“Grass Roots: African Origins of an American Art” at National Museum of African Art

“Grass Roots: African Origins of an American Art,” a traveling exhibition that tells the story of the beautiful coiled basket, will be on view at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art from June 23 through Nov. 28. “Grass Roots” demonstrates the enduring contribution of African people and culture to American life in the southeastern United States.

The exhibit features about 200 objects, including baskets made in Africa and the American South, African sculptures, paintings from the Charleston Renaissance, historic photography and videos. It traces the history of the coiled basket on two continents and shows how a simple farm tool once used for processing rice has become a work of art and an important symbol of African American identity.

“Visitors will be stopped in their tracks by the exceptional beauty and artistry evident in baskets from Africa and the American South,” said Johnnetta Betsch Cole, director of the museum.

“In addition, they will learn about the important and enduring connections between Africa and the African diaspora, and how the cultivation of rice and the horrors of enslavement played a role in transmitting the knowledge of particular basket-making traditions from the African continent to the American South. Finally, it is my fervent hope that visitors will come away from this exhibition with a deeper awareness of Africa’s global reach and with a genuine appreciation of the cultural contributions of Africans and people of African descent.”

“Grass Roots” traces the parallel histories of coiled basketry in Africa and the United States, starting from the domestication of rice in West Africa, through the transatlantic slave trade, to the migration of African rice culture to America. The exhibition, which addresses the history of the Carolina rice plantations and highlights technological innovations brought to American agriculture by people from Africa, tells the compelling story of the survival of African-American basketry over 300 years. While the need for agricultural forms has declined, coiled baskets continue to be made as objects of beauty. The exhibition focuses on the coastal town of Mt. Pleasant, S.C., across the Cooper River from Charleston, where basket makers have taken control of their craft as independent entrepreneurs.

On both sides of the Atlantic, the art of basketry continues to be passed down from generation to generation. In South Carolina and Georgia, as in many parts of Africa, virtuoso basket makers invent forms, experiment with new materials and perfect the techniques they have learned from their parents and grandparents. The exhibition features baskets made by contemporary American and African basket makers as well as historic examples, some dating to the early 19th century from Low Country rice plantations and African villages.

“Grass Roots” includes five short films that feature basket makers demonstrating their techniques and telling their stories. Botanists describe experiments in the cultivation of sweet grass and archival footage shows rice processing and basket making in Africa.

Programs and Catalog
Free activities that complement the exhibition include lectures, film screenings, a book signing, musical performances, a roundtable discussion with Gullah community leaders, a Gullah culinary demonstration and tasting and school art workshops. Visit africa.si.edu for a complete schedule.

The exhibition is accompanied by an illustrated full-color catalog with essays by scholars of African and American history and art. The publication will be available in the museum store.

Organizer and Sponsors
“Grass Roots: African Origins of an American Art” is organized by the Museum for African Art in New York, in cooperation with Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture at the College of Charleston, McKissick Museum at the University of South Carolina and the Sweetgrass Cultural Arts Festival Association.

“Grass Roots: African Origins of an American Art” has been supported, in part, by grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation and the MetLife Foundation’s Museums and Community Connections Program. The National Endowment for the Humanities honored “Grass Roots” with a “We the People—America’s Historic Places” designation. Additional funding for the video components has been provided by the Henry and Sylvia Yaschik Foundation, the South Carolina Humanities Council and the South Carolina Arts Commission.

About the National Museum of African Art

The National Museum of African Art is America’s premier museum dedicated to the collection, conservation, study and exhibition of traditional and contemporary African art. The museum is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., except Dec. 25. Admission is free. The museum is located at 950 Independence Avenue S.W., near the Smithsonian Metrorail station on the Blue and Orange lines. For more information about this exhibition, call (202) 633-4600 or visit the museum’s website at africa.si.edu. For general Smithsonian information, call (202) 633-1000 or TTY (202) 633-5285. # # #

Media Only Janice Kaplan (202) 277-5461 Kimberly Mayfield (202) 633-4649 Media Preview: Tuesday, June 22 9:30-11:30 a.m.

National Museum of African American History and Culture Launches Landmark Exhibition Celebrating the Apollo Theater

Exhibition Explores the Theater’s Impact on American Entertainment.

The first exhibition to explore the Apollo Theater’s seminal impact on American entertainment premieres April 23 and continues through Aug. 29. Presented by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture in collaboration with the Apollo Theater Foundation, “Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing: How the Apollo Theater Shaped American Entertainment” examines the rich history and cultural significance of the legendary Harlem theater, tracing the story from its origins as a segregated burlesque hall to its starring role at the epicenter of African American entertainment and American popular culture. The opening of the exhibition marks the 75th anniversary of the Apollo Theater.

Presented in the NMAAHC Gallery in the National Museum of American History, “Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing” is one of several touring exhibitions presented by the museum in major cities across the country. The exhibition will travel to Detroit’s Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History (Oct. 1 – Jan. 2, 2011) and the Museum of the City of New York (Jan. 20, 2011 – May 1, 2011). The exhibition tour will be organized by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES).

"Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing: How the Apollo Theater Shaped American Entertainment" is on view at the National Museum of American History from April 23 to Aug. 29, 2010. The exhibition is the first to explore the rich history and the cultural significance of Harlem’s Apollo Theater. It features photographs and artifacts to trace the story of the theater from its origins in 1913 as a whites-only burlesque hall to its starring role at the epicenter of African American entertainment. This exhibition is organized by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture. Photo Credit: Courtesy of the Apollo Theater Foundation; Photo by Shahar Azran

“As a beacon of possibility and excellence, the Apollo is a perfect lens through which the museum can examine many of the country’s most important political, social and cultural developments,” said Lonnie G. Bunch III, founding director of NMAAHC. “The story of the Apollo yields incredible insight into the flux of African American life in the 20th century—from the great migration to the urban north, through two world wars and into the civil rights movement.” “Since 1934, the Apollo has been a driving force in shaping America’s musical and cultural landscape,” says Jonelle Procope, president and CEO of the Apollo Theater. “The Apollo has nurtured generations of artists and has been a source of entertainment and inspiration to millions of people throughout its 75 years. We are delighted to be partnering with the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture to present ‘Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing,’ which will illuminate the role the Apollo has played in the creative life of our nation.” Exhibition co-curators Tuliza Fleming of the museum and Guthrie Ramsey Jr., the Edmund J. and Louise W. Kahn Term Professor of Music at the University of Pennsylvania, have assembled historic and contemporary costumes, playbills, music scores, graphic images and recorded music to document Apollo’s history, including memorable performances by the emerging artists and living legends who graced its stage. Moving chronologically through the theater’s development, exhibition panels provide context to the featured objects and are enhanced by an introductory film and video alcoves, which offer a multimedia experience for visitors. Among the one-of-a-kind and rarely displayed artifacts in the exhibition are: * James Brown’s cape and jumpsuit—Brown was an Apollo regular even after he reached superstar status. * Michael Jackson’s fedora—Jackson won Amateur Night in 1967 with the Jackson 5. * The Supremes’ dresses—The original trio first played the Apollo in 1962 as part of the dazzling Motown Revue. * Cab Calloway’s baton—Calloway was one of the most popular swing era band leaders. * Sammy Davis’ childhood tap shoes—Davis first appeared on the Apollo stage in 1947.

*
Peg Leg Bates’ peg leg—Despite losing his left leg in an accident at age 12, Bates pursued his dream of tap dancing. By the mid-1930s, he was an Apollo regular.
*
Duke Ellington’s score for Black and Tan Fantasy (1927)—The legendary jazz composer and bandleader wrote some of the best-known compositions in American music.
*
Ella Fitzgerald’s dress—Fitzgerald made her Amateur Night debut at the age of 17.
*
Miles Davis’ flugelhorn—Davis frequently headlined at the Apollo.
*
LL Cool J’s jacket and hat—LL Cool J remains one of today’s best-known rappers.
*
Celia Cruz’s dress—Known as the Queen of Salsa, Cruz was a symbol of Afro-Cuban music throughout the African diaspora.

Featured objects are drawn from a number of private and publicly held collections, including those at the African American Museum of Philadelphia, the Ella Fitzgerald Charitable Foundation, the Library of Congress, the Museum of the City of New York, the National Afro American Museum of Ohio, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.

Celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2009-2010, the Apollo Theater, a non-profit institution, is one of Harlem’s, New York City’s and America’s most enduring cultural treasures. The Apollo was one of the first theaters in New York—and the country—to fully integrate, welcoming traditionally African American, Hispanic and local immigrant populations in the audience, as well as headlining uniquely talented entertainers who found it difficult to gain entrance to other venues of similar size and resources.

Since introducing the first Amateur Night contests in 1934, the Apollo Theater has played a major role in cultivating artists and in the emergence of innovative musical genres, including jazz, swing, bebop, R&B, gospel, blues, soul and hip-hop. Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday, Sammy Davis Jr., James Brown, Michael Jackson, Gladys Knight, Luther Vandross, D’Angelo, Lauryn Hill and countless others began their careers on the Apollo’s stage. Based on its cultural significance and architecture, the Apollo Theater received state and city landmark designation in 1983 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

An exhibition companion book, with a foreword by Smokey Robinson, Motown singer, songwriter and producer, and an introduction by Bunch, features historic photographs and essays by 23 historians, musicologists and critics, including Princeton University scholar Kandia Crazy Horse, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian David Levering Lewis, author of W.E.B. DuBois: A Biography and Robert O’Meally, founder of the Center for Jazz Studies at Columbia University.

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 Smithsonian Board of Regents, the governing body of the Institution, voted in January 2006 to build the museum on a five-acre site adjacent to the Washington Monument on the National Mall. The building is scheduled to open in 2015. Until then, NMAAHC is presenting its touring exhibitions in major cities across the country and in its own gallery at the National Museum of American History.

The NMAAHC Gallery at the National Museum of American History is located at 14th Street and Constitution Avenue N.W. in Washington, D.C. It is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., except Dec. 25. Admission is free. For more information, visit nmaahc.si.edu or call (202) 633-1000, (202) 633-5285 (TTY). # # # SI-164-2010

IU Soul Revue's spring concert May 1 will show how 'soul speaks' to everyone

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The IU Soul Revue at Indiana University will present its annual spring concert on Saturday (May 1), 8 p.m., at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater, 114 E. Kirkwood Ave. in downtown Bloomington.

The theme of this year's concert is "Soul Speaks." This premise is based on the fact that black popular music always has provided commentary on the social conditions of African Americans. The IU Soul Revue is one of three student performance ensembles in IU African American Arts Institute, which turns 35 this year.

The concert will feature the Soul Revue performing music of various genres such as rhythm and blues, funk and other current popular songs, which are all under the heading of soul music.

Acting director Tyron Cooper said, "This show might prompt the audience participant to dance, clap, stomp, shout, laugh, cry and reflect on the myriad ways that soul music expresses a spectrum of meanings and definitions for African Americans and the broader society."

IU Soul Revue Courtesy of Indiana University.

He said the Soul Revue will bridge the gap between entertainment and enlightenment, as the audience will enjoy and realize the grooves and deep implications of black popular music. Ticket prices are $20 for adults and $10 for children and students with ID (limit two per student). They are available at the Sunrise Box Office, located adjacent to the Buskirk-Chumley Theater. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 20, 2010 Media Contacts Olivia Hairston African American Arts Institute olihairs@indiana.edu 812-855-5427

UGA College of Education honors Mary Frances Early with Distinguished Alumni Award

Alumni Service Award: Mary Frances Early, former department chair and associate professor of Clark Atlanta University’s department of music, received the 2010 Alumni Service Award for her outstanding and continued dedication in service and philanthropy to the college.

Early (M.M.Ed. ’62, Ed.S. ’71), an Atlanta native, is the first African-American graduate of UGA. She received the UGA Outstanding Alumna Award in 2000.

UGA officially recognized Early as the first African-American to receive a degree in 2000, and the Mary Frances Early Lecture was established in 2001 by UGA’s Graduate and Professional Scholars organization. Sponsored beginning this year by the Graduate School, the annual lecture is held in the spring.

In 2003, the Mary Frances Early Professorship in Teacher Education was established in the College of Education, with a $250,000 endowment from Georgia Power. The faculty search for the chaired professorship will soon get under way.

Mary Frances Early in her Center-Meyers dorm room at the University of Georgia in the summer of 1961. Ms. Early was one of the first African Americans admitted to the University of Georgia. Writer: Julie Sartor, 706/542-4693, jsartor@uga.edu Contact: Gabrielle Mason, 706/542-4558 , gmason@uga.edu Apr 20, 2010, 13:57

Scholar, performer and composer Keyes to receive the Herman C. Hudson Alumni Award

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Indiana University's African American Arts Institute is honoring Cheryl L. Keyes, an alumna who has gone on to become an accomplished ethnomusicologist, composer, arranger, vocalist, musician and record label founder.

Keyes will receive the institute's Herman C. Hudson Alumni Award at its annual banquet on Tuesday (April 20).

Each year, a distinguished alumnus or institute affiliate is honored with its achievement award. The event is not open to the public.

Previous winners have included the opera vocalists Janet Williams and Angela Brown, music legend Isaiah Sanders, Broadway performer Justin Johnson and the late dancer Gabriel Paige.

The award is named for Hudson, founder of the Office of Afro-American Affairs, the Minority Achievers Program (now the Hudson-Holland Scholars Program) at IU Bloomington and the Department of Afro-American Studies (today the Department of African American and African Diaspora Studies). Hudson believed the institute should strive for the highest levels of excellence in performance,

and throughout its 35-year history, the institute has nurtured and developed the talents of students of diverse backgrounds who come to IU with varying artistic interests and experience.

Keyes, a native of southern Louisiana, was influenced at an early age by the region's rich musical heritage and attended Xavier University in New Orleans on a music scholarship. While in the "Crescent City," she performed with jazz clarinetist Alvin Batiste, trumpeter Clark Terry and legendary R&B singer Eddie Bo.

After graduation, she came to IU Bloomington to explore her other musical passions. As a graduate student in the Jacobs School of Music, she studied piano with Shigeo Neriki, flute with Harry Houdeshel and voice with Camilla Williams. She also served as a teaching assistant and music coach for the AAAI's acclaimed IU Soul Revue.

Upon receiving her master's in music education in 1982 from the Jacobs School, Keyes pursued a doctorate at IU in ethnomusicology and studied under scholars Portia Maultsby and William Wiggins. Her dissertation, "Rappin to the Beat: Rap Music as Street Culture among African Americans" stands among the first works published that exclusively examines rap music as a continuum of African American expressive culture, thus opening the doors for serious study of hip-hop culture in the academy.

After leaving IU in 1991, Keyes taught briefly at Western Kentucky University before leaving to conduct extensive fieldwork on rap and hip-hop culture in Mali, West Africa, New York City, Detroit, Los Angeles and London.

In 1992, she received a Ford Foundation Post-Doctoral Fellowship to continue her studies on hip-hop music in New York City, where she joined the faculty of New York University. Two years later, she joined the faculty of the Department of Ethnomusicology at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where she today is an associate professor.

Keyes is the author of Rap Music and Street Consciousness, which received a CHOICE award for outstanding academic books in 2004, and numerous journal articles. She currently is researching the musical life of the legendary New Orleans piano player, Henry "Professor Longhair" Byrd and working on a documentary about contemporary female jazz instrumentalists in Los Angeles.

She was the first woman and the first African American to serve as U.S. chapter president of the International Association for the Study of Popular Music in 2007-2009. She also has served on the board of the Society for Ethnomusicology.

In the midst of all of her teaching, research duties and service, Keyes has continued to pursue her musical passion. In 2005 she performed as a vocalist, pianist, flutist and a composer-arranger in the Instrumental Women Project's Lady Jazz concert series held at the Ford Amphitheatre. The following year, she performed at the Playboy Jazz Festival and was invited to serve as musical-artistic director for the Lady Jazz: Blues in the Summertime concert at the Ford Amphitheatre.

In 2008, she launched her own record label, Keycan Records, which also houses her music publishing company, Cangom, an ASCAP-affiliate company, founded by Keyes in 2002. Last year, her debut CD, Let Me Take You There, won an award for "Outstanding World Music Album" at the 40th NAACP Image Awards.

She and her husband, Abdoulaye N'Gom, have twin sons, Idrissa and Issa.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 19, 2010 Media Contacts: George Vlahakis University Communications gvlahaki@indiana.edu 812-855-0846 Olivia Hairston African American Arts Institute olihairs@indiana.edu 812-855-5427

Renowned osteopaths to highlight National Osteopathic Medicine Week

Two widely known osteopaths will headline the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine's celebration of National Osteopathic Medicine Week, April 18-24.

Barbara Ross-Lee, DO, director of the American Osteopathic Association Health Policy Fellowship Program and vice president of health sciences and medical affairs at the New York Institute of Technology, will present two talks:

* Healthcare reform: Implications for Medication Education, 5:30 p.m., April 19, LIB 110 CBH-220
* Re-visioning for Osteopathic Medicine in an Evolving Healthcare System, noon-1 p.m., April 20, Everett Hall

Ross-Lee is former dean of the New York College of Osteopathic Medicine at the New York Institute of Technology and of the Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine. She is the first African-American woman to lead a U.S. medical school. She is also the first osteopathic physician to participate in the prestigious Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy Fellowship, where she served as legislative assistant for health to former U.S. Sen. Bill Bradley.

Alex Guevara Jr., DO, (TCOM '85), governor of the Texas chapter of the American College of Osteopathic Family Practitioners, will discuss:

* The Future of Osteopathic Medicine, noon-1 p.m., April 21, Luibel Hall

Medical students from around the country will take center stage at the final talk to address:

* Global Health: Ride for World Health, noon-1 p.m., April 23, EAD 719

For information, contact Christian Dean at chdean@live.unthsc.edu.

If you are with the media and need additional information or would like to arrange an interview, please contact the Office of Marketing and Communications at 817-735-2446.

MU assistant professor Dr. David J. Peavler to deliver keynote address at Woodson fundraising banquet

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Dr. David J. Peavler, an assistant professor in Marshall University’s Department of History since September 2009, will be the keynote speaker at the Carter G. Woodson Memorial Foundation, Inc. fundraising banquet Saturday, May 1.

The 18th annual banquet begins at 6 p.m. in Room BE5 on the lower level of the Memorial Student Center on Marshall’s Huntington campus.

Proceeds from the banquet will help fund a scholarship endowment to support outstanding Marshall University students, as well as the purchase of materials on black culture and history.

Dr. David J. Peavler

Peavler is the director of African and African American Studies at Marshall University. He came to Marshall from Baltimore, where he taught at Towson University upon completion of his Ph.D. at the University of Kansas. He is the author of several award-winning articles in leading academic publications such as the Journal of African American History. Among his current projects are the publication of a book on African American pioneers in the American west following reconstruction, and a second book titled Jim Crow in the Land of John Brown which details the origins of segregation and the Black freedom struggle in America’s heartland. In addition to his service to the community in higher education, Peavler is an Air Force veteran and former instructor of fire/rescue personnel in Iraq.

His speech is titled “Cast Down Your Bucket Where You Are: West Virginia and the Black Freedom Struggle,” which details some aspects of local black history and the importance of collecting and preserving this history for future generations.

Music for the evening will be provided by Andrea Bowman, Kevin E. Johnson, Charles Johnson and David Barton, III.

Tickets for the banquet are available for a donation of $30. Corporate tables also are available. To purchase tickets or for more information, contact Newatha Myers, foundation president, at 740-894-5772; Loretta Hagler, banquet chairwoman, at 304-525-5651; or Karen Nance, secretary, at 304-736-1655.

The Carter G. Woodson Memorial Foundation is named in honor of Carter G. Woodson, who was a graduate of Douglass High School in Huntington and went on to earn a Ph.D. from Harvard. Woodson, who is widely known as the “father of African American history,” founded the Association for the study of Negro Life and History in 1915. He also started the influential “Journal of Negro History” in 1916. ###

For further information, contact: Office of University Communications Marshall University | 213 Old Main | Huntington, WV 25755-1090 Voice: (304) 696-NEWS Fax: (304) 696-3197.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Thursday, April 15, 2010 Contact: Dave Wellman, Director of Communications (304) 696-7153.

Alumnus, standout Suh donates $2.6 million to UNL

Lincoln, Neb., April 17th, 2010 — The 2009 Associated Press Player of the Year and winner of the Lombardi, Outland, Bednarik and Nagurski football awards -- Nebraska's Ndamukong Suh -- announced today he will donate $2 million for use in the Nebraska Athletics for Strength and Conditioning Program and an additional $600,000 to the UNL College of Engineering to endow a scholarship.

A near sellout crowd cheered this unprecedented gift he announced today at the Husker Spring Game. A defensive tackle who completed his career at Nebraska, Suh graduated with a bachelor's degree in construction management from the College of Engineering at UNL in December. He is projected to be one of the top picks in the 2010 NFL draft after totaling 215 tackles in his career with 57 tackles for loss, 24 sacks, six blocked kicks, 15 pass breakups and 38 quarterback hurries.

Ndamukong Suh

Suh completed his career at Nebraska as the most decorated defensive player ever to don the Husker uniform, finishing fourth in the 2009 Heisman race. He is also the first former Husker player and the first African-American letter winner to commit a generous gift back to the University in advance of the draft and NFL career. After he signs his NFL contract, Suh has pledged to give $2 million to athletics for renovations and updates in the north stadium strength and conditioning center, where he spent so many hours training to become the very best player he could be. "I had a fantastic football career at Nebraska and thanks to my coaches and support staff, I have learned the value of hard work, teamwork and life skills," Suh said.

"These skills will help me tremendously as I prepare for my career in the NFL. As a thank-you to everyone in Nebraska who has assisted me on my collegiate journey, I want to donate $2 million to the Athletic Department.

"When speaking with Guy Rozier, Coach Bo Pelini and Tom Osborne about the gift, I specifically asked that this gift be used to help other future Huskers as they train in the strength and conditioning center. This incredible facility helped me earn all the honors I was so privileged to receive this past season, and I believe this gift can help make this facility the very best in the country. This is my way to honor my teammates, coaches and fans by giving back to a program and a university that has given so much to me."

"This donation from Ndamukong Suh is the largest single gift we have received from a former player," Athletic Director Tom Osborne said. "We appreciate Ndamukong's generosity to the athletic department, and we also appreciate his commitment to education, as he earned an Engineering degree, and appreciate the type of leadership he provided for our football team this past year. He is truly a credit to the football program and the university as a whole."

"Gifts from our former student-athletes send an important message," said Paul Meyers, Associate Athletic Director for Development. "It re-enforces our hope that what we are doing here at Nebraska is making a difference in their lives beyond athletics."

Suh also plans to donate an additional $600,000 to the University of Nebraska Foundation to benefit students enrolled in UNL's College of Engineering. Suh is a graduate of the engineering college's Charles Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction. Suh asked that students from his high school, Grant High School in Portland, Ore., be given first preference for the scholarship he is creating. He said he wanted to help out-of-state students, who pay considerably more than in-state students for tuition to attend the University of Nebraska. Suh's gift will be endowed, which means the principal will be invested and the net income used to create scholarships. By making the gift endowed, the Ndamukong Suh Scholarship will exist in perpetuity.

"It says so much about Ndamukong Suh that one of his first acts as a graduate is one of giving back, and helping students who are in need of a scholarship to the University of Nebraska," said Clarence Castner, president of the University of Nebraska Foundation. "He is an inspiration and a role model. It may be that his biggest impact will occur off the field."

"The balance between athletics and academics is one-of-a-kind at Nebraska," Suh said. "That's the reason I came here, and that's the reason why I wanted to support the College of Engineering. I wanted to make sure that other out-of-state students would have the same opportunities that I did at Nebraska. This is a great school and will hold a special place in my heart forever."

Academics have always been important to Suh's family. His father, Michael, is an engineer and his mother, Bernadette, a teacher. Bernadette insisted her son maintain at least a 3.0 average before he could join his high school football team. One of the primary reasons Suh said he chose the University of Nebraska-Lincoln was its highly regarded engineering program, and the athletic department's strong focus on academics. The Nebraska Cornhuskers have more academic All-Americans than any other football team in the country and the best exhausted eligibility graduation rate in the Big 12 Conference at 94 percent.

Originally from Portland, Ore., Suh's mother, Bernadette, is from Jamaica, while his father, Michael, hails from Cameroon.

WRITER: Christine Anderson, Released on 04/17/2010, at 2:00 PM Office of University Communications University of Nebraska–Lincoln. News Release Contacts: Christine Anderson, Associate Athletics Director/Community Relations phone: (402) 472-7111

UGA announces the endowment of the Donald L. Hollowell Professorship of Social Justice and Civil Rights Studies

Atlanta, Ga. – At the April 15 premiere of the documentary Donald L. Hollowell: Foot Soldier for Equal Justice , the University of Georgia School of Social Work announced that the Donald L. Hollowell Professorship of Social Justice and Civil Rights Studies has been fully endowed.

The professorship, the first distinguished professorship named for an African American at UGA, has been endowed through the UGA faculty-hiring initiative, donations and ticket sales from the documentary premiere.

“The person chosen for this distinguished professorship will advocate for social and economic justice for individuals, families and communities and collaborate with the Foot Soldier Project to advance civil rights scholarship,” said Maurice Daniels, dean of the School of Social Work and director of the Foot Soldier Project for Civil Rights Studies.

Caption:. Louise Hollowell (center, seated) is congratulated on the endowment of the Donald L. Hollowell Professorship of Social Justice and Civil Rights Studies in the School of Social Work at the University of Georgia. (Left to right) Derrick Alridge, Jasmine Guy, Vernon Jordan, Mary France Early, Horace Ward, Glenda Hatchett and Maurice Daniels. (4/15/2010, Cliff Robinson/ University of Georgia/Special).

Vernon E. Jordan Jr., chair of the Hollowell Professorship endowment committee, made the endowment announcement following the film’s premiere and a panel discussion in which he participated moderated by Judge Glenda Hatchett, star of the television courtroom series Judge Hatchett. In addition to Jordan, other panelists included Mary Frances Early, the first African-American UGA graduate and Federal Judge Horace T. Ward, a member of the law team that sought to desegregate UGA. “It was my special honor to work with the University of Georgia, School of Social Work, and the university community while serving as chairman of the Donald L. Hollowell Professorship Endowment Committee,” said Jordan.

“Mr. Hollowell was one of the most prominent attorneys and social justice advocates during the Civil Rights era. It is a fitting tribute that the University of Georgia establishes the first distinguished professorship named for an African American in his honor.”

Donald L. Hollowell: Foot Soldier for Equal Justice is a production of the Foot Soldier Project for Civil Rights Studies, an interdisciplinary documentary and research program at UGA dedicated to chronicling Georgia’s history in the civil rights movement.


The documentary chronicles the life of Hollowell, one of the movement’s legendary advocates for social justice. Georgia Public Broadcasting will air the documentary on April 18 at 7 p.m.

Born and raised in Wichita, Kan., Hollowell did not encounter the Jim Crow restrictions of the South. But he did face racial discrimination while serving in the U.S. Army during World War II. Hollowell’s experiences with segregation and his involvement with the Southern Negro Youth Congress after the war inspired him to study law, which ultimately became his weapon of choice in the fight for social justice in the South and across the nation, according to Daniels.

In 1959, Hollowell was among a group of black Atlanta leaders who tapped Hamilton Holmes and Charlayne Hunter to apply for admission to the then segregated University of Georgia. Over the next two years, Hollowell and Constance Baker Motley, assisted by Ward and Jordan, fought numerous courtroom battles that ended with a federal judge ordering UGA to admit Holmes and Hunter in 1961.

“His dedication and sacrifice for the ideals of equal opportunity and social justice changed the course of our nation’s history and will continue to open doors of opportunity for generations to come,” said Daniels.

Hollowell died of heart failure on Dec. 27, 2004, at the age of 87.

Writer: Wendy Jones, 706/542-6927, wfjones@uga.edu Contact: Maurice Daniels, 706/542-5424, daniels@uga.edu Apr 16, 2010, 11:34

Pacific to Host Forum on Race, Religion and Sexuality: Forum part of Local Efforts to Combat HIV in Black Community

University of the Pacific will host “Toward Harmony: A Discussion on Race, Religion and Sexuality” on Sunday, April 25, from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. at Pacific’s Janet Leigh Theatre on the Stockton campus. The event brings together local leaders and Pacific faculty, staff and students to find common ground in the efforts to combat the alarmingly high rates of HIV/AIDS in the local African American community. The event is free and open to public.

The forum, possibly the first of its kind in the Central Valley, will facilitate open dialogue about the intersections of religious faith and beliefs and the struggle for a community that can be inclusive of its diverse members. In San Joaquin County, where African Americans comprise 7% of the county’s total population and 22% of the county’s cases of AIDS/HIV, and where the majority of the faith community supported Proposition 8, the ban against gay marriage in California, can faith and community leaders and LGBT advocates find common ground through dialogue? This forum seeks to provide an affirmative answer to that question.

The event’s keynote speaker is Sharon Groves, deputy director of the Religion and Faith Program at the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), a Washington, D.C.-based lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) advocacy group and political action committee. In addition to a keynote address by a nationally-known expert, the event features statements by local community and faith leaders such as the Honorable Susan Eggman of the Stockton City Council; the Honorable Gloria Allen, Stockton Unified School District Trustee; Reverend Terri Miller of Valley Ministries MCC and the Reverend Elena Kelly; as well as a panel discussion with a distinguished group of panelists including Brother Tommie Muhammad, Muslim community leader and Angel Picon, Latino community and labor activist.

The event is co-sponsored by the Pride Pacific Alumni Club, Black Alumni Pacific Club, Pride Alliance and Black Student Union of Pacific, and the Assistant Vice President for Diversity and Community Engagement, Stonewall Democrats and the Human Rights Campaign.

For more information contact Lisa Cooper, assistant vice president for Diversity and Community Engagement, at 209.946.2361 or lcooper@pacific.edu.

DePaul Law School Remembers Alumnus And Former NAACP Head, Benjamin Hooks

Benjamin L. Hooks, who graduated from theDePaul University College of Law in 1948, grew up in an America marked by racism and injustice. Determined to change it, he spent his life fighting for equality. A highly respected champion of civil rights and one of the College of Law’s outstanding alumni, Hooks died April 15 in Memphis, Tenn.

Though his work would take him back to Tennessee and later to Washington, D.C., Hooks remained connected to the College of Law throughout his lifetime. The law school honored his outstanding service to the field of public interest law in 2003, and he earned an honorary degree at the law school’s 1977 commencement ceremony. Recognition for a career and achievements that defied the odds.

According to his official biography provided by the Benjamin L. Hooks Institute for Social Change at the University of Memphis, Hooks first began his study of jurisprudence by enrolling in a pre-law course at LeMyone College in Memphis. He joined the United States Army before completing his studies and was stationed overseas. This experience made him determined to champion the cause of civil rights when he found himself charged with guarding Italian prisoners who were allowed to eat in restaurants that would deny him service. He rose to the rank of staff sergeant before his tour of duty ended and returned state side to complete his undergraduate studies at Howard University.

With a desire to become an attorney, Hooks returned to Tennessee. However, what he experienced upon moving back to Memphis was the true meaning of bigotry in the South. No law school in his native state of Tennessee would admit him. So Hooks moved north to attend law school at DePaul University.

“DePaul gave him an opportunity to go to law school when others would not admit him because of his race,” said College of Law Professor Bruce Ottley. Ottley knew Hooks and had the opportunity to spend one-on-one time with him over dinner during one of Hooks’ visits to Chicago and the College of Law. “He was qualified and his G.I. Bill would pay his tuition so his race really did not matter to DePaul.”

After earning his law degree in 1948, Hooks went back to Memphis and embarked on a storied legal career that would earn him a place among of our nation’s most celebrated civil rights advocates.

He first opened a law practice where, according to his biography, he met with prejudice at every turn. This only made him more determined to work to ensure all people are treated equally. He became an ordained minister in 1956 and joined the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, which was headed by the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. His work in civil rights intensified as he helped pioneer National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)-sponsored sit-ins at restaurants and boycotts of consumer services and merchandise.

While becoming a stronger and more vocal advocate for racial justice, Hooks also began to explore the world of politics, where he would shatter racial barriers. In 1965, he was appointed to fill a judicial vacancy in the Shelby County criminal court, becoming Tennessee’s first African American criminal court judge. In 1976, he became the first African American appointed to the Federal Communications Commission. While there, he was outspoken about such issues as the lack of minority ownership of radio and television stations and the image of minorities in mass media.

In 1976, he was elected executive director of the NAACP, one of this nation’s most respected civil rights organizations. In an interview with Ebony Magazine shortly after assuming leadership of the NAACP, Hooks proclaimed, “The civil rights movement is not dead. If anyone thinks that we are going to stop agitating, they had better think again. If anyone thinks we are going to stop litigating, they had better close the courts.”

Even after his retirement from the NAACP, following 15 years at its helm, Hooks continued to be a formidable champion of civil rights. He trained his sights on contemporary issues impacting minorities and the disadvantaged. To progress this goal, he helped create the Hooks Institute.

One of his final national honors was being awarded the Medal of Freedom by President George W. Bush in 2007. But, no matter where his accomplished life took him, Hooks always remained one of the College of Law’s most sterling examples of what it means to persevere.

“Benjamin Hooks was a true role model who lived a life that illustrates for our students what they can accomplish no matter what obstacles try and stop them,” said Ottley. “People can look at graduates like Hooks and know that no matter what your background, you can still achieve whatever you want if you get a good education.”

Media Contact: Valerie Phillips vphillip@depaul.edu (312) 362-5039

Students from IU, correctional facility to celebrate completion of Inside-Out Prison Exchange course

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Two dozen college classmates -- half of them from Indiana University Bloomington and half from the Putnamville Correctional Facility -- will present research findings and receive certificates April 30 in the closing ceremony of an Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program course.

The course is the first involving IU Bloomington in the Inside-Out program, which brings together students and prison inmates -- "outside" students and "inside" students -- for a college-level course in which people from different backgrounds learn together as peers.

"Inside-Out allows students and others outside of prison to go behind the walls to reconsider what they have learned about crime and justice, while those on the inside are encouraged to place their life experiences in a larger framework," said Micol Seigel, IU Bloomington assistant professor of African American and African Diaspora Studies, who teaches the course at Putnamville.

Putnamville Correctional Facility Courtesy of Indiana University

"In the group discussions, countless life lessons and realizations surface about how we as human beings operate in the world, beyond the myths and stereotypes that imprison us all," Seigel said. "The program demonstrates the potential for dynamic collaborations between institutions of higher learning and correctional institutions."

Students in the course have discussed issues relating to crime and justice, read materials in history, sociology, political science and literature, and written papers. Their final assignment is a collective research project to recommend ways to reduce incarceration. They will present results from the project during the closing ceremony, which will take place from 9:30-10:30 a.m. on Friday, April 30, in the library at the Putnamville Correctional Facility.

Inside-Out was founded in 1997 by Lori Pompa, a criminal justice faculty member at Temple University, who began classes with Temple students at prisons in the Philadelphia area. Since 2004, it has become a national program, with courses taught in 37 states and involving more than 7,500 inside and outside students. For more information, see http://www.insideoutcenter.org/home.html.

Seigel completed Inside-Out Instructor Training in the summer of 2009 and launched the first IU Bloomington Inside-Out course this spring with the help of Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis faculty members Susan Hyatt and Roger Jarjoura. Hyatt and Jarjoura, professors in IUPUI's School of Liberal Arts and School of Public and Environmental Affairs, respectively, completed the Inside-Out training previously and have taught Inside-Out courses at the Indiana Women's Prison and the Plainfield Re-Entry Educational Facility.

The Putnamville Correctional Facility is a medium-security facility operated by the Indiana Department of Correction. It is located at 1946 W. U.S. 40, Greencastle.

Note: News media who wish to attend the Inside-Out closing ceremony must contact Micol Seigel by Monday, April 19, at 812-855-6327 or mseigel@indiana.edu, to make arrangements.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 14, 2010

Pat Eliet Lecture Series Features Harryette Mullen, Acclaimed Poet and Scholar of African American Literature

(Carson, CA) – The Department of English at California State University, Dominguez Hills welcomes Harryette Mullen, distinguished poet and scholar of African American literature, as its guest speaker for the 2010 Pat Eliet Memorial Lecture on Thursday, April 22 at 7 p.m. in the Loker Student Union.

Mullen is the author of six volumes of poetry, including “Sleeping with the Dictionary” (2002), which was nominated for the National Book Award, National Book Critics Circle Award, and Los Angeles Times Book Prize. Her most recent collection, “Recyclopedia” (2006), won a PEN Beyond Margins Award in 2007. Mullen is a professor of English at UCLA, where she teaches creative writing and African American literature.

Harryette Mullen

Discussing the importance of the spoken word in an interview for the African American Review in 2000, she said: "It was through the poetry-[reading] circuit that I began to realize that poetry is not just something on the page, but a community of readers and writers." The lecture is free and open to the public, with a book signing immediately following. Copies of Mullen’s books will be available for purchase before and after the lecture. The lecture series honors former professor of English Patricia Eliet, who taught at the university from 1969 to 1990.

The lecture is sponsored by the Department of English, Associated Students Incorporated, College of Arts and Humanities, and the University Honors Program.

California State University, Dominguez Hill is located at 1000 E. Victoria Street in Carson. The Loker Student Union is at the center of campus. A map of the campus is available online at www.csudh.edu/site/VisitUs/campusmap.shtml.

Convenient on-campus parking is available near Loker Student Union. Enter from Toro Center Drive off University Drive, or from Tamcliff Street or Birchknoll Drive off Victoria Street. Daily permits are $4 and can be purchased at kiosk machines located at each lot.

For more information, contact the Department of English at (310) 243-3322. ###

About CSU Dominguez Hills -- California State University, Dominguez Hills is a highly diverse, urban university located in the South Bay, primarily serving the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The university prides itself on its outstanding faculty and friendly, student-centered environment. Known for excellence in teacher education, nursing, psychology, business administration, and digital media arts, new degree programs include computer science, criminal justice, recreation and leisure studies, social work, and communication disorders. On campus is the Home Depot Center, a multi-purpose sports complex that hosts world-class soccer, tennis, track and field, lacrosse, and cycling.

Media Contact: Laura Perdew (310)243-3264 lperdew@csudh.edu

Director Says Documentary a Story of African American Resolve

(Worcester, Mass.) -- David A. Wilson, writer and co-director of the documentary “Meeting David Wilson,” said he worked on this project not only to tell a story about America’s post-slavery history, but also to show generations of African Americans that they “come from a history of victors, not victims.”

“If they could have the same reaction as I did (to this story), then it would be worthwhile,” Wilson said. Wilson spoke on Wednesday, April 7 in the Student Center’s Blue Lounge as part of the Diversity Lecture Series.

As a 28-year-old African American journalist, Wilson traveled deep into his family’s past to find the answers to America’s racial divide.

David A. Wilson

His journey resulted in “Meeting David Wilson.” In researching his family’s ancestry, Wilson learned of a plantation in North Carolina where his family was once enslaved, and subsequently discovered that the plantation is owned today by a 62-year-old white man—also named David Wilson—who is a direct descendant of his family’s slave master. Discovering the other David Wilson led to a momentous encounter between two men whose ancestors were on the opposite sides of freedom. Their conversation about slavery, segregation in Caswell County, N.C., and race relations today is captured in-depth in the documentary.

But it developed out of what David A. Wilson described as “one of the strangest conversations” two people could ever have and ended with the two men agreeing to meet one day. Today, they talk on the phone once a month.

Wilson told the audience he also learned that he is only three generations removed from slavery, although he believes its affects still linger in predominantly black communities such as his home city of Newark, N.J. In addition, he found out that, after the Emancipation Proclamation, his great, great grandfather founded the first black church in North Carolina. “This did so much for my self-esteem,” he said.

From slavery to the end of the Civil Rights Movement, African Americans have “had to deal with far worse things than we do today” and persevered in face of incredible challenges, Wilson said. The hardest part of the film for him “was waking up at 4 o’clock in the morning and going to pull tobacco,” he said, half joking. “To think of doing it from sunup to sundown, and to think that this was just a fraction of what they went through, you can’t help but get a little bit angry after you realize what they went through.”

Wilson finds inspiration in someone else he interviewed for the documentary, Daisy Blackwell, who is 100. In the film, she encourages him to focus on today’s problems in African American society. He hopes that “Meeting David Wilson” shows how frank and friendly dialogue can help.

In his interactive, multimedia lecture, Wilson showed pivotal moments from the film, including his conversations with the white David Wilson, clips from a DOLL test session he conducted, and comments by ordinary people about the state of race relations today.

The lecture was sponsored by the Student Center/Student Activities Office and the Disability Services Office. ###

For Immediate Release Contact: Lea Ann Scales Assistant Vice President of Public Relations and Marketing Phone: 508-929-8018 April 12, 2010

Family of Emory Athletics Icon Gives Archive to University Libraries

The late W. Clyde "Doc" Partin was a beloved Emory University icon for more than 50 years-a teacher, coach, athletics director and historian known for his remarkable contributions to the athletics program. Now that his family has given his personal papers, books and sports memorabilia to Emory's Manuscript, Archives and Rare Book Library (MARBL), he will have a permanent place within the University.

Partin's son Clyde Partin Jr., an Emory alumnus, physician and professor who has been a member of the MARBL Literary Collections board for the past 10 years, was instrumental in arranging the gift. He and his mother, Betty Partin, and his two siblings, Keith Partin of Charlotte, N.C., and Betsy Partin Vinson of Gainesville, Fla., are making the gift as a family.

W. Clyde 'Doc' Partin

Partin said the family has been touched by Emory's welcoming response. "We are incredibly pleased that Emory has shown an interest in preserving the sports collections of my father. He was a keen competitor who was devoted to Emory University, the study of baseball and the history of athletics." The archive includes essays Doc Partin wrote about baseball Hall of Famers such as Babe Ruth, Earle Combs and Frank Robinson, as well as drafts and research notes for those essays. It also includes posters, documents, and baseballs signed by Hank Aaron, Satchel Paige, Buck O'Neil and many other legendary players, along with a substantial collection of books related to African American athletes.

These materials will form the nucleus of what the Partin family hopes will evolve into a major collection exploring the role of African Americans in sports and the role of athletics in the struggle for human and civil rights.


"Doc Partin had a hand in nearly every major athletic development in Atlanta for years, from the Atlanta Braves to the Olympics," said Randall K. Burkett, curator of MARBL's African American collections. "One of the lesser known but profoundly important aspects of Partin's career was his eagerness to break down barriers to the success of African American athletes in sports at every level."

Rick Luce, Emory's vice provost and director of libraries, said the family's gift will strengthen MARBL as a resource for the University and the larger community. "The acquisition of the Partin collection adds a new dimension to our holdings addressing the importance of athletics in our culture generally and in the freedom struggle for racial equality," he said. "We are grateful to Mrs. Betty Partin and her family."


The Partin archive also includes extensive records related to the Atlanta Chiefs, the soccer team from the late 1960s that was the brainchild of Partin's close friend Richard A. Cecil, a former executive with the Atlanta Braves. Cecil played a key role in conceiving the idea of a sports archive at Emory.

Partin earned a bachelor's degree from Emory in 1950 and a master's in education in 1951. During his tenure as athletics director from 1966 until 1983, Emory athletics saw unprecedented growth that culminated in the construction of the Woodruff P.E. Center, which opened in 1983. He expanded the number of intercollegiate sports, particularly for female students, with women's tennis being added in 1975 followed by women's cross-country and track and field in the early 1980s. Partin also founded the Emory Sports Fitness Camp, now in its 45th year.

From 1986 until his retirement in 2002, Partin was a professor of physical education. Over the course of his career, he mentored hundreds of young student athletes. Even after his retirement, he kept an office on campus and often manned the press box, announcing during Emory baseball games. Partin's book on the history of Emory athletics, "Athletics for All: The History of Sports at Emory," was released in 2006. He passed away in June 2009.


Betty Partin said the family discovered the treasure trove of materials in the attic of her Decatur home, and she is glad to entrust the archive to Emory. 

"Clyde loved Emory, he loved his collection, and I think he would like very much to have his work at the Emory library," she said.



The Partins' gift is part of Campaign Emory, a $1.6 billion fund-raising endeavor that combines private support and the university's people, places and programs to make a powerful contribution to the world. Investments through Campaign Emory fuel efforts to address fundamental challenges: improving health, gaining ground in science and technology, resolving conflict, harnessing the power of the arts, and educating the heart and mind. ###

Contact:

1. Beverly Clark: 404.712.8780

Jonathan Walton Is New Assistant Professor of African American Religious Studies

Social ethicist and African American religious studies scholar Jonathan Walton has been named Assistant Professor of African American Religious Studies at Harvard Divinity School, effective July 1, 2010.

Walton is currently an assistant professor of religious studies at the University of California, Riverside. His research addresses the intersections among religion, politics, and popular culture.

"Harvard Divinity School is among the premier centers of theological education and hubs of academic inquiry," Walton said. "I am honored and humbled to join such an amazing scholarly community, particularly since HDS has a proven track record of neither resting on its reputation nor being lulled asleep by its laurels.

Its continued commitment to recruiting and cultivating cutting-edge scholars of religion in general, and of American religion in particular, makes it the place I want to be."

Walton's scholarly work is grounded in the progressive strand of the African American religious tradition and informed by the creative potentiality and rhythmic sensibility of hip-hop culture. His first book, Watch This! The Ethics and Aesthetics of African American Religious Broadcasting, is an important intervention into the study of African American and American religion.

Jonathan Walton

As he explains, those working on Christian religious broadcasting have given little attention to the phenomenon outside of white, conservative, evangelical communities, while black liberation theologians have yet to give careful attention to televisual representation as a site of theological production. "Jonathan Walton thinks historically, ethically, and theologically," said Amy Hollywood, Elizabeth H. Monrad Professor of Christian Studies at HDS, who chaired the faculty search committee. "His intellectual range, his energy, and the interdisciplinary nature of his work on African American religions make him uniquely suited to HDS and to the University as a whole." Drawing on British cultural studies, Walton explores the interrelationship between the media used by African American megachurches and the theologies thereby conveyed. He argues for forms of theological innovation within the productions of black televangelism that are enabled—perhaps even generated—by the media that televangalists use, and he asks what the implications are for black theology and the study of African American religion when one attends to these particular forms of religious and theological expression.

"He is an exciting young scholar whose field work with contemporary religious communities will bring an added dimension to our course offerings and faculty coverage here at HDS and at Harvard more broadly," said Dean William A. Graham. "I feel strongly that with this appointment, together with that of Mayra Rivera Rivera, Assistant Professor of Theology and Latina/o Studies, who will also begin her work at HDS on July 1, we are now well staffed in two important areas that we have wanted covered for some time."

Trained as a social ethicist, Walton earned his PhD in religion and society from Princeton Theological Seminary. He also holds a master of divinity degree from Princeton Seminary as well as a BA in political science from Morehouse College in Atlanta. His insights and reflections concerning the intersections of religion, culture, and society have been noted in numerous prominent news media outlets, such as CNN, The New York Times, Time magazine, and NPR.

"I look forward to this challenge," Walton said of his appointment to HDS, "Just as I look forward to contributing to the intellectual, spiritual, and familial climate on campus."

Contact: Jonathan Beasley, 617.496.6004

UM Team Receives $1.8M to Encourage Cancer Awareness through Church

COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- Doctors have long struggled to convince African American men to get informed about prostate cancer screenings, though this population has a disproportionately high mortality rate from the disease. Now a team of Maryland researchers will study the effectiveness of encouraging discussions about screening through a trusted authority in the black community: the church.

The American Cancer Society has awarded $1.8 million to Cheryl Holt, an associate professor in the university's School of Public Health, to develop and evaluate "spiritually themed health interventions" specific to prostate cancer for men attending 20 predominately African American churches in Prince George's County, Md.

Cheryl Holt, associate professor of public and community health at Maryland, leads a four-year study that will provide information on prostate cancer screening to African American men in Prince George's County, Md.

The four-year study announced today (April 7) will include training local churchgoers as "community health advisers" who can offer their peers information on the disease, seek inspiring testimony from cancer survivors and provide resources for screening and treatment options. The goal is to encourage the men to talk to their doctors and make informed decisions on whether to get screened. "We know [African American men] are more likely to get the disease and they are more likely to die from it. What we don't know are the exact reasons why they are less likely to seek early screening than some other groups," says Holt, who will lead the project.

Prostate cancer is often referred to as a "silent" disease, displaying few noticeable symptoms until it reaches a stage where treatment is much less effective and survival rates drop significantly. Early detection with a digital rectal exam or prostate-specific antigen testing may help to combat the second-leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States, particularly among groups at high risk for the disease.

Last year, there were 192,280 reported cases of prostate cancer in the United States, and 27,360 deaths, with African American men showing a mortality rate twice as high as other racial or ethnic groups.

Holt, a social psychologist and an expert in health communication, says that peer-based health education in a church setting is "culturally appropriate," and churches are already recognized as a social network for African American men. "The gentlemen are comfortable -- it is an all-male session, and one of their peers is providing the information," Holt explains.

The setting can also allow information to be framed in a spiritual way that emphasizes already-accepted church principles regarding body, mind and spirit, or the notion of being healthy in a holistic way. The key, Holt says, is to capture the men's interest and give them enough data to decide whether prostate cancer screening is right for them.

The American Cancer Society recently released new recommendations stating that all men over the age of 50 should discuss with their doctor the need for an annual screening.

"If you can access and educate people who carry weight and carry influence in the African American community, hopefully they can then go out and explain to people the importance of getting this done," says Michael Naslund, M.D., head of urology and director of the Maryland Prostate Center at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore.

Naslund, who is also a professor of surgery at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, expects to provide medical expertise during the study. He says it is important to drive home that prostate cancer is curable if caught early.

The first year of the Maryland study will be spent developing the curriculum and materials that the community health advisers will use. Input will come from an advisory panel of local pastors and prostate cancer survivors.

Once the curriculum is established, the community health advisers may start out talking about basic issues, Holt says, perhaps talking about something as simple as leading a healthy lifestyle. The discussions will then progress, with the adviser leading a conversation that may include such questions as, "What is cancer?" or, "What is the prostate? Where is it? What does it do?"

"We also think we'll see the health advisers identify and bring in gentlemen who will give their testimony -- it is a common thing in the church for folks to give their testimony," says Holt, who conducted similar church-based studies in Alabama two years ago that the current project is based upon.

In the context of cancer, it may be a gentleman who is a survivor. "He can give his testimony on how his cancer was found, how it was found early, it was treated, and how he is here today because he was proactive," Holt says.

Later sessions may talk about what to do following a diagnosis of prostate cancer, including possible treatment options. The health advisers will not offer any medical opinions, but will be trained to provide links to resources, such as where men can get free screening or treatment if they do not have insurance.

Holt says that it is important to recognize that the project has a lot of sustainability built into it. For example, after the prostate-screening curriculum is taught to community health advisers, these same people can then be taught another targeted intervention -- diabetes, perhaps.

"We expect to teach them the core knowledge and the skills to communicate," Holt says. "All they have to do is pick up a new curriculum and integrate it into their health ministry or health group."

In addition to Holt and Naslund, the project includes several other investigators, a statistician and other support staff from the university's School of Public Health and Department of Anthropology. Two community-based organizations will provide partnership and staffing: Community Ministry of Prince George's County and Access to Holistic and Productive Living Institute Inc. The project will be operated in conjunction with the Seat Pleasant/University of Maryland Health Partnership

Media Contact Information: Associate Professor Cheryl Holt, 301-405-6659.

Dr. Michael Naslund can be contacted throughEllen Beth Levitt, director, Public Affairs & Media Relations, University of Maryland Medical Center, 410-328-8919.

For Immediate Release April 7, 2010 Contacts: David Ottalini, 301 405 4076 or dottalin@umd.edu

New Study Details High Rates of Rehospitalizations and Emergency Pain Treatment of Sickle Cell Disease

The largest study to date of the use of acute care medical services by people with sickle cell disease found four of every 10 had to return to the hospital within 30 days of a previous hospitalization or go to the emergency department for treatment of pain, according to a new study funded in part by HHS' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).

The study, "Acute Care Utilization and Rehospitalization for Sickle Cell Disease," conducted by researchers at the Medical College of Wisconsin and the Children's Research Institute at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, both in Milwaukee, and AHRQ, is published in the April 7 issue of JAMA.

"This study is important because it provides benchmark data to evaluate the quality of management of sickle cell disease symptoms," said AHRQ Director Carolyn M. Clancy, M.D. "The next step is to determine why patients are being rehospitalized or seeking emergency department treatment at this rate and to make improvements in their care." Sickle cell disease, an inherited blood disorder, most commonly causes acute, severe, recurrent painful episodes due to occlusion of blood vessels by sickle-shaped red blood cells.

People with sickle cell disease are also at increased risk for stroke and chronic problems, such as kidney and lung disease. The disease affects millions of people worldwide, including an estimated 70,000 to 100,000 persons in the United States. African Americans are disproportionately affected.

When the researchers analyzed acute care use by age groups, they found that 18- to 30-year-old patients had the highest rate of rehospitalizations within 30 days (41 percent). They also were more likely to go to the emergency department for treatment of pain and then be released (20 percent within 30 days). In general, they had approximately three and a half hospital visits per year—either a rehospitalization or an emergency department visit—regardless of their insurance. This rate is markedly higher than the two visits per year for children 10 to 17 years old with sickle cell disease.

Regardless of age, the patients with Medicaid or other types of public insurance used acute care for sickle cell-related reasons more than privately insured and uninsured patients. Publicly insured 18- to 30-year-old patients had the highest rate—nearly five encounters per year compared with all other age groups with any other insurance, private or public.

The researchers also examined the data for the percentage of sickle cell disease patients who had to go back to the hospital or visit the emergency department within 14 days of being discharged. They found that two-thirds of the patients rehospitalized within 30 days were actually readmitted within 14 days of their previous hospital discharge.

The study was based on 21,112 sickle cell disease patients in eight states—Arizona, California, Florida, Massachusetts, Missouri, New York, South Carolina and Tennessee—who were hospitalized or treated and released from hospital emergency departments in 2005 and 2006. The state databases are part of the AHRQ-administered Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project.

"It was important for us to draw attention to the high rate of acute care utilization for people with sickle cell disease. Armed with this knowledge, we can focus attention on the need for improved care for people with sickle cell disease," said lead study author David C. Brousseau, M.D., M.S., associate professor of pediatrics (section of Emergency Medicine) at the Medical College of Wisconsin. He also practices at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin as a pediatric emergency specialist.

For more information, please contact AHRQ Public Affairs: (301) 427-1855 or (301) 427-1539; Medical College of Wisconsin: (414) 955-4700. Press Release Date: April 6, 2010

Goshen College choirs to perform fourth annual world music concert

Concert: "Earthtones: Songs from Many Cultures" by Goshen College choirs
Date and time: Saturday, April 10 at 7:30 p.m.
Location: Goshen College Music Center's Sauder Concert Hall
Cost: $7 for adults, $5 for seniors and students and free for GC students with ID. Tickets available at the door only.

GOSHEN, Ind. – Singing music from multiple regions of the world, the Goshen College choirs will again explore the large palette of sounds available to the human voice at the fourth annual Earthtones choral concert on Saturday, April 10 at 7:30 p.m. in the Music Center's Sauder Concert Hall.

Performing will be the Goshen College Chorale, Chamber Choir, Men's Chorus and Women's World Music Choir. The program will feature choral works from a wide variety of composers, cultures and countries, including Venezuela, Scandinavia, Ireland, Iraq, Syria, India, South Africa, Japan, Republic of Georgia and African-American traditions. The choirs will perform individually and as a combined choir.

Drawing from powerful melodies of almost every continent, Earthtones promises to provide a concert full of vitality and tone color in a celebration of world music.

The Goshen College Choirs are directed by Debra Brubaker, professor of music, and Scott Hochstetler, assistant professor of music. They are accompanied by Christine Larson Seitz, assistant professor of music and pianist.

At Goshen College, Brubaker is involved in the choral and opera theater programs, teaches church music courses and serves as department co-chair. Since coming to Goshen in 1999, she has directed the Goshen College Chorale and Chamber Choir, and created the Women's World Music Choir, which made its debut in the spring of 2004. Brubaker and her choirs have collaborated and performed with such noted conductors as Alice Parker, Vance George, Donald Neuen and Gregg Smith.

Hochstetler directs the Chorale and Men's Chorus and teaches applied voice and conducting. He was music director at Western Mennonite School in Salem, Ore., from 2000 to 2005 and has taught at Corban College and the University of Michigan-Flint. Hochstetler holds a doctorate in choral conducting from Michigan State University, master's degrees in conducting and voice from the University of Michigan and a bachelor's in music and biology from Goshen College.

The cost of the concert is $7 adults, $5 seniors/students. Tickets are available at the door only. Goshen College students are free with ID.

Editors: For more information about this release, contact Goshen College News Bureau Director Jodi H. Beyeler at (574) 535-7572 or jodihb@goshen.edu. ###

Goshen College, established in 1894, is a residential Christian liberal arts college rooted in the Anabaptist-Mennonite tradition. The college's Christ-centered core values – passionate learning, global citizenship, compassionate peacemaking and servant-leadership – prepare students as leaders for the church and world. Recognized for its unique Study-Service Term program, Goshen has earned citations of excellence in Barron's Best Buys in Education, "Colleges of Distinction," "Making a Difference College Guide" and U.S.News & World Report's "America's Best Colleges" edition, which named Goshen a "least debt college." Visit www.goshen.edu.

G.R. Little Library presents 'Thomas Day, Cabinet Maker: Man in the Middle'

The G. R. Little Library and the N. C. Humanities Council present: "Thomas Day, Cabinet Maker: Man in the Middle" at 3:30 p.m. on April 15 in the lecture hall of the Jimmy R. Jenkins Science Center. This free event is one of several planned for National Library Week. Free parking is available in the parking lot of Roebuck Stadium and a shuttle bus will transport pedestrians at 3 p.m. to the Jimmy R. Jenkins Science Center.

Thomas Day (1801-ca. 1861) is mostly remembered today by North Carolinians as a furniture maker who had the largest furniture business in the state during the height of slavery.

A black artisan and business man, Day’s shop turned out striking beds, bureaus, tables, sofas and chairs that are still highly coveted just as they were over 150 years ago. But Day is increasingly being seen as more than just a talented Tar Heel craftsman. Described by the New York Times as a "major antebellum figure" he stood at the center of competing forces in nineteenth-century America: between black and white, slave and free, North and South, Africa and America, and art and craft. Dramatic new research is forcing a re-interpretation of the complex layers of identity Day created to maintain his personal integrity as a human being while living with the racism of the antebellum South.

This dynamic mediated presentation by film-maker, educator, and long-time Thomas Day researcher, encourages audience participation as they analyze the historical evidence, savor his legacy in wood, and explore the mystery of one of our state’s most extraordinary and fascinating historical figures.

Laurel Sneed, of the North Carolina Humanities Council Rhodes Scholar Speaker Bureau, is our presenter and an educator, researcher, and media producer/film-maker based in Durham, North Carolina. In 1995 she led the research effort that discovered Thomas Day's origins and parentage in southern Virginia. Since then she has produced a broad range of materials and media on Thomas Day, as well as on other African American historical topics. In addition, she has been director of the Crafting Freedom teacher workshops which have brought over 400 teachers to North Carolina to study black artisans, entrepreneurs and abolitionists who contributed to the making of North Carolina and our country. Sneed makes presentations throughout the United States on Thomas Day and a broad variety of subjects mostly related to American history and improving the teaching of it.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Kesha Williams April 5, 2010 Elizabeth City State University ,1704 Weeksville Road, Elizabeth City, NC 27909 P: 252.335.3400

History journal explores abolitionism, Freemasonry and feminism in 19th century

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The radical abolitionist George Thompson was a minor celebrity in the mid-19th century. He was imprisoned for five years for a botched attempt to free slaves in Missouri, the author of several books and the head of the African mission established by the Amistad slave rebellion survivors.

"And yet he has been almost completely ignored by historians," writes Joseph Yannielli, who attributes the oversight to a tendency to see militant abolitionists as mentally deranged, along with a failure to engage the global dimensions of the anti-slavery movement. His article "George Thompson among the Africans: Empathy, Authority and Insanity in the Age of Abolition" is included in the March 2010 issue of the Journal of American History, published at Indiana University Bloomington by the Organization of American Historians.

Yannielli argues that dismissing Thompson and other militants as insane is "at best speculative and at worst irresponsible." He shows that Thompson's Christian ideals were tested when he headed the Mendi Mission in Sierra Leone from 1848 to 1856. His 6-year-old son died, his wife and infant son returned to America, and Thompson clashed with local chiefs and used harsh discipline against the native population, once administering 50 lashes to a pregnant woman accused of adultery.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony are among the popular speakers depicted in "The Lyceum Committeeman's Dream" by C.S. Reinhart (1873), the cover illustration for the most recent Journal of American History. Photo: "Courtesy of Indiana University."

"But his willingness to transgress conventional social, political and geographic barriers and identify with the oppressed and exploited was a crucial feature of the global battle over slavery, and we lose a great deal by erasing him from our history," Yannielli writes. Also in the issue: * Stephen Kantrowitz, in "African American Freemasonry in the Emancipation Era," argues that segregated fraternal organizations, especially the Freemasons, provided an institutional framework in which African American men gained experience in politics, organization and leadership in the years before the Civil War. * Lisa Tetrault, in "The Incorporation of American Feminism: Suffragists and the Postbellum Lyceum," examines suffragists who earned money by giving lectures in the years after the Civil War. Women such as Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton became stars in a system that linked reformist ideals with financial opportunity. * Joanne Meyerowitz, in "Sexuality, Race, and Mid-Twentieth-Century Social Constructionist Thought," shows how the "culture-and-personality school" of public intellectuals replaced eugenics with a biopolitics of child-rearing and argued that the quality of a population could be enhanced by nurturing certain cultural traits.

* In the journal's annual "Textbooks and Teaching" section, 10 authors explore the challenges and opportunities of teaching American history in Australia, Lebanon, Russia, Brazil and elsewhere outside of the United States.

In the JAH Podcast for March 2010, editor Ed Linenthal speaks with contributing editor Scott E. Casper about the "Textbooks and Teaching" feature. The podcast and selected content from the journal are available online at www.journalofamericanhistory.org/.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 5, 2010

Higginbotham to Discuss 'From Slavery to Freedom'

Author and scholar Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham will give a presentation on her work and longtime collaboration with famed African-American historian John Hope Franklin at 4 p.m. Friday, April 16 at Emory University's Woodruff Library.

Higginbotham worked with Franklin, considered the dean of African-American historians, on a thorough revision of "From Slavery to Freedom," his classic survey of African-American history first published in 1947. Franklin died in March 2009.

Higginbotham, chairperson of Harvard University's Department of African and African American Studies, is co-author of the ninth edition, published in January, which features President Barack Obama on the cover.

Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham Photo: W.E.B. Du Bois Library, UMass Amherst

Higginbotham will speak about Franklin and his place in history, followed by remarks from Emory Provost Earl Lewis. David Eltis, Robert W. Woodruff Professor of History, will moderate the discussion, which is co-sponsored by the Department of History and the James Weldon Johnson Institute and the Department of African American Studies. Updating a Classic Text The new edition was updated with greater coverage of African-American women, transnational artistic and political movements, differing expressions of protest, community activism, civil rights and black power, as well as current events such as the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the globalization of hip-hop and the election of the first African-American U.S. president.

Randall K. Burkett, curator of African American collections at Emory Libraries' Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library (MARBL), says Higginbotham's contributions revitalize the classic text, which was last updated in 2002.

"There's so much work being done in the field in all aspects - in art history, music, African history, politics, literature, theater - and she really has the breadth to synthesize that material and bring it to bear," Burkett says. "I think it will give this book a new life."

About Higginbotham

Higginbotham is the author of several books, including "Righteous Discontent: The Women's Movement in the Black Baptist Church 1880-1920"; editor-in-chief of the massive bibliography project "The Harvard Guide to African-American History"; and co-editor with Henry Louis Gates Jr. of several books including "Harlem Renaissance Lives" and the eight-volume "African-American National Biography."

The presentation, which is free and open to the public, will be held in the Jones Room on Level 3 of the Woodruff Library. Light refreshments and a book signing will follow the program; books will be available for purchase.

Woodruff Library is located at 540 Asbury Circle, Atlanta, GA 30322. Parking is available in the Fishburne and Peavine decks; see the map. for locations. For more information, call 404.727.6887, e-mail marbl@emory.edu or visit MARBL. ###

Contact:

1. Maureen McGavin: 404.727.6898
2. Elaine Justice: 404.727.0643

U of M Will Present MLK Human Rights Award and Scholarship April 5

The University of Memphis will present the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Human Rights Award to Leah C. Wells in a ceremony Monday, April 5, at 2 p.m. in the University Center Theatre. The award recognizes individuals whose activities exemplify non-violent leadership in the pursuit of social justice and human rights.

The Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship also will be awarded at the ceremony. The 2010 recipient is Antedra Alexis Finger, a junior biology major. She is the daughter of Marquazette and Alex Finger of Little Rock.

Wells has long worked on issues of human rights. She taught courses on conflict resolution in Washington, D.C., and in California, where she was recognized by the National Peace Corps Association as the Peace Educator of the Year.

Leah C. Wells Antedra Alexis Finger

In Memphis she has worked on issues of child poverty with The Urban Child Institute and on leadership training through GOT Power, and she has served on the Public Buildings and Purchasing Policies Committee with Sustainable Shelby. Wells worked with the U of M’s Benjamin L. Hooks Institute for Social Change in 2005. She led the nonviolence training at the National Civil Rights Museum for participants in the 2007 march in Jena, La., in support of the Jena Six. She has published extensively about poverty, human rights, ecology, and economics, and is a regular contributor to The Commercial Appeal’s online publication, “Going Green.” Wells is now working with BioDimensions and the Memphis Bioworks Foundation on several projects, including publishing a local green-jobs assessment and contributing to a report on strategies for biobased products in the Mississippi Delta. She earned her bachelor of science degree in linguistics from Georgetown University in 1998 and her master’s degree in political science from the U of M in 2005. She is pursuing her doctorate in political science at the University of Mississippi.

Finger is vice president of the Minority Association for Pre-medical Students (the U of M chapter of the Student National Medical Association), which connects undergraduate students with medical students and physicians in the Memphis area. The organization provides networking experiences, HIV screenings, and blood drives, and collaborates with the University of Tennessee Health Science Center to host health fairs in African-American communities. Her goal is to become a neonatologist in a rural area.

The event, which is open to the public, is sponsored by African and African-American Studies and the Office of Diversity at the U of M. For more information, call 901-678-3516.

For release: April 2, 2010 For press information, contact Gabrielle Maxey, 901/678-2843