Sponsored by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC), “1968 and Beyond: A Symposium on the Impact of the Black Power Movement on America” will examine what African-American history scholar and Brandeis University professor Dr. Peniel E. Joseph calls “the classical period” of the civil rights movement by placing it in the broader context of American and African-American history.
The assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. ushered in a new era in the civil rights movement. Buoyed by the slain leader’s fierce urgency of now, organizations such as the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, the Nation of Islam, and the Black Panther Party began to gain prominence.
“Indeed America’s patchwork heritage, as President Obama referenced in his inauguration speech, is a strength, not a weakness. The black power movement fits squarely into the fabric of American history because it is telling of the American paradox of our ideals,” said Joseph.
“The black power movement of the 1960s and ’70s was a pivotal and controversial moment in African-American history,” said Lonnie G. Bunch III, founding director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture. “We are proud to have some of the preeminent scholars, artists and community leaders, many of whom actually participated in the movement at its zenith, with us for this symposium. This difficult period deserves a fresh re-examination and is exactly the kind of programming the museum is supposed to do–to present and discuss African-American history and culture in all its richness, ambiguities, challenges and triumphs.”
The symposium is free and open to the public. Seating is limited. Reservations are strongly recommended and may be made by calling (202) 633-3030 Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Online reservations may be made by visiting: ResidentAssociates.org/NMAAHC30 for the March 30 sessions or ResidentAssociates.org/NMAAHC31 for the March 31 sessions.
When:
Monday, March 30:
— 8 – 8:30 a.m. — Press Conference featuring Lonnie G. Bunch III,
director, of the National Museum of African American History and
Culture, followed by keynote address by Dr. Peniel Joseph Brandeis
University
— 9:00 a.m. — Opening remarks by Lonnie G. Bunch III, followed by
keynote address delivered by Dr. Peniel Joseph
— 10:15 a.m.- Noon — A panel discussion titled “People Get Ready,
There’s a Change A’Comin: Civil Rights and Black Power: Rediscovering
Their Distinctions and Intersections” examines the movement’s origins.
The panel will feature poets Askia Muhammad Toure and Amiri Baraka,
both veterans of the black power movement.
— 1:30-3 p.m. — A panel discussion with Kathleen Cleaver, former
communications secretary of the Black Panther Party from 1967 to 1971
and was married to party leader Eldridge Cleaver, will be among the
panelists discussing “Nationalism and Pan-Africanism.”
— 3:15 to 5:30 p.m. — A panel discussion titled “To Be Young Gifted
and Black: The Black Arts, Black Consciousness and the New Black
Aesthetic” will feature poet Sonia Sanchez, playwright Woodie King and
AfriCOBRA artist Frank Smith.
Tuesday, March 31:
— 9-11 a.m.— A panel discussion titled “Say It Loud: Campus,
Curriculum and Consciousness” will explore the evolution of black
studies’ programs and the impact of these programs on the development
of ethnic and women’s studies’ programs.
— 11:15 a.m.-1 p.m. — A panel discussion titled “R-E-S-P-E-C-T!:
Engendering Black Power: Black Women and Politics of Black Liberation”
will examine the role of women during the black power movement and
will include Johnnetta B. Cole, director of the Smithsonian’s National
Museum of African Art.
— 2:30-4:30 p.m. — A final panel discussion titled “Black Electoral
Politics Then and Now” will feature key figures from the political
arena, including democratic strategists Donna Brazile and Ron Walters.
Where:
Smithsonian’s American Art Museum and Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery Nan Tucker McEvoy Auditorium Eighth and F Streets NW (Nearest Metro–Gallery Place/Chinatown) Washington, DC 20004
Interview Opportunities (also available post-symposium):
— Lonnie G. Bunch III, director of NMAAHC
— Charles E. Cobb Jr., visiting professor of African Studies at Brown
University. From 1962-1967 Cobb served as a field secretary for the
Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) in Mississippi
— Dr. Peniel E. Joseph, an associate professor of African and
Afro-American studies at Brandeis University in Massachusetts. He is
the author of “Waiting ‘Til the Midnight Hour: A Narrative History of
Black Power in America.”
The National Museum of African American History and Culture was established in 2003 by an Act of Congress, making it the 19th Smithsonian Institution museum. It is the only national museum devoted exclusively to the documentation of African American life, art, history and culture. The museum will be located on a five-acre site on the National Mall, adjacent to the Washington Monument and across the street from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. It is scheduled to open in 2015. For more information, visit nmaahc.si.edu or call (202) 633-1000, (202) 633-5285 (TTY).
WASHINGTON, March 27 /PRNewswire
Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture
CONTACT: Phallan Davis, +1-202-243-7656, Fax +1-202-965-2812,
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