January 29, 2004

Celebrating Black History Month

Northwestern’s African American Student Affairs office focuses on the 50th anniversary of the
Brown v. Board of Education school desegregation Supreme Court ruling.

The lectures, discussions and programs described at right represent the first half of the month’s programming. Subsequent issues of the Observer will detail the second half of programming.

Norman Rockwell's “The Problem We All Live With,” appeared in Look magazine in 1964. It depicts Ruby Bridges, the first black student at the formerly all-white William Frantz Public School in New Orleans in 1960 and captures the essence of the civil rights movement. This year, the Rockwell image will appear on the African American Student Affairs Black History Month Web site at www.northwestern.edu/aasa. The famous Rockwell print is available from the Norman Rockwell Museum Store in Stockbridge, Mass. at http://store.nrm.org/feedback.htm.

The following events take place on the Evanston campus. They are free, unless otherwise noted, and open to the public.

Dieter Telemans’ photograph “Appolonia and Gaspar,” taken in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, in 1999, is part of the “Pandemic Imaging AIDS” exhibition at the Dittmar Memorial Gallery through Feb. 10. The provocative exhibition by award-winning international photographers and artists is aimed at raising the awareness of the global AIDS crisis.

• Sunday, Feb. 1 through Tuesday, Feb. 10, Dittmar Memorial Gallery.
“Pandemic Imaging AIDS” exhibition.

This traveling education exhibition of 30 photographs by award-winning photographers and artists is aimed at increasing awareness of the global AIDS crisis. Based on the book published by Umbrage Editions and Moxie Firecracker Films, with essays by Kofi Annan, Nadine Gordimer, Rory Kennedy, Nan Richardson and Jeffrey Sach, this exhibition uses the experience of people living with AIDS in different regions of the world.

• Through Sunday, March 28, Alsdorf Gallery, Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art.
“Lorna Simpson: 31” exhibition.

Since the 1980s, Lorna Simpson has focused on the African American female as the subject of her photographs, installations and film.

Combining imagery with text, her work challenges the viewer to think about the way women, particularly African American women, are represented in film and future. “Lorna Simpson: 31” tracks one month in the life of an unknown woman seen in a grid of 31 video monitors.

• 4 p.m. Monday, Feb. 2, McCormick Tribune Center Forum, Medill School of Journalism Crain Lecture Series. Julieanna Richardson, founder and executive director of the HistoryMakers.
“The Art of the Interview”

The HistoryMakers non-profit educational institution based in Chicago creates and collects videotaped interviews of thousands of contemporary African Americans. The archival project explores the contributions of people of African descent. The plan is to make the existing archives available at a minimum of 10 research libraries across the country.

• 7 p.m. Monday, Feb. 2, African American Student Affairs.
Presentation by Vernon Wall, “One Better World.”

Vernon Wall, assistant dean of students, Iowa State University, has lectured and led workshops on campuses throughout the country. He has written several books and articles and co-edited two important texts for higher education, “Beyond Tolerance: Gays, Lesbians and Bisexuals on Campus” and “Toward Acceptance: Sexual Orientation Issues on Campus.”

• 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 3, University Hall, Room 102.
Panel Discussion, “Discovering Our Roots: The Historical and Cultural Legacy of Black Communities in Chicago and Evanston.”

Panelists Timuel D. Black Jr., author of ‘Bridges of Memory: Chicago’s First Wave of Black Migration” (Northwestern University Press), and entrepreneur Dino Robinson, founder of the historical organization and journal “Shorefront,” will participate in the discussion. Black, a civil rights activist, will discuss the African American experience in Chicago. Robinson will speak about the African American experience in Evanston and the North Shore.

• 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 5, Dittmar Memorial Gallery.
Fireside, “Facing AIDS in Our Community.”

In collaboration with the Dittmar Gallery exhibition, this fireside will address the issues of this disease as it relates to the campus and surrounding communities. A reception will follow. Seating is limited.

• 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 6, Mussetter-Struble Theatre, Theatre and Interpretation Center.
Performance of “James Baldwin: Down from the Mountaintop.”

Tony Award-nominated actor Calvin Levels wrote and portrays James Baldwin in this one-man play about the life of this critically acclaimed writer. The play traces Baldwin’s life from his early childhood in Harlem as a young minister to his friendships and relationships with Richard Wright, Norman Mailer, Lorraine Hansberry, and many others. The play also addresses his association with Malcolm X, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and others active in the civil rights movement.

• 7 p.m. Monday, Feb. 9, Leverone Hall, Coon Forum Auditorium.
Panel Discussion: “Perspectives on Brown v. Board of Education.”

Members of the Northwestern community will offer legal interpretations and personal opinions on Browns v. Board of Education of Topeka, the landmark Supreme Court case intended to end segregation in American public schools.

Panelists also will address post-decision implications for School District 65 and other communities. The panel moderator is Loren Ghiglione, dean of the Medill School of Journal-ism. Panelists include Lawrence Lavengood, Kellogg professor emeritus and former member of the School District 65 Board of Education; Michael Powell, director of Equal Employment Opportunity, Affirmative Action and Labor Relations; Arin Reeves, principal consultant, The Athens Group and faculty member, African American Studies; and Dorothy Roberts, professor of law and the Institute for Policy Research. A question-and-answer period follows.

• 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 11, African American Student Affairs.
“ The Written Word: Understanding The Keys To Success in Publishing Your Own Literary Works.”

Pameshia Jones, sales and marketing assistant for Northwestern University Press, and Tonika Johnson, editor and publisher of Earthtone magazine, will share their expertise on how to navigate through the world of publishing.

• Thursday, Feb. 12 through March 17, Dittmar Memorial Gallery.
“ Views of the American Food Chain” exhibition.

Chicago food and restaurant photographer Eric Futran presents black-and-white photos of scenes and people involved in the business of bringing America’s food to the table. The pictures were taken in such diverse venues as a tortilla factory, a fishing boat and a cornfield. Chicago locations include Gladys’ restaurant on West Madison, the Taste of Chicago and Maxwell Street’s last surviving hot dog stand.

• 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 12, Annenberg Hall, Room G21.
Talk by Haki Madhubuti, “Running Toward Fear: A Poet’s Response to War and The Black Situation.”

Haki Madhubuti, chief executive office and founder of Third World Press, founded Third World Press in 1967. Third World Press has become a major publisher of African and African American poetry. Madhubuti has authored more than 22 books of essays and poetry. He is the recipient of the 1993 Paul Robeson Award and is director of the Gwendolyn Books Center and professor of English at Chicago State University.