pm
Bursley Residence Hall, MLK Lounge
1931 Duffield

Guest speaker: Dr. Ishmail Conway, Assistant to the Dean of Students for Special Projects
What were the policy and procedural implications of the Brown v. Board of Education decision? Join us for a lively conversation about the real legacy of this landmark decision and the leadership challenges that remain ahead of us. Sponsored by two Division of Student Affairs units: the Office of Student Activities & Leadership and University Housing Residence Education.

13 Exhibit Opening: “Views & Voices: U-M’s Case for Diversity”

Main Gallery 1st Floor
Media Union
2281 Bonisteel Boulevard
(North Campus)

Exhibit dates: January 13-30, 2004; February 9-20, 2004
Exhibit hours: 12noon to 6:00pm, M-F; 1:00-5:00pm, S

This exhibit examines U-M’s controversial and complex role in the national debate about diversity and the recent Supreme Court decisions upholding the principle of diversity in college admissions. Richly documented with photos and quotes from present and past, as well as audio recordings of student views and of the Supreme Court sessions, the exhibit describes both the complexity of the issues and the University’s long history of involvement.
Complex in structure and topic, the exhibit’s narrative draws from a panorama of photos, cartoons, sketches, and quotes to tell the story, including a photo record of events surrounding the cases by U-M Photo Services photographer Marcia Ledford, who traveled with the U-M legal team to Washington, D.C.
The exhibit also looks at landmark decisions in education around the nation and at U-M, spells out the arguments brought to the court, and describes the decision.
Sponsored by the Rackham School of Graduate Studies, the U-M Law School, the Office of the Vice President for Communications, the Office of the Vice President and General Counsel, the Office of the Provost, the Arts of Citizenship Program, and the Bentley Historical Library

14 Film: LaLee’s Kin: The Legacy of Cotton (2001)

Film Series: “America Through the Lens of Race”
5:00pm
Michigan Theater
603 East Liberty Street

It is fitting that the film series to commemorate the Supreme Court decision in Brown begins with LaLee’s Kin. Released in 2001, this documentary chronicles a black matriarch who is struggling to raise grandchildren and great-grandchildren in the poverty of the Mississippi Delta. The film is set against a backdrop of the community’s failing public school and its attempts to improve the quality of education for local children in a community that has been undereducated for generations.

Nominated for an Oscar in the Best Documentary Feature category in 2001.
Directed by Susan Frömke and Deborah Dickson with Albert Maysles. 89 min.
The first in a series of films to be shown Wednesdays at 5:00pm at the Michigan Theater. View the full schedule of films.

Hosted by Melynda Price, J.D., Department of Political Science, and A.T. Miller, Coordinator of Multicultural Learning and Teaching, Center for Research on Learning and Teaching.

15 Symposium: “Nuestra Educacion: The Mendez v. Westminster Case Revisited”

4:30pm
Rackham Auditorium
915 East Washington

An interdisciplinary symposium on the landmark Mendez v. Westminster case (1946), which ruled against the educational segregation of Mexican-Americans and other ethnic minorities in California. The brief for this case was instrumental in developing the arguments leading to Brown v. Board of Education eight years later.

A panel featuring legal, historical, and personal viewpoints on the case will be accompanied by a screening of the Emmy Award-winning documentary Mendez v. Westminster: For All the Children/Para Todos los Niños (2002), followed by a question & answer session with the director, and a reception hosted by the Latino Faculty & Staff Association.

Panelists include distinguished Latino/a historians, representatives from the U-M Law School, television producer Sandra Robbie from KOCE-TV, and Silvia Mendez, whose own experience of educational discrimination led to the victorious decision in the Orange County circuit court.
Sponsored by Latino Faculty & Staff Association Latina/o Studies Program in American Culture and the Latino Law Student Association at the University of Michigan.

16 Film: The Road to Brown

7:00-8:00pm
Ann Arbor District Library
Downtown Library Multi-Purpose Room
343 South Fifth Street

This 1990 documentary film, directed by William Elwood, is the story of segregation and the brilliant legal assault on it, which launched the Civil Rights Movement. For more information, please call 327-4560, or visit the Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti Reads website.

16 Forum: “Where We’ve Been, Where We’re Going?”

8:00pm
Michigan League
Vandenberg Room
911 North University

A forum to discuss the progress as well as the challenges surrounding Brown v. Board of Education.

Panelists:
Dr. Hanes Walton, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan

Marco Davis, Center for Latino Leadership National Council of La Raza, Washington D.C.

Dr. Anna Kirkland, Women’s Studies, University of Michigan
Sponsoring organizations: Sigma Lambda Beta International Fraternity-Zeta Chapter, Michigan League Programming Office

18 Panel Discussion:
“Harvest of Shame? or Harvest of Hope?”
Migrant Education after Brown v. Board of Education: A Perspective from Professionals in the Field

2:30pm
Hussey Room
Michigan League
911 North University

Panelists:

Baldemar Velasquez, President of FLOC (Farm Labor Organizing Committee)

John H. Dominguez, Jr., Director of the VBISD Migrant/Bi-lingual Education Program

Emily Martinez, Coordinator of Lenawee School District Multicultural Education Resources

Cipriano Garza, Director of Miami-Dale County Migrant Education Center and Former Advisor on Migrant Affairs to President Bill Clinton

Sponsoring Organizations: PALMA, OAMI, LTF, the English Language Institute and Michigan League Programming Office

18 Book Signing

6:00pm
Washington Street Educational Center Auditorium
500 Washington Street
Chelsea, MI

Melba Patillo Beals, author of Warriors Don't Cry, a memoir of the 1957 integration of Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, will discuss and sign copies of her book in a community and family reading program sponsored by the Chelsea District Library, Cranesbill Books, and One World, One Family Task Force.

>>more information about Melba Patillo Beals
>>Chelsea Library website

19 Keynote Lecture: MLK Symposium

>>WATCH THE WEBCAST from the event (requires RealPlayer)

10:00am
Hill Auditorium
825 North University
Speaker: Lani Guinier
The 17th Annual Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Keynote Lecture, held on Monday, January 19, at 10:00 AM in Hill Auditorium, will be given by Professor Lani Guinier of Harvard Law School.

Professor Guinier, the first African American woman to be appointed to a tenured professorship at Harvard Law School, will discuss the interplay between legal and political solutions to social justice challenges, with special attention to the relationship between then-director counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund (later Supreme Court Justice) Thurgood Marshall and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Professor Guinier will also discuss the role that education plays in our democracy and the way in which the recent Supreme Court decisions in the Michigan affirmative action cases continue conversation between lawyers, public policy officials and grassroots activists.

>> MLK Symposium web page
>> Visit Lani Guinier’s web page
>> More about Lani Guinier

Sponsored by the 2004 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Symposium Planning Committee and the Office of Academic Multicultural Initiatives.

19 Lecture: “Health Disparities: Still Separate? Still Unequal? A Conversation with Dr. Camara Jones, MD, MPH, PhD”

11:45am
Towsley Center, Dow Auditorium
U-M Medical School
1515 East Medical Center Drive

A board-certified family physician and epidemiologist whose work focuses on the impacts of racism on the health on the health and well-being of American society, Dr. Camara Phyllis Jones will discuss the topic of race and the health effects of racism. She will also discuss the ways in which definitions of race and racism, while arbitrary, undermine the potential of U.S. society as a whole.

Dr. Jones is Research Director on Social Determinants of Health in the Division of Adult and Community Health, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of the National Black Women’s Health Project, the Executive Board of the American Public Health Association, and the Board of Directors of the American College of Epidemiology.

Sponsored by MLK Health Sciences Planning Committee, School of Public Health, Hospitals and Health Centers, Medical School, School of Nursing, College of Pharmacy, School of Dentistry, School of Social Work

19 Lunch with Honors

12:10pm
1330 Mason Hall
505 South State Street
FREE EVENT

“Lunch with Honors” will feature Lynn Rivers, former U.S. Representative for Ann Arbor, who was also President of the Ann Arbor School Board during a period when the Board was struggling with segregation issues in the Ann Arbor schools.

For more information, please contact John Cantu, 764-6274

Sponsored by College of Literature, Science, & Arts Honors Program

19 MLK Day Lecture: “50 Years Since Brown v. Board of Education”

2:00pm
Michigan Union Ballroom
530 South State Street

Speaker: Christopher Edley, Jr., founding Co-Director of the Harvard Civil Rights Project, and author of “Not All Black & White: Affirmative Action, Race, and American Values.” A q&a session will follow the presentation.

Sponsored by the University Library
>>MLK Symposium web page
>>More about Christopher Edley, Jr.
>>News Release: Edley to become Dean of University of California-Berkeley Law School

19 MLK Day Children’s Day Program

8:30am–2:00pm
Modern Languages Building
812 East Washington Street

This special MLK Day program is geared to for children from 8-17 years of age, and includes storytelling, music, crafts, and lunch. Children under 8 are also welcome, with an accompanying parent.
For more information, please see the MLK Symposium web page or contact Larry Gant, 763-5990.

Sponsored by the School of Education and the School of Social Work.

19 “Our Stories: Reflections on Life, Community, and Education after Brown v. Board of Education”

4:00pm
Couzens Hall Living Room
1200 East Ann Street
530 South State Street

What impact has Brown v. Board of Education had on educational expectations, life, and the community? Join the Michigan Community Scholars Program as we share stories on the progress of our countries educational system.

For more information, please contact Takisha LaShore, 763-4818

Sponsored by Michigan Learning Communities

19 Jazz Divas Summit

7:30pm
Hill Auditorium
825 North University
TICKETS AVAILABLE FROM UNIVERSITY MUSICAL SOCIETY

Three of the sexiest names in jazz hail from Michigan, and now they finally come together for a special performance on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day during the UMS Hill Auditorium Re-Opening Weekend.

Dianne Reeves, whose strong, agile voice, rhythmic virtuosity, and improvisational ease draws upon a world of influences, returns to her home state.
She brings with her Flint native and Tony Award winner Dee Dee Bridgewater, whose career in musical theater has paralleled her career as a jazz singer, and Detroit native Regina Carter, a charismatic player who has single-handedly revived interest in the violin as a jazz instrument.

For more information, please visit the University Musical Society’s web page.

Sponsored by Forest Health Services, Borders Group, Pfizer, the University of Michigan, TIAA CREF, WEMU (89.1), and WDET (101.9). Made possible by the Catherine S. Arcure & Herbert E. Sloan Endowment and the H. Gardner Ackley Endowment. Funded in part by JazzNet. Co-presented with the Office of Academic Multicultural Initiatives. Media Sponsors: Michigan Chronicle and Michigan Front Page.

20 Film: “Brother Outsider: The Life of Bayard Rustin”

6:30-8:30pm with facilitated discussion after the movie
Ann Arbor District Library Screening Room
343 South Fifth Avenue

Acclaimed at this year’s Sundance Festival, this compelling documentary explores the story of peace activist and civil rights campaigner Bayard Rustin. Openly gay long before it was socially acceptable, Rustin’s was a fearless and adept campaigner for civil rights, taking a major role in advising Martin Luther King on strategy in the struggles around the Rosa Parks case. Rustin later went on to play a major part in organizing the historic March on Washington, which galvanized the cause of civil rights in the US.

Bayard Rustin changed history and paved the way for many others. This timely and inspiring film celebrates his many (and hitherto unsung) achievements.

Directed by Nancy Kates and Bennett Singer 2002 — 84 mins
Co-sponsored by the Ann Arbor District Library, the Office of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Affairs, and the Office of Multi-Ethnic Student Affairs

21 ”Still Separate? Still Unequal? Mobilizing Communities for Social Action”

12noon
School of Social Work, Educational Conference Center
1080 South University Avenue

Speaker: U-M alumnus Arturo Rodriguez, President of United Farm Workers of America, AFL-CIO.

Carrying on the organization and strategies of the late Cesar Chavez, Rodriguez (MSW ’73) will discusses strategies for community organization and mobilization in multicultural communities and organizations.

For more information please contact Larry Gant, 763-5990.

Sponsored by School of Social Work 2004 MLK Symposium Planning Committee Office of Academic Multicultural Initiatives, Ginsberg Center, Institute for Labor and Industrial Relations and Latino Studies

21 6th Annual MLK Luncheon and Discussion Series
“50 years since Brown v. Board of Education: How Has Diversity in Higher Education Contributed to Student Learning and Social Justice?”

12noon
Lurie Engineering Center
Johnson Room, 3rd floor
1221 Beal (North Campus)

“I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men are created equal” (Martin Luther King, Jr., 1963). Join us for Part I of the MLK luncheon and discussion series, a showing of the documentary Campus Diversity, Student Voices. What does diversity mean to you? Is it central to your education? Why or why not? Campus Diversity, Student Voices, produced by U-M’s Dialogues on Diversity, explores the value of diversity in higher education by documenting a full range of opinions on campus. A short discussion will follow. Part II will take place on February 10.

For more information, please contact Andrew Chandler, 647-7151. Sponsored by Tau Beta Pi, College of Engineeering

21 Lecture/Discussion: “The Promise of Qualitative Social Research to Unravel the Race/ Ethnicity and Poverty Relationship”

3:30-5:30pm
Henderson Room
Michigan League

Speakers:
Mario Luis Small, Princeton University, author of Villa Victoria: The Transformation of Social Capital in an Urban Barrio;

Alford Young, Jr., University of Michigan, author of The Minds of Marginalized Black Men: Making Sense of Mobility, Opportunity, and Future Life Chances; and

John Hartigan, Jr., University of Texas at Austin, author of Racial Situations: Class Predicaments of Whiteness in Detroit

The National Poverty Center’s Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Seminar will feature a panel of three social scientists, each of whom has conducted ethnographic research within an ethnically and racially specific poor community.

The panelists will describe their research and discuss the ways in which race/ethnic identity and poverty interrelate in the communities they studied. The panel will also include a discussant, Ann Chih Lin of the University of Michigan, who will address the research and policy implications of the ethnographies. A reception follows.

Co-sponsored by the National Poverty Center, Ford School of Public Policy, the Department of Sociology, and the Center for Afroamerican and African Studies.

21 Theme Semester Faculty Roundtable

4:00-6:00pm
Kalamazoo Room, Michigan Union (2nd floor)

Join instructors who are teaching courses for the Brown theme semester. Participants will learn about the various events taking place on and off campus that can be integrated into courses. We will also be discussing classroom strategies and approaches. Visit the CRLT website for more information and to register for the Roundtable.

21 Lecture: “Beyond Diversity: Challenging Racism in an Age of Backlash”

6:30pm
Rackham Auditorium
915 East Washington Street

Tim Wise is one of the most prominent white anti-racist voices in the United States. A social justice advocate for the past two decades, he currently serves as Senior Advisor to the Fisk University Race Relations Institute. In 2001 he received the British Diversity award for best feature essay on race and diversity issues. He is a dynamic speaker.

Sponsored by Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program Mentorship, Health Science Scholars Program, Lloyd Hall Scholars Program, Residential College,Women in Science and Engineering Program, and University Housing.
>>MLK Symposium web page

22 Documentary Film: Race: the Power of an Illusion

Fridays 8:30pm
Underground (Michigan League)
911 North University

Viewing of the documentary Race: The Power of an Illusion, followed by a facilitated discussion.

Sponsoring Organizations: Zeta Sigma Chi Multicultural Sorority, Michigan League Programming Office

22 POETRY SLAM

8:00pm
Michigan Union, University Club
530 South State Street
The U-Club Poetry Slam will be hosting a themed poetry night honoring MLK. Our featured poet is Roger Bonair-Agard, the 1999 National Poetry Slam Champion! There is a $2 admission fee.
For more information please contact Karla Zinnecker, 734-763-3202

Sponsored by Michigan Union Arts & Programs

23 Lather. Rinse. Repeat: Long Hairz Collective Workshop

3:00pm
Room 126, East Quadrangle
701 East University Avenue

Lather. Rinse. Repeat: Long Hairz Collective Performance

7:00pm
RC Auditorium, East Quadrangle
701 East University Avenue

Founded at the University of Michigan, the Long Hairz Collective, a spoken word/hip hop group, is reuniting again on campus for the MLK Symposium. The afternoon workshop will give the community a chance to learn how to express themselves through spoken word and how to integrate this into their activism. There will also be an evening performance by the Collective.

For more information please contact Stephanie Chang, 751-9814.

Sponsored by United Asian American Organizations Native American Student Association, Multi-Ethnic Student Affairs, East Quad Multicultural Awareness Committee.

>>MLK Symposium web page

23 Faculty Book Group: Race in the College Classroom

Fridays Jan. 23, Feb. 6, March 5 and 19
Brownlee Room, 2327 School of Education Building

Race continues to be an important classroom dynamic even 50 years after the historic Brown decision. Join colleagues for discussion on essays from the book. Participants will receive a copy of the volume to be read. Visit the CRLT website for more information and to register for the Book Group.

25 Conference: Redefining Diversity

1:00pm
Michigan League

The Redefining Diversity Conference is an opportunity for all students to become educated on minority issues. Workshop topics include: communication among minority groups, Issues of sexuality, minorities in academia, Issues of identity, and the definition of diversity. The conference, scheduled in the Michigan League from 1-7 PM, will include an icebreaker, intergroup workshops, and dialogues, and will be followed by an ethnic buffet at the Trotter House at the conclusion of the conference. Transportation will be provided.

For more information please contact Erin Johnson, 476-0369.

Sponsored by Coalition of minority/ethnic student organizations. The Coalition includes NAACP, Minority Affiars Commission of MSA, The Mixed Initiative, Intergroup Relations, United Asian American Organizations, Arab Student Association, Lebanese Student Association, Students Allied for Freedom and Equality, Muslim Student Association, La Voz Latina, and others.

27 Lecture/Discussion
Brown v. Board’s Legacy: The Michigan Cases and the Importance of Diversity

7:00-8:30pm
Ann Arbor District Library
Malletts Creek Branch Library
3090 East Eisenhower Parkway

In 2003, the United States Supreme Court ruled on two admissions cases from the University of Michigan, affirming the right of universities to take race into consideration in their admissions policies to ensure a diverse student body. U-M vice president and general counsel Marvin Krislov will examine the two cases, their impact, and the issues surrounding race as a factor in admissions.

28 Film: 4 Little Girls (1997)

Film Series: “America Through the Lens of Race”
5:00pm
Michigan Theater
603 East Liberty Street

The Brown decision was the first desegregation case to have a direct impact on the lives of children. But no one could have predicted then the importance of children as participants—and, in the 16th Street Church in Birmingham, as martyrs—in the civil rights movement. In his first documentary, Spike Lee looks at the murder of four little girls in the 1963 bombing of a Birmingham church and the role it played in energizing the civil rights movement.

The film shows, through the voices of adults and children during the civil rights movement, the intense emotion in the African-American community on the issue of children as activists. When all was said and done, it was schoolchildren of all ages who bore the daily responsibility of implementing the desegregation dreams of adults. This film pays homage to these girl children and to the power of the political participation of children.
Directed by Spike Lee.

The second in a series of films to be shown Wednesdays at 5:00pm at the Michigan Theater. View the full schedule of films.
Hosted by Melynda Price, J.D., Department of Political Science, and A.T. Miller, Coordinator of Multicultural Learning and Teaching, Center for Research on Learning and Teaching.

29 Mark and Constance Jacobson Lecture
“A New Court for a New Democracy: Art, Memory, and Human Rights Come Together in Building South Africa’s Constitutional Court,”

4:00pm
Rackham Amphitheatre
915 East Washington Street

Speaker: Albert L. “Albie” Sachs, Constitutional Court Judge, South African Constitutional Court

Born in Johannesburg in 1935, Sachs earned his B.A. and LL.B. degrees from the University of Cape Town. He started his practice as an Advocate at the Cape Town Bar in 1957.

After a number of years abroad living in England, Sachs returned to South Africa in 1992, where, as a member of the African National Congress, he took part in negotiations for the new constitution. He was appointed to the Constitutional Court by President Nelson Mandela.

He has said of his experiences: “It's very satisfying to know that the things that you put yourself on the line for, the beliefs that you had, the marginalization that you were subjected to, that in fact that call was right. It's thrilling in a personal sense but it gives one courage about the world, that it is possible to have simple, naïve beliefs in human goodness and the capacity of people to change and to transform their lives.” His book, The Soft Vengeance of a Freedom Fighter, looks back on those experiences.

29 Panel Discussion:
Weaving the Urban Fabric: A Look at Benton Harbor in Context

6:00pm
Art & Architecture Building, 2104 Lecture Hall
2000 Bonisteel Boulevard
North Campus

June 16th and 17th,2003 were two terrible days in Benton Harbor, Michigan. The death of a black motorcyclist after a police chase sparked two days of civil unrest that left the city reeling while also placing state and national focus on its plight. This event will explore the human relations aspect of the difficulties facing Benton Harbor, a roughly 95% African American city, and St. Joseph, which is approximately 95% White, as they try to exist and thrive side by side despite their disparate circumstances. A panel comprising community members from Benton Harbor and St. Joseph as well as academics and students who have visited the two cities will interact in an effort to understand and illuminate the steps necessary to achieve the underlying goal expressed through Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s actions—an improved society predicated on improved relations among people.

For more information please contact W. Jacarl Melton at (734) 764-1300. Sponsored by the Urban Planning Student Association, the Office of Academic Multicultural Initiatives, Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Urban and Regional Planning Program, and the Department of Sociology.

30 Mark and Constance Jacobson Symposium

12noon
Rackham Assembly Hall
915 East Washington Street

Justice Albie Sachs of South Africa will join a panel of discussants, including Earl Lewis, Dean of the Graduate School; David Chambers, emeritus, law; and Karthy Govender, law, University of Natal.

30 Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti Reads Author Visit

7:00-8:00pm
Morris Lawrence Building
Washtenaw Community College

Speaker: Beverly Daniel Tatum

WATCH THE WEBCAST>>

The author of "Why All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? and Other Converseations about Race" will discuss the book and its examination of race relations. Dr. Tatum will also be signing copies of the book, which will be available for sale at the event

-back to top-

FEBRUARY

3 Black History Month Keynote Presentation
“Racial Equality in America: The Journey from Brown v. Board of Education to Grutter v. Bollinger”

7:00pm
Pendleton Room
Michigan Union
530 South State Street

Speaker: Honorable Harry T. Edwards, Circuit Judge, Chief Judge Emeritus, United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit

Chief Judge Edwards was appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals in February 1980 and became Chief Judge on September 15, 1994. He graduated from Cornell University in 1962 and the University of Michigan Law School in 1965. Judge Edwards practiced law in Chicago from 1965 to 1970. He was then a tenured member of the faculties at the University of Michigan Law School and at Harvard Law School.

Edwards is the co-author of four books: Labor Relations Law in the Public Sector, "The Lawyer as a Negotiator, Collective Bargaining and Labor Arbitration, and Higher Education and the Law. He has published numerous articles on labor law, equal employment opportunities, labor arbitration, higher education law, and legal ethics. His most important publication, “The Growing Disjunction Between Legal Education and the Legal Profession,” from Michigan Law Review in 1992, has been the source of extensive comment, discussion, and debate among legal scholars and practitioners in the United States.

For more information contact Robbie Townsel-Dye at 763-1452.
Sponsored by the U-M Housing Division Black History Month Committee

4 Lecture: Affirmative Action and Racial Preferences Debated by Professors Carl Cohen and James Sterba

7:00-8:30pm
Ann Arbor District Library
Downtown Library Multi-Purpose Room
343 South Fifth Avenue

U-M Professor Cohen and Notre Dame Professor Sterba are on opposite sides of affirmative action issues. They are the co-authors of a new book, Affirmative Action and Racial Preference: A Debate, and they will continue the book’s spirited debate in this live event, which will include ample opportunities for audience questions, answers, and comments.

5 Critical Conversations in Leadership:
The Road to Brown

7:00pm
Baits Housing
Thieme Lounge (Max Kade Lounge)
1230 Hubbard
North Campus

The documentary film “The Road to Brown” spans the history of Jim Crow segregation and examines the numerous legal challenges leading up to the Supreme Court’s historic civil rights ruling in Brown v. Board of Education. Special guest Dr. Ronald Woods will facilitate a discussion immediately following the film.

7 Book Discussion: “Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?” And Other Conversations About Race

4:00-5:00pmpm
Nicola’s Books: A Little Professor Store
Westgate Shopping Center

The Good Company African American Book Club invites all to a discussion of Beverly Tatum’s book. For more information, please call Valera Banks at 734-942-6013.

8 Sarah, Ella, & Pops
>>A CULTURE BUS EVENT

3:00pm
Wright Museum of African American History
315 East Warren
Detroit, MI

A Plowshares Theatre Company-created musical that celebrates the lives of Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, and the legendaryLouis Armstrong. Tickets are $11.50 (undergrads and accompanying faculty and staff) and $16.50 (grads, faculty, and staff).

Departure Time: 1:30 pm

Tickets may be ordered online, through the Arts at Michigan website (credit card payments only)…by phone at 734-763-8587 (credit card payments only)…and in person, at the Michigan Union Ticket Office (MUTO).

For more information on tickets, trip details, admission fees, and departure and return times, please visit the Arts at Michigan website.

Please contact Nancy Lautenbach, at nancyll@umich.edu or 734-936-5805, ASAP if you are interested in reserving a group of tickets for this or any other Culture Bus trip.

8 Critical Conversations in Leadership
Opportunities at Historically Black Colleges and Universities

6:00pm
Mosher-Jordan Residence Hall
Nikki Giovanni Lounge
200 Observatory

Speak with alums of Historically Black Colleges and Universities about the opportunities and benefits for undergraduate and graduate students at these respective institutions.

Sponsored by LSA Academic Advising in conjunction with two Division of Student Affairs units: University Housing Residence Education and Student Activities & Leadership

9 Lecture: “The Implications of Grutter v. Bollinger: Affirmative Action in Higher Education and Beyond”

3:45pm
Hutchins Hall Room 100
Michigan Law School
625 South State Street

Discussion featuring:

Kimberle Williams Crenshaw, Professor of Law, Columbia & UCLA Law Schools

Cynthia Estlund, Professor of Law, Columbia Law School

James Forman, Jr., Associate Professor of Law, Georgetown Law Center

Peter Kirsanow, U.S. Commission on Civil Rights and Partner, Benesch, Friedlander, Coplan & Aronoff LLP

Reception to follow.

For information, please contact Theodore Hebert at 615-4502, or email theohbrt@umich.edu

Sponsored by the Michigan Law School

9 Lecture: Author Debra Dickerson

7:00-8:30pm
Ypsilanti District Library
Community Meeting Room
5577 Whittaker Road
Ypsilanti, MI

Author Dickerson will share her views contained in her latest work, The End of Blackness, regarding the need for blacks to reestablish their identity. Debra Dickerson holds a JD from Harvard Law School and her work has appeared in the New York Times Magazine, The Washington Post, The New Republic, and The Village Voice.

106th Annual MLK Luncheon and Discussion Series
“50 years since Brown v. Board of Education: How Has Diversity in Higher Education Contributed to Student Learning and Social Justice?”

12noon
Lurie Engineering Center
Johnson Room, 3rd floor
1221 Beal (North Campus)

Part II of the luncheon/discussion. Please see January 21st for Part I information.

Why has the University so passionately defended affirmative action in higher education? What has been gained, and what is left to be gained by increasing ethnic/racial diversity in higher education? Panelists will discuss issues of diversity in higher education in the context of the 50th anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education decision. The audience will be encouraged to participate in this discussion.

For more information, please contact Andrew Chandler, 647-7151. Sponsored by Tau Beta Pi, College of Engineeering

10 Lecture: Being Multi-Racial in America:
A Discussion Led by Author Elizabeth Atins Bowman and U-M Librarian Karen Downing

7:00-8:30pm
Ann Arbor District Library
Downtown Library Multi-Purpose Room
343 South Fifth Avenue

Both Bowman and Downing were raised in multi-racial families and have served to raise awareness of multi-racial issues in their professional work—Bowman through her characters in her best-selling novels and Downing through her diversity work on the U-M campus with students. Through this program, they will highlight their experiences as well as outlining important multi-racial issues for society today.

11 Film: Eyes on the Prize: Fighting Back 1957-62 (1986)

Film Series: “America Through the Lens of Race”
5:00pm
Michigan Theater
603 East Liberty Street

This is the second installment of the award-winning documentary Eyes on the Prize, which chronicles America’s civil rights movement and the struggle for freedom. It is included in the film series for historical background on the legal efforts, which culminated in the 1954 decision in Brown, to end the “separate but equal” doctrine set forth in the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson case.
It also covers the integration of Little Rock’s Central High School and the University of Mississippi. This film makes plain the strategies employed by local organizers and the lawyers at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund to dismantle barriers of Jim Crow. Please see the March 24 listing for a showing of another episode of Eyes on the Prize.
Directed by Henry Hampton.

The third in a series of films to be shown Wednesdays at 5:00pm at the Michigan Theater. View the full schedule of films.
Hosted by Melynda Price, J.D., Department of Political Science, and A.T. Miller, Coordinator of Multicultural Learning and Teaching, Center for Research on Learning and Teaching.

School Desegregation in the 20th Century: The Long Shadow of Little Rock

7:30 pm
Rackham Auditorium
915 East Washington Street

WATCH THE WEBCAST>>

Featuring Ernest Green. One of the “Little Rock Nine,” Green became the first black student to graduate from Central High School, in 1958. He went on to receive a degree from Michigan State University and later served as Assistant Secretary of Housing and Urban Affairs under President Jimmy Carter. Green is currently is a managing partner and vice president of Lehman Brothers in Washington, D.C.

Green is the oldest of the Little Rock Nine, a group of high school students who entered Central High School on the morning of September 25, 1957, with an escort of paratroopers. Governor Orval Faubus had summoned National Guardsmen to turn away the black pupils in direct defiance of the federal government, which had already approved a desegregation plan for the school. President Dwight D. Eisenhower, for the first time since Reconstruction, sent in federal troops to protect the rights of the beleaguered students, and the students ultimately prevailed.
A discussion on the turbulent history and challenging history of school desegregation follows Green’s presentation, with Lester Monts, U-M Senior Vice Provost for Academic Affairs; Waldo Martin, Professor of History, University of California - Berkeley; and U-M doctoral students Ayesha Ki’Shani Hardison and L’Heureux Lewis.

>>More about Ernest Green

12 “Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?” And Other Conversations About Race

7:00-8:30pm
Ann Arbor Friends Meeting House, fireplace room
1420 Hill Street

All are invited to a discussion of Beverly Tatum’s book. Registration is required: please call Sheila Johnson at 761-9582 for more information or to register.

16Film: Ruby Bridges

7:00pm
Ypsilanti District Library
5577 Whittaker Road
Ypsilanti

This well-conceived made-for-television Disney movie brings the pain and difficulty of desgregation to life to a generation of kids to whom the 1960s is ancient history, This family event is appropriate for ages 7 and older

17 “Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?”
A Student Perspective-Panel Discussion with Local Middle and High School Students

7:00-8:30pm
Ann Arbor District Library
Downtown Library Multi-Purpose Room
343 South Fifth Avenue

This program, co-sponsored by the Michigan Chapter of the National Association for Multi-Cultural Education, will feature high school and middle school students from the Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, and Detroit areas discussing what race relations are really like for students in today’s schools. There will be ample opportunity for audience questions and answers.

17 Book Discussion: “Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?” and Other Conversations about Race

7:00-8:00pm
Ann Arbor Open School
Multi-Purpose Room
School Media Center
920 Miller Road

All are invited to a discussion of Tatum's book. Registration is required. To register, call the school office at 994-1910.

18Lecture: Racial Profiling and Law Enforcement: Discussion led by Dr. Kenneth Brown

7:00-8:30pm
Downtown Library Multi-Purpose Room
343 South Fifth Avenue

Dr. Brown will discuss the complex challenges facing the community and law enforcement officers on the issue of racial profiling. Communities want law enforcement officers to stop potential crimes before they are committed but that expectation is complicated by many considerations, including the U.S. Constitution. This controversial and timely program will examine the how's and whys of racial profiling—as well as its effect on the community and citizens at large.

22Community Forum: “Why is Sunday the Most Segregated Day of the Week?”

4:00pm
First Unitarian Universalist Church
4001 Ann Arbor-Saline Road

Speaker: Claude Jacobs, Ph.D
Dr. Jacobs, Director of the Pluralism Project at University of Michigan/Dearborn, will lead the community forum. Refreshments and complimentary childcare will be provided.

23Book Discussion: "Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?" And Other Conversations About Race

1:00-2:30pm
Jewish Community Center of Washtenaw County
2935 Birch Hollow Drive

David Schoem, Faculty Director of the Michigan Community Scholars Program at the U-M leads a discussion of the Tatum book. All are invited to attend.

24 Book Discussion: "Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?" And Other Conversations About Race

7:00-9:00pm
Ann Arbor Friends Meeting House, fireplace room
1420 Hill Street

All are invited to a discussion of Tatum's book. Registration is required; please call Sheila Johnson at 761-9582 for more information or to register.

25Book Discussion: "Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?" And Other Conversations About Race

7:00-8:00pm
Ann Arbor District Library
Downtown Library Multi-Purpose Room
343 South Fifth Avenue

Join us for an open discussion of the book that is the focus of this year’s Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti Reads. This discussion, led by library staff and members of the Michigan Chapter of the National Association for Multi-Cultural Education, will examine Tatum's book and its implications for race relations today.

27Book Discussion: "Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?" And Other Conversations About Race

7:00-9:00pm
Crazy Wisdom Bookstore and Tea Room
114 South Main Street

The Crazy Wisdom Reading Circle invites all to a discussion of Tatum’s book. For more information, please call 665-2757.

28Book Discussion: "Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?" And Other Conversations About Race

2:00-3:00pm
Barnes & Noble Bookstore
3235 Washtenaw Avenue

All are invited to a discussion of Tatum’s book. For more information, please call 973-1618.

-back to top-

MARCH

1 A Conversation with Joe Dulin

7:00-8:30pm
Ypsilanti District Library
5577 Whittaker Road
Ypsilanti

Joe Dulin of Roberto Clemente School, and founder of National African American Parent Involvement Day (NAAPID), will speak about African Americans and public education.

For more information, please call 879-1303.

3 Film: Imitation of Life (1934)

Film Series: “America Through the Lens of Race”
5:00pm
Michigan Theater
603 East Liberty Street

The original Hollywood treatment of the novel by Fannie Hurst, which examines the identity of race. This film and the 1959 remake (to be shown March 10) present compelling and contrasting portrayals of the story of two single mothers, one white and one black, who join forces to achieve success, and whose daughters struggle with their identities. Central are the issues of “passing” along with the patterns of white public success built on African American labor. Starring Claudette Colbert and Louise Beavers. Please also see March 10 listing for information on the 1959 remake with Lana Turner.
Directed by John M. Stahl. 125 min.

The fourth in a series of films to be shown Wednesdays at 5:00pm at the Michigan Theater. View the full schedule of films.
Hosted by Melynda Price, J.D., Department of Political Science, and A.T. Miller, Coordinator of Multicultural Learning and Teaching, Center for Research on Learning and Teaching.

6 Youth Event: I am Special!

7:00-8:30pm
Ypsilanti District Library
5577 Whittaker Road
Ypsilanti

Share who you are—inside and out—activities designed to inspire pride. Children will work on self-portraits or “me maps” as they explore, highlight, and celebrate the special qualities that make them unique.

For more information, please call 879-1303.

6Dance Theatre of Harlem
>>A CULTURE BUS EVENT

2:00pm
Detroit Opera House
1526 Broadway
Detroit, MI

Dance Theatre of Harlem is well known for the use of multiple dance forms including classical ballet, modern dance styles such as jazz, tap, and social dance, and ethnic dance traditions from around the world. Tickets are $12 (undergrads and accompanying faculty and staff) and $22 (grads, faculty, and staff).

Departure Time: 12:30 pm

Tickets may be ordered online, through the Arts at Michigan website (credit card payments only)…by phone at 734-763-8587 (credit card payments only)…and in person, at the Michigan Union Ticket Office (MUTO).

For more information on tickets, trip details, admission fees, and departure and return times, please visit the Arts at Michigan website.

Please contact Nancy Lautenbach, at nancyll@umich.edu or 734-936-5805, ASAP if you are interested in reserving a group of tickets for this or any other Culture Bus trip.

9 On-Campus Book Discussion
Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti Reads

3:00-4:00pm
Anderson Room, 1st Floor
Michigan Union
530 South State Street

The Center for Research on Learning and Teaching (CRLT) cordially invites University faculty, graduate students, staff, and interested members of the community to discuss “Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? and Other Conversations About Race” by Beverly Daniel Tatum, Ph.D., U-M alumna and President of Spelman College. These will be small-group, moderated discussions. Please register by sending an e-mail to crlt@umich.edu. The book is available at the Ann Arbor District Library and the Ypsilanti Public Library and is also being offered for a discounted price at several local bookstores.

For more information, please contact Erin Rosenberg at 936-0641

Sponsored by the Center for Research on Learning and Teaching

9 Panel Discussion: Multi-cultural Identities and the Classroom: Teachers Speak Out

7:00-8:30pm
Ann Arbor District Library
Downtown Library Multi-Purpose Room
343 South Fifth Avenue

A panel of local teachers and teacher educators from the Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, and Detroit area discuss race relations in today’s schools and offer their first-hand, candid viewpoints. This program is co-sponsored by the Michigan Chapter of the National Association for Multi-Cultural Education.

10 Critical Conversations in Leadership
Brown v. Board of Education: Mistakes Made? Lessons Learned?

6:30pm
South Quadrangle Residence Hall
African-American Lounge
600 East Madison

Guest speaker: Prof. Kim Forde-Mazrui, Visiting Professor, Professor of Law, University of Virginia Law School

What were the policy and procedural implications of the Brown v. Board of Education decision? Join us for a lively conversation about the real legacy of this landmark decision and the leadership challenges that remain ahead of us. Sponsored by two Division of Student Affairs units: the Office of Student Activities & Leadership and University Housing Residence Education.

10 Film: Imitation of Life (1959)

Film Series: “America Through the Lens of Race”
5:00pm
Michigan Theater
603 East Liberty Street

The 1959 remake of a film about friendship and racial identity. A Hollywood classic, starring Lana Turner, Juanita Moore, and Sandra Dee.
Directed by Douglas Sirk. 125 min.

The fifth in a series of films to be shown Wednesdays at 5:00pm at the Michigan Theater. View the full schedule of films.
Hosted by Melynda Price, J.D., Department of Political Science, and A.T. Miller, Coordinator of Multicultural Learning and Teaching, Center for Research on Learning and Teaching.

10 Panel Discussion:
Gems of Blues and Jazz: Alberta Adams, Alma Smith, and Louis Smith

7:00-8:30pm
Ann Arbor District Library
Downtown Library Multi-Purpose Room
343 South Fifth Avenue

Three of the finest local blues and jazz musicians discuss how racism influenced their performing and recording careers. Bebop trumpeter Louis Smith, zazz pianist/vocalist Alma Smith, and blues singer Alberta Adams all discuss how their talent, pride, and sense of humor helped them forge successful lives in the music business despite many obstacles.

For more information, please call 327-4560

10 “Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?” And Other Conversations About Race

7:00-9:00pm
Ann Arbor Friends Meeting House, fireplace room
1420 Hill Street

All are invited to a discussion of Beverly Tatum’s book. Registration is required: please call Sheila Johnson at 761-9582 for more information or to register.

11 Film: EYES ON THE PRIZE: American Civil Rights Year Series Parts 1 & 2

6:30-9:30pm
Room 1804
School of Social Work Building
1080 South University

Professor Michael Reisch and the Association of Black Social Work Students will be hosting a movie series every week during March (Social Work Month) in Room 1804, School of Social Work.

This week we will be showing EYES ON THE PRIZE: American Civil Rights Year Series, Parts 1 & 2.

Part 1: Awakenings (1954-1956):
Looks at events in post-World War II American history that led to the modern black freedom struggle; depicts Southern race relations in the years prior to 1954; and illustrates patterns of racial discrimination that prevailed at the beginning of the Civil Rights Movements’ activities. Tells the story of two events that helped to focus the nation’s attention on the rights of black Americans to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness: the 1955 lynching in Mississippi of 14-year-old Emmett Till and the 1955-56 Montgomery, Alabama boycott that forced the desegration of public buses.

Part 2: Fighting Back 1957-1962:
Examines the law both as a tool for change and resistance to change, particularly as it relates to education. Covers the court cases of the late 1940s that led to the 1954 Supreme Court Brown v Board of Education decision, the stories of nine black teenagers who integrated Little Rock’s Central High School in 1957, and James Meredith’s 1962 enrollment in the University of Mississippi.

Refreshments will be provided and a discussion will follow.

EVERYONE IS WELCOME!!

13Play: Yellowman
>>A CULTURE BUS EVENT

3:00pm
Detroit Repertory Theatre
13103 Woodrow Wilson
Detroit, MI

A play that tells the tale of Alma, a dark-skinned African-American woman, and her childhood friend Eugene, a light-skinned African-American man, growing up together, yearning to escape the South. Tickets are $7 (undergrads and accompanying faculty and staff) and $11 (grads, faculty, and staff)

Departure Time: 1:30 pm

Tickets may be ordered online, through the Arts at Michigan website (credit card payments only)…by phone at 734-763-8587 (credit card payments only)…and in person, at the Michigan Union Ticket Office (MUTO).

For more information on tickets, trip details, admission fees, and departure and return times, please visit the Arts at Michigan website.

16 Book Discussion:
“Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together…”

7:00pm-8:00pm
Ann Arbor District Library
Malletts Creek Branch
3090 East Eisenhower Parkway

Join us for an open discussion of the book that is the focus of this year’s Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti Reads. This discussion, led by library staff and members of the Michigan Chapter of the National Association for Multi-Cultural Education, will examine Tatum’s book and its implications for race relations today.

16 “A Civil Rights Journey” featuring Dr. Sonnie Hereford III

8:00pm
Michigan League Underground
911 North University

Meet the leader of one of the most successful civil right protests in Alabama history. Dr. Hereford, along with the Community Services Commission, sued the Huntsville School Board on behalf of his son and four other students resulting in the first desegregated school in Alabama history in 1963.

Dr. Hereford employed psychological tactics, and nonviolent, peaceful protests, to get his messages across to those against desegregation. As a result of these efforts, Alabamians had access to integrated public spaces such as restaurants and shopping malls.

“A Civil Rights Journey” is Dr. Hereford’s documentary. It chronicles the civil rights movement in Huntsville, Alabama from 1962–1963 as seen through his own camera lens. The documentary will be followed by a Q&A session with this true Alabama hero.

Refreshments will be provided.

For additional information contact: Ernesto Mejia, Program Coordinator, Dialogues On Diversity.

This event is being brought to you by Dialogues on Diversity, The Michigan League Programming Office, Michigan Community Scholars Program, The Office of the Provost, and the Notre Dame Alumni group of Ann Arbor

17 Book Discussion:
“Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together…”

7:00pm-8:30pm
Bethlehem United Church of christ
423 South 4th Avenue

For more information, please contact Sue Wortman at 971-2718

18 Book Discussion:
“Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together…”

12noon
School of Nursing, Room 2184
400 North Ingalls

Facilitated by E. Ruth Jordan, Director of Student Support Services, Ypsilanti School District. Book discussion of the Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti Reads book by Beverly Tatum, Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? And Other Conversations About Race.

For more information, please contact the Office of Multicultural Affairs, or email Melita Pope-Mitchell at popem@umich.edu.
Sponsored by the Office of Multicultural Affairs

18 Critical Conversations in Leadership
“Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together…”

8:00pm
East Quadrangle Residence Hall
Benziger Library
701 East University

Beverly Tatum’s Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? And Other Conversations About Race is the 2004 Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti Reads book. Join us for a discussion of the various issues the explored in the book, from the individuals’ racial identity development to racial interactions in America.

Sponsored by two Division of Student Affairs units: University Housing Residence Education and Student Activities & Leadership.

Lecture/Discussion: The Watsons Go to Birmingham and Other Stories

3:15-4:30pm
Residential College Auditorium
East Quadrangle
701 East University Avenue

Speaker: Christopher Paul Curtis

Children’s author Christopher Paul Curtis will discuss his award-winning book, The Watsons Go To Birmingham—1963 and issues related to racism in subsequent books, including the Newbery award-winning Bud Not Buddy and his forthcoming novel for adults.

Born and educated in Flint, Michigan, Curtis spent the first 13 years after high school at Flint’s Fisher Body Plant where he began writing during 30-minute breaks off the assembly line. With grandfathers like Earl “Lefty” Lewis, a Negro Baseball League Pitcher, and Herman E. Curtis, Sr., 1930s bandleader of “Herman Curtis and the Dusky Devastators of the Depression,” Curtis knew he was destined to become an entertainer. While attending University of Michigan–Flint, he won both the Avery Hopwood for major essays and the Jules Hopwood Prize for an early draft of The Watsons Go To Birmingham—1963. This funny and deeply affecting children's book was awarded both a 1996 Newbery Medal and a Coretta Scott King Honor. Listed as “Best Book of 1995” by The New York Times Book Review, Curtis’ debut novel about a quirky and appealing African-American family from Flint mixes autobiographical fiction with historical fact in its powerful re-telling of the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church.

Sponsored by the Residential College with support from the King-Chavez Parks Visiting Professors Program, the Brown v. Board Commemoration Committee, the School of Education, Greenhills School, Summers-Knoll Middle School, the Barbara Isenberg Fund at the RC, and others. Free and open to the public. For more information, please contact Elizabeth Goodenough at 647-4349.

24 Film: Eyes on the Prize: The Keys to the Kingdom, 1974-80 (1986)

Film Series: “America Through the Lens of Race”
5:00pm
Michigan Theater
603 East Liberty Street

This documentary is from the second series of “Eyes on the Prize” and covers the years 1974-1980, when it became obvious that large segments of U.S. society had reached their limits in terms of what strategies would be accepted to achieve racial equality. The school busing crisis in Boston is examined as well as the strong affirmative action measures taken in constructing the Atlanta airport. This film is an important reminder of how much U.S. society has backed away from the 1970s efforts at trying to make racial equality a reality. As we look at the extensive progress since Brown v. Board, we are also confronted with the factors that have prevented that progress from going further.
Directed by Jacqueline Shearer and Paul Stekler. 57 min.
The sixth in a series of films to be shown Wednesdays at 5:00pm at the Michigan Theater. View the full schedule of films.
Hosted by Melynda Price, J.D., Department of Political Science, and A.T. Miller, Coordinator of Multicultural Learning and Teaching, Center for Research on Learning and Teaching.

School Desegregation in the 21st Century: Fulfilling the Promise of Brown

7:30pm
Rackham Auditorium
915 East Washington Street

With Gary Orfield, Co-Director of the Harvard Civil Rights Project, and Beverly Tatum, President of Spelman College and author of “Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? And Other Conversations About Race,” the 2004 Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti Reads book.

Hear the webcast>>
>>More about Gary Orfield
>>NEW! Read Professor Orfield’s research: Brown at 50: King’s Dream or Plessy’s Nightmare?
>>More about Beverly Tatum

31 Lecture by Glenn Loury, Ph.D.: “Color-Blind Affirmative Action”

4:00-5:30pm
Kuenzel Room
Michigan Union
530 South State Street

Dr. Loury is University Professor and Professor of Economics at Boston University, and the author of The Anatomy of Racial Inequality (2002), published by Harvard University Press, and of numerous other books and articles. He is a graduate of Northwestern University and received his Ph.D. from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

>>More about Glenn Loury

>>View the webcast

-back to top-

APRIL

1 Nancy Cantor Distinguished Lecture on Intellectual Diversity:
“The Effect of Negative Stereotyping on Academic Performance”

10:00am
Hussey Room, Michigan League
911 North University Avenue

Speaker: Claude Steele

Professor Claude Steele, distinguished social scientist and professor of Psychology at Stanford University, will deliver the Nancy Cantor Distinguished Lecture on Intellectual Diversity this academic year.

Dr. Steele, formerly a member of the U-M Psychology Department, has conducted research on whether prejudice and stereotyping can affect the performance of minority groups and women in academic settings. His expert testimony provided on behalf of the University in the affirmative action cases describes factors that might cause African American, Hispanic, and Native American students to perform less well than other groups on college aptitude tests.

The Nancy Cantor Distinguished Lectureship, administered by the Office of the Provost for Academic Affairs in collaboration with the Provost’s Faculty Committee on Education for a Diverse Democracy, honors our former provost’s legacy by bringing prominent national figures to campus to stimulate discourse on diversity in higher education.

7 Film: To Sleep with Anger (1990)

Film Series: “America Through the Lens of Race”
5:00pm
Michigan Theater
603 East Liberty Street

This feature film starring Danny Glover presents a middle class African-American family in California with an older generation in danger of being a bit too haunted by a past in the segregated south, and a younger generation in danger of forgetting what got them to the present. It is Danny Glover’s personal favorite among his roles, and was directed by Charles Burnett, often hailed as the greatest living African American filmmaker. This film works on many levels of both story and symbol in a beautiful production with powerful acting and draws deeply and lovingly on cultural heritage while keeping a contemporary tone. The power of memory and the past, the importance of family and community, and the double-edged consequences of each are explored in this must-see film. As the final film in the series, it also invites us towards continued consideration of the social impact of Brown v. Board and the experiences of U.S. society.
Written and directed by Charles Burnett. 102 min.

The last in a series of films to be shown Wednesdays at 5:00pm at the Michigan Theater. View the full schedule of films.
Hosted by Melynda Price, J.D., Department of Political Science, and A.T. Miller, Coordinator of Multicultural Learning and Teaching, Center for Research on Learning and Teaching.

15 Student Research Symposium

3:00pm–5:00pm
Haven Hall
Ballroom, First Floor
505 South State Street

Undergraduate and graduate student research in the Brown v. Board of Education Theme Semester classes will be presented in a multimedia symposium. Featured projects include: audio documentaries on the history of African Americans in radio broadcasting; urban planning maps of school busing and trends in residential segregation in southeast Michigan cities; videos of student service-learning work on developing an independent media center for youth in a Detroit community; and an oral history of Jones School, the elementary school that served as a community resource to Ann Arbor’s African-American community until it was closed in a 1965 district-wide integration plan.

The event is a capstone to faculty and student work in classes during the Brown v. Board of Education Theme Semester. A reception with remarks by LSA Dean Terrence J. McDonald and Senior Vice Provost Lester Monts begins at 4:00pm.

17Museum Day: The Grand Rapids Museum of Art and the Frederick Meijer Gardens
Visualizing the Blues: Images of the American South 1862-1999
>>A CULTURE BUS EVENT

9:00am departure time
Grand Rapids, MI

Tickets are $10 (undergrads and accompanying faculty and staff) and $12.50 (grads, faculty, and staff)

Departure Time: 1:30 pm

Tickets may be ordered online, through the Arts at Michigan website (credit card payments only)…by phone at 734-763-8587 (credit card payments only)…and in person, at the Michigan Union Ticket Office (MUTO).

For more information on tickets, trip details, admission fees, and departure and return times, please visit the Arts at Michigan website.

22–25 First Annual Ann Arbor Book Festival

Thursday evening through Sunday morning
North University and State Street, and area bookstores

The inaugural Ann Arbor Book Festival kicks off Thursday, April 22 and runs through Sunday, April 25, 2004. Book lovers young and old will find many diverse activities to explore, including author readings and book signings by local and national authors; workshops for all ages including writing, bookmaking, and songwriting; panel discussions featuring authors, editors, publishers, and other luminaries; and a book arts pavilion.

The Brown v. Board Stage features Derrick Bell, author of Silent Covenants: Brown v. Board of Ed and the Unfulfilled Hopes for Racial Reform; Evelyn Hu-DeHart and other contributors to The Unfinished Agenda of Brown v. Board of Education; and Nancy Cantor, Patricia Y. Gurin, and Earl Lewis, authors of Defending Diversity: Michigan's Affirmative Action Cases. The Brown stage will be held on Saturday, April 24, 10:00am-6:00pm, in the Modern Languages Building, Lecture Room 1.

Also participating in the Book Festival are Michael Eric Dyson, author of Mercy, Mercy Me: The Art, Loves, And Demons Of Marvin Gaye; and Melba Joyce Boyd, Wrestling with the Muse, Dudley Randall and Broadside Press.

The Festival will be held at the corner of North University Avenue and State Street.

For more on the Brown v. Board of Education stage, visit the Brown page of the Festival website>>
Visit the Ann Arbor Book Festival website main page>>

-back to top-

MAY

7 School of Education Conference: Brown v. Board 1954-2004: School Integration and K-12 Education

1:00-5:00pm
Whitney Auditorium
Room 1309
School of Education
610 East University Avenue

Keynote speaker: Theodore M. Shaw, Associate Director-Counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund. Discussion Panel convened by Charles D. Moody, Sr., former Superintendent of Schools in Harvey, Illinois; Director of the U-M Program on Educational Opportunity; and Vice Provost for Minority Affairs at U-M from 1987-92.

Panelists include Ira Rutherford, retired Superintendent, Beecher Community Schools, Michigan; Dallas Daniels, Indiana Department of Education; Cynthia Kelly, Coordinator of Staff Development, Minneapolis Public Schools; Sue Todey, retired Director of Student Services, Green Bay Public Schools, Wisconsin; Phyllis Benjamin, School Improvement Coach, Cleveland, Ohio.

>> more about Theodore M. Shaw
>> more about Charles D. Moody

View the webcast of Ted Shaw’s lecture >>

School of Education Conference: Brown v. Board 1954-2004: School Integration and K-12 Education

A Workshop for Educators: “Narrowing the Achievement Gap: Culturally Responsive Pedagogy” Jacqueline Jordan Irvine, Charles Howard Candler Professor of Urban Education, Emory University

9:00-11:30am
Whitney Auditorium
Room 1309
School of Education
610 East University Avenue

One of the most trenchant areas of concern among educators and researchers is the academic achievement gap. Some have argued that eliminating it is as critical as voter registration was a generation ago. This workshop, led by one of the foremost authorities in the field, will examine school factors associated with the achievement gap, as well as present possible solutions that focus on instructional quality and the implementation of culturally responsive pedagogyin classrooms.

Professor Irvine’s specialization is in multicultural education and urban teacher education, particularly the education of African American students. Her books include “Black Students and School Failure,” “Culturally Responsive Lesson Planning for Elementary and Middle Grades,” and “In Search of Wholeness: African American Teachers and Their Culturally Specific Pedagogy.” For more information on Prof. Irvine, visit her web page.

Click here to view Dr. Irvine’s webcast >>

17 Provost’s Seminar on Multicultural Teaching:
“Multicultural Teaching in a Contested World.”

9:00am–3:15pm
Michigan League
911 North University Avenue

Please note: Open to faculty only. Registration required.

Faculty are invited to participate in the next Provost’s Seminar on Teaching entitled “Multicultural Teaching in a Contested World.” This Seminar will be held on Monday, May 17th, beginning at 9:00am and ending at 3:15pm. Continental breakfast will be available starting at 8:30 a.m.
.
The Provost’s Seminars, which are held twice a year, promote lively and substantive dialogues about a wide range of teaching and learning issues that are relevant campus-wide. This spring’s Seminar, to be held on the date of the 50th anniversary of the Brown v. Board decision, will focus on multicultural teaching methods that are effective for fostering inclusiveness within the current social and political context.

Sessions will feature national and U-M faculty expertise, interactive theatre, and open discussions that generate ideas, examine various models, and share challenges and successes in a variety of disciplines and teaching environments. The Seminar builds, in part, on U-M’s important leadership on diversity, and on the desire to expand and build capacity for the type of education we successfully defended before the Supreme Court last year.
Please see CRLT’s website for more information.

-back to top-