The story of The African American Twenty-fifth Infantry Bicycle Corps stationed in Montana who tested the bicycle for military use in the 1890s

Alexandra V. Koelle, a postdoctoral scholar at the Bill Lane Center for the American West, has won the 2011 Oscar O. Winther Award from the Western History Association for the best article published in the Western Historical Quarterly in the past year. Her article, "Pedaling on the Periphery: The African American Twenty-fifth Infantry Bicycle Corps and the Roads of American Expansion," tells the story of a corps of African American soldiers stationed in Montana who tested the bicycle for military use in the 1890s.

The soldiers' lieutenant, a white southerner, believed that the bicycle might be a viable replacement for the horse--after all, he reasoned, bicycles did not need food or rest. After several training rides, 20 volunteers from the Twenty-fifth Infantry Division biked a grueling 1,900 miles from Montana to St. Louis.

Koelle studied the black bicycle corps in her dissertation, which she is working on revising as a book during her postdoctoral fellowship at the Center. Her research provides a unique insight into the history of race relations in the American West, illustrating both similarities to and differences from the East.

Koelle's award-winning article examines the ways that immgrant and settler whites, Indians, and African Americans along the route responded to the bicycle corps. As Koelle explains, the black cyclists experienced a range of reactions throughout their journey. At some towns, white residents greeted them as American patriots, feting the group with bands and parades. In other places, they were met with suspicion—a western Missouri farmer warned the group that “you can pile right off a this land.”

In general, though, Koelle’s research reveals that the black soldiers became gradually less popular as they traveled farther East. In the West, racism against Native Americans may have mitigated racism against the African American soldiers. Several regiments of the Twenty-fifth had fought alongside whites at Wounded Knee, and they continued to be used against Native Americans throughout the 1890s. But “the farther east they went,” says Koelle, “the stricter the segregation, the longer the history of slavery, and the further the memory of Indian Wars.” TEXT and IMAGE CREDIT: The Bill Lane Center for the American West Jerry Yang & Akiko Yamazaki Environment & Energy Building 473 Via Ortega, Third Floor Stanford University Stanford, CA 94305-4225

African American Caucus at Northwestern State University is hosting a community forum

The African-American Caucus at Northwestern State University is hosting a community forum, Thursday, Oct. 20, at 7 p.m. in the Friedman Student Union Ballroom. Admission is free and open to the public, according to Kenneth Brown, president of the African-American Caucus.

A panel will discuss topics including: sex in media, the high costs of education, animal cruelty, the war on drugs and unemployment in the community. 
Panelists are Natchitoches Parish Sheriff Victor Jones, Northwestern State faculty Jody Biscoe and Richard Hughbank, Chief Deputy Assessor Dollie Mahoney, Rev. Al Harris and NSU students Christalyn Whitaker and Tiffany Thomas. Marcus Jones, vice president of university affairs and the Ben D. Johnson Sr. Endowed Professor at Northwestern State, will moderate the panel.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: David West (west@nsula.edu) News Bureau Northwestern State University Natchitoches, LA 71497 (318) 357-6466

The News Bureau works with print, broadcast and Internet media outlets to publicize all aspects of the university, including faculty programs, research, initiatives and accomplishments. Working with you, we can develop a strategy to give your story the best possible chance of receiving coverage. The News Bureau also assists media who are covering stories involving higher education, current topics or human interest stories involving NSU students, faculty, staff and alumni.

Leading & Energizing African American Students through Research and Knowledge

Leading & Energizing African American Students through Research and Knowledge

West Los Angeles College recently received a four-year, $2.4 million grant from the Department of Education HBCU Division / Office of Postsecondary Education. The funds come from a Title III Predominately Black Institution (PBI) grant.

The new grant funds an on campus program called LEARN (Leading & Energizing African American Students through Research and Knowledge). LEARN was established by a group of West faculty and staff who believed specifically targeted efforts could be implemented to improve the college success rates for a number of African American students who enter the college underprepared. The program was establish last year under a oneyear grant The receipt of the four-year PBI grant will allow the program to continue its good work.

The student population at West is approximately 44% African American. LEARN, in conjunction with other college services, provides academic support, mentoring, exposure to career paths, leadership development and instruction in life skills. Students from target high schools and middle schools will also participate in LEARN programs.

“Students succeed at identifying, persisting in pursuing, and achieving their goals when we can create learning experiences that account for their specific needs and degrees of readiness to engage in college. I applaud the efforts of the creative faculty, staff and administrative leaders who established LEARN and worked diligently to secure the resources to implement the project,” said West President, Nabil Abu-Ghazaleh.

West Los Angeles College, an accredited community college located just south of Overland and Jefferson, has been providing excellent university transfer and career training programs to the community for over 40 years. For more information on “West,” visit www.wlac.edu. ### PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE DATE: October 12, 2011 CONTACT: Michelle Long-Coffee, Dir. PR & Advertising (310) 287-4597 | longcofm@wlac.edu 9000 Overland Ave. - Culver City, CA 90230

Black Panther Convention, Lincoln Memorial

October 15. 1966 Black Panther Party is created by Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale.

Title: Black Panther Convention, Lincoln Memorial Related Names: O'Halloran, Thomas J. , photographer. Leffler, Warren K. , photographer. Date Created / Published: 1970 Jun. 19. Medium: 1 negative : film.

Summary: Photograph showing a man on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial holding a banner for the Revolutionary People's Constitutional Convention; statue of Lincoln in the background.

Reproduction Number: LC-DIG-ppmsca-04304 (digital file from original negative)

Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on publication.

Call Number: LC-U9- 22860-6 [P&P] Repository: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA.

Notes: Title from contact sheet folder caption. U.S. News & World Report Magazine Photograph Collection. Contact sheet available for reference purposes: USN&WR COLL - Job no. 22860, frame 6.

Subjects: Black Panther Party--Riots & demonstations--Washington (D.C.)--1970.

Format: Film negatives--1970.

Collections: Miscellaneous Items in High Demand

White Only Frostburg State University to Present “Hateful Things” Art Exhibit

The Stephanie Ann Roper Gallery at Frostburg State University will present an exhibit titled “Hateful Things,” a 39-piece traveling exhibition that represents nearly 150 years of anti-black/racist material. The objects and images within the exhibit portray the cruel reality that the African-American culture endured during the Jim Crow era, and silently voices African-Americans’ struggles for racial equality.

The exhibition will be open to the public from Oct. 21 to Nov. 9. The opening reception will be on Friday, Oct. 21, from 7 to 9 p.m. The Roper Gallery is open from 1 to 4 p.m. Sundays through Wednesdays, with expanded hours for Leadership and Homecoming Weekend from 1 to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 22.

The “Hateful Things” exhibit is a sampling from a museum at Ferris State University College of Arts and Sciences. The exhibit was created by Dr. David Pilgrim, a Ferris sociology professor and museum curator, as well as Carrie Weis-Taylor, coordinator of Ferris’ Rankin Center Art Gallery.

Pilgrim attended, and experienced first-hand, segregated schools in his hometown of Mobile, Ala. Pilgrim’s awareness of racism began at a young age, and his exposure prompted him to become emotionally attached to the idea of eliminating such racism. An inspiring story marked the beginning of his vision to tackle this issue head-on: One day, while out shopping, he saw a small “Mammy” figurine (a common archetype of an African-American woman) for sale. Pilgrim was disgusted by this figurine and recalls, “I bought it and destroyed it in front of the man who sold it to me.”

A photo of one of the items that will be part of the “Hateful Things” exhibit at the Stephanie Ann Roper Gallery from Oct. 21 to Nov. 9. The image is courtesy of the Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia at Ferris State University.

For the years that followed, Pilgrim continued to purchase such figurines and destroy them, simply for the purpose of proving a point. As time passed, he began to see the historical significance of these figurines, and instead changed his tactic to collecting them, rather than destroying them. Pilgrim then got the idea to use this collection to create a museum exhibit, but of a different type. “I have a goal to create a room that when people come into that room, it changes the way they talk about race,” he said. He wants to bring peoples’ attention to the world in which African-Americans lived, and to raise awareness of the historical importance of that time period.

For more information on the exhibit at FSU, contact Dr. Amy Branam at abranam@frostburg.edu.

FSU is committed to making all of its programs, services and activities accessible to persons with disabilities. To request accommodations through the ADA Compliance Office, call 301-687-4102 or use a Voice Relay Operator at 1-800-735-2258. -end-

For further information on this release, contact: Office of News and Media Services. Frostburg State University. 101 Braddock Road. Frostburg, MD 21532-2303. Telephone: 301/687-3171. Fax: 301/687-7589. E-mail: news@frostburg.edu.

40th anniversary of UNL’s African American and African Studies Program

Community welcome to help celebrate UNL program's 40th anniversary Released on 10/10/2011, at 2:00 AM. Office of University Communications. University of Nebraska–Lincoln.

WHEN: Wednesday, Oct. 19, through Oct. 22. WHERE: Various locations

Lincoln, Neb., October 10th, 2011 —

Civil rights scholars, acclaimed writers and community organizers will make their way to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Oct. 19-22 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of UNL’s African American and African Studies Program. Film screenings, performances and panel discussions are among the many other free events planned, with the community welcome to attend and participate.

The program, established in 1971 as part of UNL’s Institute for Ethnic Studies, promotes interdisciplinary research, teaching and outreach activities that explore, explain and support the experiences of the people of the African Diaspora, while bridging scholarly and community interests. Its work contributes to a growing body of knowledge that lies at the intersections of ethnicity, race, gender, class, sexual orientation and social justice.

The anniversary celebration will explore the theme "Reflecting the Past … Minding the Future." It kicks off Oct. 19 with a day of service organized by student groups.

Reflecting the Past Minding the Future

Four featured speakers have been planned during the week, beginning with Mark Mathabane, author of the national best-selling autobiography "Kaffir Boy," among other works. He will present "Our Common Humanity" at 7 p.m. on Oct. 20 in the Nebraska Union, 14th and R streets. In "Kaffir Boy," Mathabane shares the hardships of coming of age under apartheid in South Africa in the 1980s. He grew up in a one-square-mile ghetto amid poverty, late-night police raids, and everyday humiliation. He escaped to the United States after earning a tennis scholarship. Acclaimed playwright, author and literary critic Lisa Thompson will present "Black Studies in the Age of Post-Blackness," at 3:30 p.m. on Oct. 21 in Bailey Library on the second floor of Andrews Hall, 14th and T streets.

She will examine the challenges facing black studies in an age that some critics have pronounced as post-racial and considers the ways contemporary black theater challenges the notion of post-blackness.

Thompson, an associate professor of English at the University of Albany, SUNY, is the author of "Beyond the Black Lady: Sexuality and the New African American Middle Class," which explores the representation of black, middle-class, female sexuality by African-American women authors in narrative literature, drama, film and popular culture. The book received an honorable mention for the National Women’s Studies Association's Gloria E. Anzaldua Book Prize, which recognizes "groundbreaking scholarship in women's studies that makes significant multicultural feminist contributions to women of color/transnational scholarship."

Michael Honey, professor of humanities at the University of Washington-Tacoma who has done extensive research on Martin Luther King Jr., will present "Martin Luther King, Labor and the Long Civil Rights Movement," at 1:30 p.m. Oct. 22 in the Nebraska Union. Honey's address is the highlight of a daylong symposium on civil rights legacies. He also will perform "Links on the Chain," featuring the labor and civil rights songs of Pete Seeger, Bettie Mae Fikes and other freedom singers. Honey is the author of several books, including his most recent, "All Labor Has Dignity: The Labor and Economic Speeches of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr."

A fourth featured speaker, also on Oct. 22, will discuss the vanguard of the southern civil rights movement during the mid-1960s, the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee. Martha Prescod Norman Noonan will present "Hands on the Freedom Plow: The Women of SNCC," beginning at 3:30 p.m. in the Nebraska Union.

Noonan, a community organizer, activist, homemaker and history teacher specializing in the civil rights movement, worked for the SNCC in Alabama and Mississippi in the 1960s. Recently, Noonan helped organize and edit the landmark collection, "Hands on the Freedom Plow: Personal Accounts By Women in SNCC," a book in which 52 women from diverse backgrounds share their personal stories of working for SNCC on the front lines of the southern civil rights movement.

For a complete schedule of events, visit the program's Facebook page, go.unl.edu/be0, or call 402-472-1663.

Writer: Jean Ortiz Jones, University Communications, (402) 472-8320

IMAGE CREDIT: UNL African American and African Studies

100 Novels project highlights the significance of “place” for African-American writers

LAWRENCE — On Thursday, Oct. 6, The Project on the History of Black Writing at the University of Kansas presented selections from its 100 Novels project that highlight the significance of “place” for African-American writers.

This one-day walk-through exhibit, called the Black Literary Suite, was open to the public from noon to 4 p.m. in the Kansas Union Governor’s Room.

The 100 Novels Project explores and celebrates the political, social, cultural and historical significance of 100 works of black literature. The project is a relatively new research initiative that utilizes quantitative research to enhance understandings of black literary history. The temporal scope of the works is wide-ranging, spanning from the late 19th century to the 21st century. Many of the works have been transformed into film and were staples on The New York Times’ best-seller list.

As part of this initiative, The Black Literary Suite was designed to engage the public, shed new light on the Project on the History of Black Writing’s holdings and stimulate discourse about the value of studying African-American literature as an entire body of work. The exhibit will focus on the significance of New York City, specifically Harlem, in relationship to the novels and authors in the collection.

The Project on the History of Black Writing has been in the forefront of research and inclusion efforts in higher education for 25 years.

Silent protest parade in New York City against the East St. Louis riots, 1917

Founded in 1983 at the University of Mississippi in Oxford, the Project on the History of Black Writing has more than 900 novels in its collection published by African-American authors since William Wells Brown’s “Clotel; or, the President’s Daughter” (1853). The project is dedicated to archiving every novel ever published by an African-American. For more information about the Project on the History of Black Writing and its resources, visit its webpage, blog or Facebook fan page, or follow @ProjectHBW on Twitter. The University of Kansas is a major comprehensive research and teaching university. University Relations is the central public relations office for KU's Lawrence campus.

kunews@ku.edu | (785) 864-3256 | 1314 Jayhawk Blvd., Lawrence, KS 66045

Contact: Kenton Rambsy, Project on the History of Black Writing, 785-864-2560

This Will Hurt Me More Than It Hurts You: Corporal Punishment and Jim Crow in America

FORT WAYNE, Ind.— “This Will Hurt Me More Than It Hurts You: Corporal Punishment and Jim Crow in America” is the title of the Native Tongue Lecture Series’ next event, Thursday, October 13, at 7 p.m. in Neff Hall, Room 101. Richard B. Pierce II, a graduate of Concordia Lutheran High School in Fort Wayne, is the speaker.

Pierce is currently the John Cardinal O’Hara, CSC, Associate Professor of History and Chair of the Department of Africana Studies at the University of Notre Dame. The presentation features his research into how African American families and institutions taught Jim Crow to their children in the United States from 1895 to 1965, especially the connections between corporal punishment and Jim Crow.

Pierce specializes in African American, urban, and civil rights history, examining social and political protest in urban environments. He was a consultant for the “Faith and Community Initiative” of the Project on Religion and Urban Culture” at POLIS Research Center and For Gold and Glory, an award-winning documentary that depicted the African American automobile racing league of the 1920s. His published articles and essays have appeared in the Journal of Urban History, The State of Indiana History 2000, and the Chicago Tribune. Recently, his essay “In Pursuit of Civil Discourse in the Academy” was featured in Diverse Magazine, formerly known as Black Issues in Higher Education. He also published Polite Protest: The Political Economy of Race in Indianapolis, 1920–1970 (2005).

Richard B. Pierce II, John Cardinal O'Hara, CSC, Associate Professor of History and chair of the Department of Africana Studies, University of Notre Dame.

The Indiana University–Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW) College of Arts and Sciences, Office of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs, and the Diversity Council host the Native Tongue Lecture Series. It is free and open to the public. IPFW Native Tongue is a lecture series about race and race relations composed entirely of Fort Wayne natives that showcases some of the intellectual talent Fort Wayne has produced. It is designed to engage the IPFW community around matters of race, while showing students another pathway to professional success. One lecture is featured each semester as part of the series. Each speaker also has the opportunity to engage with IPFW and local high school students. For more information, contact Quinton Dixie, associate professor of religious studies, at 260-481-5724 or dixieq@ipfw.edu. ####

Jackie Robinson "Pride and Passion: The African-American Baseball Experience,"

EUGENE, Ore. - An exhibit that reflects the complicated and painful history of race in the U.S. as illustrated through the experiences of African-American baseball players during the past 150 years is coming to the University of Oregon.

"Pride and Passion: The African-American Baseball Experience," a national traveling exhibition organized by the National Baseball Hall of Fame and the American Libraries Association, will be on display at the UO's Knight Library beginning Friday, Oct. 7. The UO Libraries is one of only two libraries in the Pacific Northwest to host the exhibit, which runs through Nov. 18.

"We are delighted to have been selected as a site for this exhibition," said Mark Watson, associate university librarian for collections and access, who co-teaches a freshman seminar at UO about baseball research. "Players in the Negro leagues were some of the most talented and inspiring sports figures of their day. This exhibition shows that, in spite of segregation, black players helped advance the game of baseball in many ways."

An opening reception at 3 p.m. on Oct. 7 features a talk by Stanford University's Arnold Rampersad entitled "The Pride and Passion of Jackie Robinson." Rampersad has written biographies of Jackie Robinson, Langston Hughes and Ralph Ellison, in addition to editing several books on race and American culture. He is an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Philosophical Society and received the National Humanities Medal in 2010.

The Pride and Passion exhibit and supporting exhibits mounted by staff at the UO Libraries include display cases on Jackie Robinson, the Negro Leagues, Negro League players, and the experiences of several African-American athletes at UO between 1926 and 1977. All events are free and open to the public. The Pride and Passion exhibit is composed of colorful freestanding panels featuring photographs of teams, players, original documents and artifacts in the collections of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum and in other institutions and collections across the U.S. The exhibit is funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH): great ideas brought to life.

About the University of Oregon

The University of Oregon is among the 108 institutions chosen from 4,633 U.S. universities for top-tier designation of "Very High Research Activity" in the 2010 Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. The UO also is one of two Pacific Northwest members of the Association of American Universities.

MEDIA CONTACT: Ron Renchler, UO Libraries communications director, 541-346-1459; ronr@uoregon.edu

25 films produced, directed or written by women of color Reel Sisters of the Diaspora Film Festival Long Island University's Brooklyn Campus

Brooklyn, N.Y. – A stimulating selection of more than 25 films produced, directed or written by women of color from Brooklyn to Great Britain will be featured during the Reel Sisters of the Diaspora Film Festival & Lecture Series at Long Island University's Brooklyn Campus this month.

The theme of the 14th annual festival is "From Cleopatra Jones to First Lady Michelle Obama: Exploring Feminism in Film & Media." It will invoke a dynamic conversation on how women of color are portrayed and their contributions to expanding the definition of feminism in today's society.

The two-day festival, co-sponsored by the Brooklyn Campus "Media Arts Department and African Voices magazine, will be held at the Campus" Kumble Theater for the Performing Arts on Saturday, October 15, and Sunday, October 16, at 1 p.m. on both days. Kumble Theater is located on Flatbush Avenue, between DeKalb Avenue and Willoughby Street in downtown Brooklyn.

The community is invited to a free screening of "In Our Heads about Our Hair," celebrating with history and humor the tradition of Black HAIRitage. The film will be screened on Saturday, October 15, at 8:40 p.m., followed by a short questions and answers sessions. To R.S.V.P. for the screening, call (347) 534-3304 or e-mail reelsisters@yahoo.com.

Reel Sisters concludes with an awards ceremony and reception, featuring live dance and emceed by WBAI radio show host Esther Armah. Honored during the event will be Moikgantsi Kgama, the founder of Image Nation Cinema Foundation, and Pearl Bowser, a pioneering filmmaker and author.

For a full schedule of events and movies and tickets, visit www.kumbletheater.org or www.reelsisters.org; or call (718) 488-1624 or (212) 865-2982. Tickets: A two-day pass is $25; one-day pass is $15; additional $10 for awards program and reception. Discounts are available for students, seniors and groups.

The Reel Sisters of the Diaspora Film Festival is supported in part by Council Member Inez E. Dickens, 9th C.D., Speaker Christine Quinn and the New York City Council, The New York State Council on the Arts, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and the Brooklyn Arts Council.

Festival Highlights

"Harriet Returns" is a short film in which Harriet Tubman urgently returns to modern times to emancipate two young wanna-be rappers who use the "N" word as a term of endearment. She believes they have enslaved themselves.

"The Future Wags of Great Britain"
Missy and Kim are two very different sisters. Missy is a regular clubber while Kim is a studious high-achiever. But when times get tough, they unite in a plan to gamble their way to success.

"The Black Cage"
What would you do if you woke up trapped? Confined behind a locked door in a mysterious metal cage with no recollection of where you are or how you got there? The reality is that, many people wake up in the cage everyday without realizing it. They hold the key to their own Black cage, but are too nervous to release themselves from their restrictions.

"Truth about Beauty and Blogs"
A social media diva is thrown off her game when her boyfriend's web activities start to interfere with her picture-perfect image.

"Urban Lullaby"
A stressed-out artist is at the breaking point in her noisy Bronx neighborhood.

"Production"
Danielle feels like the littlest person in the room. Her job as the script coordinator for a wildly popular television drama sounds exciting, but with a job description of "copy, collate, repeat," she doesn't quite agree. When producers introduce plans to shoot an ill-conceived "urban" episode of the show, Danielle finally feels compelled to use her voice. But will it be big enough?

"Little Brother: The Street"
Little Brother is a series of films in which young African American boys share their relationship with Love. As a follow up to the debut film, "Little Brother: Things Fall Apart," this second chapter has the camera accompanying young men during their walk home from school on the very active streets of Chicago's inner city. "Little Brother: The Street" is filmed entirely on the iPhone4.

"Severed Souls"
In 1946, amid conflicting evidence, Corrine Sykes, a petite, mentally challenged 20-year-old maid was tried, sentenced and executed for murder. Severed Souls is a documentary, which chronicles the community memory and the filmmaker's haunted connection to the case.

"The Naked Option"
An inspiring story of an organized group of Nigerian women who use the threat of stripping naked in public, a serious cultural taboo, to make their voices heard. The courageous Emem J. Okon leads them in their perilous struggle to hold multinational oil companies accountable to the communities in which they operate. These women are taking over where men have failed, transforming their "naked power" into 21st-century political action.

The Brooklyn Campus is distinguished by...
dynamic curricula reflecting the great urban community it serves. Distinctive programs encompass the arts and media, the natural sciences, business, social policy, urban education, the health professions and pharmacy, and include the Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology, the Ph.D. in Pharmaceutics, the D.P.T. in Physical Therapy and the Pharm.D. in Pharmacy. A vibrant urban oasis in downtown Brooklyn, this diverse and thriving campus offers academic excellence, personalized attention, small class size and flexible course schedules. In 2006, a $45-million Wellness, Recreation and Athletic Center was opened to serve the Campus and the surrounding community. In 2007, the Cyber Café was launched, providing a high-tech hot spot for students and faculty members to meet and eat.

Posted 10/03/2011

Contact: a href="http://www.liu.edu/Brooklyn.aspx" target="ext">Long Island University Alka Gupta,Assistant Director of Public Relations Brooklyn Campus, (718) 780-4137 alka.gupta@liu.edu

History of African American women artists 10/06/11

History of African American women artists 10/06/11, Lisa Farrington, chair of the department of art and music at John Jay College, will present "Creating Their Own Image: History of African American Women Artists" at 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 6, at the Miami University Art Museum. Her talk is in conjunction with the exhibition "Out of the Shadows: The Rise of Women in Art."

Farrington will discuss the struggles and triumphs of black women artists from slavery to the present and examine the ways in which they counteracted black female stereotypes such as the Mammy, the Matriarch and the Jezebel.

Farrington specializes in race and gender in visual culture and Haitian Vodou art. She was previously senior art historian at Parsons School of Design and was the 2008 William and Camille Cosby Endowed Scholar at Spelman College. She is the 2010 winner of the Andy Warhol Foundation Arts Writers Grant for a new book on artist Emma Amos. She is author of 10 books: Her book on the history of African American women artists has received three literary awards including the American Library Association Award for Outstanding Contribution to Literature.

Her lecture, free and open to the public, is co-sponsored by the art museum, the Center for American and World Cultures and the black world studies program. TEXT CREDIT: Miami University News and Public Information Office Glos Center Miami University Oxford, Ohio 45056 (513) 529-7592 (513) 529-1950 fax newsinfo@muohio.edu

Historic Black Churches of Los Angeles: Influence and Architecture in Four Neighborhoods

AZUSA, Calif.-Azusa Pacific University and the California African American Museum (CAAM) cohost Historic Black Churches of Los Angeles: Influence and Architecture in Four Neighborhoods, October 24-November 21, 2011. The exhibit, part of the university’s 400th anniversary celebration of the King James Bible, is displayed in Duke Art Hall, on APU’s West Campus, 701 E. Foothill Blvd, in Azusa. Public viewing hours are Mon.-Thurs., 9 a.m.-9 p.m., and Fri., 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Admission is free.

The Historic Black Churches of Los Angeles exhibit features illustrated banners of period photographs and maps from CAAM that celebrate the role of local Black churches as cultural, political, and social centers for their communities in historic Los Angeles. The display highlights the people, contributions, denominations, and architecture of early Black churches established through 1945 within the Los Angeles neighborhoods of Temple Beaudy, Central Avenue, South Los Angeles, and West Adams-Jefferson Park.

The CAAM, a state agency, and Friends, the foundation, present this exhibit as part of the “CAAM in the Community” traveling exhibits and programs initiative.

On Saturday, November 12, APU hosts A Celebration of the Legacy of the King James Bible and the African American Church. Highlights of this daylong event include special guest speakers Michelle Burford, journalist and founding senior editor of O’ The Oprah Magazine, and Bishop Noel Jones, pastor of City of Refuge Church.

To learn more about Historic Black Churches of Los Angeles, and view a full calendar of events for APU’s 400th celebration of the King James Bible, visit www.apu.edu/kingjamesbible/events.

To schedule a media interview with the director of CAAM, please contact Rachel White, assistant director of public relations at Azusa Pacific University, (626) 815-4502 or send an email to rewhite@apu.edu.

Azusa Pacific University is an evangelical, Christian university committed to God First and excellence in higher education. With 53 undergraduate majors, 37 master’s degrees, 21 credentials, 7 doctoral programs, and 5 certificates, the university offers its more than 9,200 students a quality education on campus, online, and at seven regional centers throughout Southern California.

Contact: Rachel White Assistant Director of Public Relations (626) 815-4502 || rewhite@apu.edu

IMAGE CREDIT: "Wade in the Water." Postcard of a river baptism in New Bern, North Carolina near the turn of the 20th century. By American [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

International Quilt Study Center and Museum at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln will present "Yvonne Wells: Quilted Messages" opening on 10/07/11

'Yvonne Wells: Quilted Messages' opens Oct. 7 at Quilt Museum Released on 09/30/2011, at 2:00 AM Office of University Communications University of Nebraska–Lincoln

WHEN: Friday, Oct. 7, through Feb. 26. WHERE: International Quilt Study Center and Museum, 1523 N. 33rd Street.

Lincoln, Neb., September 30th, 2011 — The International Quilt Study Center and Museum at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln will present the exhibition "Yvonne Wells: Quilted Messages" opening on Oct. 7 and running through Feb. 26. It will introduce visitors to the quilts of Yvonne Wells, an influential and prolific contemporary folk artist.

Wells is African American, but does not use 'African American quiltmaker' as her primary identity. For her, the term glosses over the individual vision expressed in her work. Instead, Wells calls herself an artist who makes folk art and her medium is quilts. Her story and picture quilts express her spirituality, humor and experiences. She makes her quilts for herself, to satisfy the need to create, to express something she wants to say. Her work is exhibited in galleries, included in museum collections, and acquired by folk art collectors.

The exhibition will also introduce museum visitors to the center's Robert and Helen Cargo Collection of African-American Quilts. The Cargo Collection is important because of its status as one of only a handful of well-documented African-American quilt collections. African-American quilts began to grow in popularity in the mid-1960s with the advent of the Freedom Quilting Bee in Alabama and more recently, through the well-publicized exhibitions of quilts made by women in Gee’s Bend, Ala.

Being in Total Control of Herself, Yvonne Wells, 1990 "Noah's Ark," Yvonne Wells, 1988

Wells' story quilts, while visually related to these southern traditions, are distinct in their self-conscious creation as folk art narratives. Wells' quilts tell unique American stories, including those Wells herself experienced. She is personally familiar with the struggles of the civil rights movement and the exploitation of black and Native American populations. Wells also expresses her sense of humor and spirituality in her quilts, making it easy for audiences to connect to her work. Her skills illustrate the importance of storytelling and pictorial quilts as a means of visual communication. Wells is the winner of the 1998 Alabama Arts award and Visual Craftsmanship Award. The exhibition is curated by Jill Kessler, 2011 textile history/quilt studies graduate, and Jonathan Gregory, assistant curator of exhibitions. Programming (free with admission) during the exhibition includes: Wednesday, Oct. 19, 3:30 p.m. -- Public lecture, Pearlie Johnson, assistant professor of Pan African Studies, University of Louisville, "African American Quilts: Teaching the Past Through Quilting," as part of the UNL Institute for Ethnic Studies 40th Anniversary. Friday, Nov. 4, 5-6:30 p.m. -- Meet the student curator, Jill Kessler (free museum admission 4:30-7 p.m.) Saturday, Nov. 12, 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. -- Storytelling in the gallery with artist Yvonne Wells. Saturday, Jan. 28, 10 a.m.-noon or 2-4 p.m. -- Workshop for children, "My Doll and I Discover Quilts Tell Stories" Sheila Green instructor, reservations required, call 402-472-6549.

Tuesday, Jan. 31, noon -- Tuesday Talk, Marin Hanson, curator of exhibitions, "The Robert and Helen Cargo Collection of African American Quilts."

Friday, Feb. 3, 5:30 p.m. -- Public lecture, Jeannette Eileen Jones, associate professor of history and ethnic studies at UNL and Jill Kessler, UNL Black History Month lecture, "Being in Total Control of Herself: The Story Quilts of Yvonne Wells" (free museum admission 4:30-7 p.m.).

This exhibition is made possible with support of the Nebraska Arts Council and the Friends of the IQSCM. Public programs are funded in part by the Nebraska Humanities Council and the Nebraska Cultural Endowment.

The museum, 1523 N. 33rd St., is open 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 1-4 p.m. Sundays. It is closed on Mondays. Public tours are offered free with admission Tuesdays through Saturdays at 11 a.m. and on Saturdays at 1 p.m. For more information, visit www.quiltstudy.org.

Writer: Maureen Ose News Release Contacts: Maureen Ose, Communications Coordinator, International Quilt Study Center phone: 402-472-7232

The Crisis of Economic Insecurity for African-American and Latino Seniors

Retirement Insecurity Dramatically Rises Among Seniors of Color. New Report Underscores How More Than Half of African American and Latino Seniors Are Struggling to Make Ends Meet.

New York—The Institute on Assets and Social Policy and the national policy center Demos published a report today revealing that four percent of Latino seniors and eight percent of African-American seniors have the resources to maintain economic security for the length of their lives. The report, “The Crisis of Economic Insecurity for African-American and Latino Seniors,” underscores how the nation’s seniors were experiencing declining economic security even before the Great Recession.

While only one in four white seniors currently have adequate resources for a secure retirement, the disparity between whites and people of color reveals that, for seniors of color, retirement insecurity is the norm and security is the exception. This report points to the history of racial discrimination in the housing and labor markets to illustrate insecurity among seniors of color: the practice of redlining, segregation, and workplace discrimination severely inhibited the ability of today’s seniors of color to accumulate asset wealth needed for a secure retirement. Inequality experienced over the course of one’s life is compounded in old age and can have ripple effects over generations.

In response to these findings, the report makes the following recommendations: --Ensure the strength and adequacy of the Social Security program. --Sustain funding for senior support services, which help seniors meet basic needs. --Looking forward, foster sustainable homeownership by prohibiting predatory loans and financial products, which strip wealth from families, particularly in neighborhoods of color and among older households.

“It is unacceptable, in a country committed to equality of opportunity, to have nine in ten Latino senior households and more than eight in ten African-American senior households suffer from retirement insecurity,” said Tatjana Meschede, Research Director at the Institute on Assets and Social Policy and co-author of the report. “Our elected officials must summon the courage to acknowledge and combat the extreme racial inequities among American seniors.”

“It will be impossible to end economic insecurity among seniors of color without addressing the early sources of the problem. We must act now to end discrimination in the mortgage industry and with predatory loans that place the wealth of families of color at risk,” said Jennifer Wheary,

Demos Senior Fellow. “Strengthening Social Security and Medicare is not simply an issue for senior citizens but a racial justice imperative for the country as a whole.”
Read The Report in PDF FORMAT: The Crisis of Economic Insecurity for African-American and Latino Seniors

CONTACT: Susan Chaityn Lebovits, lebovits@brandeis.edu, (781) 736-4027, Lauren Strayer, lstrayer@demos.org, (212) 389-1413

The Hammer Museum will present Now Dig This! Art and Black Los Angeles 1960 – 1980

Los Angeles—This October the Hammer Museum will present Now Dig This! Art and Black Los Angeles 1960 – 1980, a comprehensive exhibition that examines the vital legacy of the city’s African American visual artists. Now Dig This! comprises 140 works from 35 artists that have rarely been shown in a museum setting and includes early pieces by now well-established artists. The exhibition expands the art historical record by presenting an array of artists, some not widely recognized by a broad public, and connecting their work to the movements, trends, and ideas that fueled the arts in Los Angeles during this period. The work of these African American practitioners was animated to an extent by the civil rights and Black Power movements reflecting the changing sense of what constituted African American identity and American culture. Artists featured in the exhibition include Melvin Edwards, Fred Eversley, David Hammons, Maren Hassinger, Senga Nengudi, John Outterbridge, Alonzo Davis, Dale Brockman Davis, Noah Purifoy, Betye Saar, and Charles White.

Now Dig This! is presented as part of Pacific Standard Time, a collaboration of more than sixty cultural institutions across Southern California. For six months beginning in October 2011 these institutions large and small will tell the story of the birth of L.A.’s art scene and how it became a new force in the art world. Organized by the Hammer and curated by Columbia University professor Kellie Jones, Now Dig This! chronicles and celebrates this nuanced and multicultural history of Los Angeles.

“Pacific Standard Time is a very significant event for the city of Los Angeles. The deep and remarkable history it explores serves as a foundation for the thriving creative community of artists living and working here today,” remarks Hammer director Ann Philbin. “Now Dig This! reveals a specific moment when a group of African American artists, gallerists, writers, and collectors generated a nexus of creativity and influence that is largely unknown to the general public.”

While much has been written about artists like Ed Ruscha, Judy Chicago, Edward Kienholz, and Bruce Nauman, artists like Fred Eversley, John Otterbridge, and Noah Purifoy have not enjoyed the same recognition. Additionally, there has been significant attention paid to Los Angeles’s Ferus Gallery and the development of Artforum magazine, however far less is known about their African American counterparts such as Alonzo and Dale Davis, owners of the Brockman Gallery; and Samella Lewis, who began Black Art: An International Quarterly (now the International Review of African American Art) and wrote the two-volume Black Artists on Art.

“The artists that have been included in Now Dig This! represent a vibrant group whose work is critical to a more complete and dynamic understanding of twentieth century American art. Their influence goes beyond their immediate creative circles and their legacy is something we are only now beginning to fully understand,” says exhibition curator Kellie Jones.

By illuminating the richness and complexity of this creative community, Now Dig This! demonstrates how these African American artists and friends were not working in isolation but were quite integral to the developing U.S. art scene during the latter part of the twentieth century. The exhibition will offer a fuller view of the changing art landscape during this important era of artistic and cultural ferment, as artists shifted from more traditional formats such as painting and works on paper to modes such as assemblage, finish fetish (a West Coast style of minimalism), postminimalism, conceptualism, and performance.

EXHIBITION DESCRIPTION: Presented in the Hammer’s main temporary exhibition galleries, Now Dig This! looks at the period through several framing categories with each artist having his or her own space.

FRONT RUNNERS -- By the early 1960s the West Coast became highly visible among the international arts community with the recognition of assemblage as an important artistic strategy. African American artists such as Betye Saar and Mel Edwards made some of their earliest important works at this time. Charles White, a veteran social realist from Chicago, arrived in Los Angeles in 1956, energizing the black art community and inspiring many young artists who studied under him at Otis Art Institute. Front runners: Melvin Edwards, William Pajaud, Betye Saar and Charles White.

ASSEMBLING -- The Watts Rebellion of 1965 was the largest urban riot at that time in U.S. history. The Rebellion had a profound effect on this community of artists and many began to approach their craft and materials differently. For example, Noah Purifoy claimed that it was the Rebellion that made him a real artist. Purifoy and John Riddle made assemblage works from the detritus of the Watts Rebellion, creating formally impressive pieces that were also highly charged politically. Assembling: Daniel Larue Johnson, John Outterbridge, Noah Purifoy, John Riddle, and Betye Saar.

ARTISTS / GALLERISTS -- Lacking representation in mainstream institutions, African American artists opened their own venues in the 1960s and 1970s. Spaces such as Gallery 32, founded by painter Suzanne Jackson, and the Brockman Gallery—established by brothers Dale and Alonzo Davis, became sites for cutting-edge work and havens for discussions, poetry readings, and fund-raisers for social causes. Samella Lewis was an amazing one-woman institution, opening several galleries and a museum, starting a magazine, and publishing some of the earliest books on this cohort of artists. Artists / Gallerists: Alonzo Davis, Dale Brockman Davis, Suzanne Jackson, and Samella Lewis.

POST/MINIMALISM AND PERFORMANCE -- This section of the exhibition documents the move away from more didactic subject matter toward abstract and dematerialized practices. Fred Eversley was the most visible African American working with the finish fetish style of Los Angeles minimalism in the 1960s. In the 1970s artists such as Senga Nengudi, Maren Hassinger, and David Hammons began to experiment with postminimal ephemerality and performance. Post / Minimalism and Performance: Fred Eversley, David Hammons, Maren Hassinger, Ulysses Jenkins, and Senga Nengudi.

LOS ANGELES SNAPSHOT / FRIENDS -- The exhibition also explores the informal relationships between African American artists in Los Angeles and those in Northern California, like Joe Overstreet and Raymond Saunders, as well as artists of varied ethnic backgrounds, such as Virginia Jaramillo, Ron Miyashiro, and Mark Di Suvero. These relationships are an important part of fully understanding and contextualizing the work of this generation. One gallery in Now Dig This! will illuminate these connections. Friends: John Altoon, Karen Boccalero, Mark Di Suvero, Charles Gaines, Virginia Jaramillo, Marie Johnson Calloway, Houston Conwill, Elizabeth Leigh-Taylor, Sheila Levrant de Bretteville, Ron Miyashiro, Joe Overstreet, Raymond Saunders, Gordon Wagner, Tyrus Wong, and Andrew Zermeño.

Catalogue & Public Programs The exhibition is accompanied by a 350 page, full-color catalogue co-published by Delmonico/Prestel. The publication includes reproductions of works included in the exhibition supplemented by scholarly essays, a comprehensive bibliography, and reproductions of archival materials, including posters, invitations, documentary photographs, and other items recently uncovered. The exhibition will be accompanied by several free public programs, including performances, film screenings, and lectures.

About the Curator: Now Dig This! is curated by Kellie Jones, associate professor in the Department of Art History and Archaeology at Columbia University. Jones’s writings have appeared in numerous exhibition catalogues and publications including NKA, Artforum, Flash Art, Atlantica, and Third Text. Most recently, she curated Energy / Experimentation: Black Artists and Abstraction, 1964–1980 (The Studio Museum in Harlem, 2006). Current book projects include, EyeMinded: Living and Writing Contemporary Art (Duke University Press 2011) and Taming the Freeway and Other Acts of Urban HIP - notism: African American Artists in Los Angeles in the 1960s and 1970s (forthcoming from The MIT Press).

Pacific Standard Time: This exhibition is a part of the Getty Foundation’s Pacific Standard Time program, an extensive citywide initiative (alongside exhibitions at major institutions such as the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Museum of Contemporary Art, as well as smaller venues throughout Los Angeles), prompted to revive and supplement neglected aspects of Los Angeles’s rich artistic history from 1945–1980. Pacific Standard Time encompasses developments from modernist architecture and design to multi-media installations; from L.A. Pop to post-minimalism; from the films of the African-American L.A. Rebellion to the feminist happenings of the Woman’s Building; from ceramics to Chicano performance art, and from Japanese-American design to the pioneering work of artists’ collectives. Launched in 2008 and culminating in 2011, Pacific Standard Time will demonstrate the pivotal role played by Southern California in national and international artistic movements since the middle of the twentieth century.

Now Dig This! Art and Black Artists in Los Angeles, 1960-1980 has been made possible by major grants from the Getty Foundation.

Generous support has been provided by the Henry Luce Foundation; the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency; The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, which funded a Curatorial Research Fellowship; and The Broad Art Foundation. Additional support has been provided by Eileen Harris Norton Foundation, The Kenneth T. and Eileen L. Norris Foundation, Ina Coleman and Alan Wilson, and V. Joy Simmons MD.

ABOUT THE HAMMER MUSEUM: The Hammer Museum, a public arts unit of the University of California, Los Angeles, is dedicated to exploring the diversity of artistic expression through the ages. Its collections, exhibitions, and programs span the classic to the cutting-edge in art, architecture, and design, recognizing that artists play a crucial role in all aspects of culture and society.

The museum houses the Armand Hammer Collection of Old Master, Impressionist, and Post - Impressionist paintings and the Armand Hammer Daumier and Contemporaries Collection. The Hammer’s newest collection, the Hammer Contemporary Collection, is highlighted by works on paper, particularly drawings and photographs from Southern California. The museum also houses the Grunwald Center for the Graphic Arts, comprising more than 45,000 prints, drawings, photographs, and artists’ books from the Renaissance to the present; and oversees the management of the Franklin D. Murphy Sculpture Garden on the UCLA campus.

The Hammer presents major single-artist and thematic exhibitions of historical and contemporary art. It also presents approximately ten Hammer Projects exhibitions each year, providing international and local artists with a laboratory-like environment to create new work or to present existing work in a new context.

As a cultural center, the Hammer offers a diverse range of free public programs throughout the year, including lectures, readings, symposia, film screenings, and music performances. The Hammer’s Billy Wilder Theater houses these widely acclaimed public programs and is the new home of the UCLA Film & Television Archive’s renowned cinematheque.

HAMMER MUSEUM INFORMATION: For current program and exhibition information call 310-443-7000 or visit www.hammer.ucla.edu.

Hours: Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, 11am – 7pm; Thursday, 11am – 9 pm; Sunday, 11am – 5 pm; closed Mondays, July 4, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day.

Admission: $10 for adults; $5 for seniors (65+) and UCLA Alumni Association members; free for Museum members, students with identification, UCLA faculty / staff, military personnel, veterans, and visitors 17 and under. The Museum is free on Thursdays for all visitors. Public programs are always free.

Location / Parking: The Hammer is located at 10899 Wilshire Boulevard, at Westwood Boulevard. Parking is available under the Museum. Rate is $3 for three hours with Museum validation. Bicycles park free.

Hammer Museum Tours: For group tour reservations and information, call 310-443-7041.


For Immediate Release: September 21, 2011 Contact: Sarah L. Stifler, Hammer Communications, 310-443-7056, sstifler@hammer.ucla.edu

Genetic differences in prostate cells seem to be a root cause of the prostate cancer disparities between African-American men and white men

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Genetic differences in prostate cells seem to be a root cause of the prostate cancer disparities between African-American men and white men, according to findings presented at the Fourth AACR Conference on The Science of Cancer Health Disparities, held here Sept. 18-21, 2011.

Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer among U.S. men, with occurrences and mortality rates higher in African-American men compared to white men.

"There are a lot of socioeconomic and environmental factors that create differences in levels of prostate cancer in these two groups," said Bi-Dar Wang, Ph.D., assistant research professor of pharmacology and physiology at the George Washington University. "We've found that genetic elements play a role in these disparities as well."

Wang and colleagues analyzed normal and cancerous prostate tissue samples from African-American and white men who underwent prostate biopsies. They looked at two key genetic pieces: messenger RNA (mRNA), which carry codes from DNA that is then used to make proteins; and microRNA, shorter RNA strands that regulate that process by binding to mRNA and interrupt the gene expression or protein translation.

The results showed enough differences between African-American and white men to determine that each race has "population specific" mRNA and microRNA. Specifically, they found nearly 400 mRNAs were differentially expressed between the cancerous prostate tissues of African-American and white men.

These differences are crucial because mRNA and microRNA affect the biological pathways by which prostate cancer tumor formation is either promoted or stopped, according to Wang.

Wang believes these results are important because instead of focusing on socioeconomic and environmental factors, the researchers focused on biological differences, which could lead to more specialized treatment options in the future.

"It is still too early to conclude any novel treatment strategy based on our results. However, the genomic analyses of prostate cancers have revealed that differential mRNA and microRNA expression and the associated gene network rewriting may be critical in prostate cancer health disparities," said Wang. "These findings will advance our knowledge on the molecular mechanisms underlying prostate cancer disparities and may help with the development of novel strategies for prostate cancer detection and personalized treatment for African-American men."

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The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, the AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes 33,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and more than 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants, research fellowships and career development awards. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 18,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes seven major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Discovery; Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; and Cancer Prevention Research. AACR journals received 20 percent of the total number of citations given to oncology journals in 2010.

Contact: Jeremy Moore Jeremy.Moore@aacr.org 267-646-0557 American Association for Cancer Research

Stephanie Power-Carter, new director of the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Stephanie Power-Carter, new director of the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center, understands the importance of academic excellence and community of family and hopes to use that knowledge to continue an inviting and warm tradition at Indiana University Bloomington.

Power-Carter grew up in rural Georgia and is a first-generation college graduate. Her mother was assistant director of a daycare center, and her father did paint and auto work for General Motors.

"My parents instilled in me and my sister the value of a good education, hard work and being responsible. We had to excel academically," she said. "My grandparents played a huge role, and I also had an extended family that was really big and had high expectations."

Power-Carter, also an associate professor in the IU School of Education, expects to instill an academically nurturing and caring environment at the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center, which is located at 275 N. Jordan Ave. in Bloomington. She succeeded Audrey McCluskey as its director on Aug. 1.

Only the third director since the center's building was dedicated in 2002, Power-Carter sees four tenets as being essential to its success: academic excellence, student services, recruitment and retention, and community building. She is seeking to create an environment that makes the IU Bloomington campus seem a little smaller by offering student services and academic support and by partnering with other campus resources.

Stephanie Power-Carter Courtesy of Indiana University

She also wants to make the center a home-away-from-home for IU students, particularly black students. "I think I'm capable of being whoever students need me to be," Power-Carter said. "There are some students who are going to need a big sister, some students are going to need an auntie or a mom. I don't know if I'm at the grandmother phase yet."

Power-Carter remembers when she stepped onto the campus of the University of Georgia, which has an enrollment similar in size and makeup as IU Bloomington. Classes were larger, and rules in academia were sometimes different from those in her community.

"I have that sense of wanting to make sure students connect to something or someone," said Power-Carter, who also taught high school in Athens, Ga. "It is important to help our students, particularly first-generation, navigate our campus. I believe in giving back and investing in our youth. Someone clearly invested in me -- I didn't get here all by myself. I can remember all of my teachers and all the people in the community who encouraged me."

Power-Carter earned her doctorate in language and literacy education from Peabody College at Vanderbilt University. She joined the IU faculty in 2002, after teaching for one year at the University of Illinois-Chicago.

At IU, she also has founded the African American Read-In, a campus-wide program that celebrates black writers; the Closing the Gap Community Literacy Intervention Program; and Sistahs Who Care, which mentors about 70 young women of color each year.

Power-Carter notes that the building housing the Neal-Marshall center also is home to the African American Arts Institute, the Office of Diversity Education and other IU staff.

"All of us work together to support our students," she said.

This fall, Power-Carter inaugurated a new tradition. About 40 freshman students received a special pin in a ceremony on Sept. 8, attended by IU faculty, staff, alumni and local community members. The pin features the Neal-Marshall Center's new logo, adapted from an Adinkra symbol of the Asante people of the Ivory Coast in Africa.

The name of the symbol, in the Akan language, is "Nea onnim no sua a ohu," which means "knowledge comes by learning."

"I want them to know that they're here, but that they're following in the footsteps of some really great black faculty and staff, and because of the contributions that they've made -- they are here," Power-Carter said. "I want them to understand that there's great responsibility with coming to Indiana University. Yes, it's about community and social events, but it's also about being academically responsible and making contributions to Indiana University and their communities.

"We invited faculty and staff to the pinning ceremony to show students that they're surrounded by people who want to see them succeed," she added.

Participants in this new tradition also can look forward to a similar ceremony in four years to celebrate what they've achieved.

Power-Carter plans to continue other popular activities at the center, including study nights, Black Student Orientation, the Critical Issues Lecture Series, Black Knowledge Bowl and the Kwanzaa and Juneteenth celebrations. Other new activities will include a book club co-sponsored by the Atkins Living-Learning Center and recognition events for outstanding black faculty members and athletes at IU.

"Different people find different things to feel a sense of connection," she said. "I will definitely continue to emphasize that that is a place where our students are welcome and where they know they can come and find someone who will listen, care and be willing to nurture them."

Media Contacts: George Vlahakis University Communications vlahakis@iu.edu 812-855-0846 Stephanie Power-Carter Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center stecarte@indiana.edu 812-855-9271

Lt. Governor Anthony G. Brown Brown Calls for Action to Address Poverty Among African Americans at Harvard Law School Celebration of Black Alumni

CAMBRIDGE, Ma. (September 16, 2011) – Today, Lt. Governor Anthony G. Brown participated in Harvard Law School’s 3rd Celebration of Black Alumni, a weekend-long event paying tribute to African-American graduates. Lt. Governor Brown, a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School, was a featured speaker on a panel entitled “Government Leaders: Changing the Game for Political and Economic Empowerment” where he highlighted Maryland’s progress in empowering the African-American community, such as increasing state contracts awarded to Minority Business Enterprises (MBEs) by 27 percent, raising by 16.7 percent the number of African-American full-time undergraduate students at Maryland’s public colleges and universities, and expanding access to health insurance to 82,000 African-Americans.

The Lt. Governor also called for continued action to reverse the rising poverty rate among African Americans and to address growing economic imbalances. Recent U.S. Census data has shown that the poverty rate for African Americans has risen to 27.4 percent, compared to 9.9 percent for white Americans.

“The effects of our difficult economic times have hit the African-American community particularly hard,” said Lt. Governor Brown. “Though we are seeing progress in Maryland from our efforts to encourage economic success for African Americans, it is not enough when so many in our state and our nation are still struggling to break free of poverty. We can and must do more to ensure an equality of opportunity for all Marylanders and all Americans to build a better life and provide a brighter future for their families.”

Lt. Governor Anthony Brown

Other speakers on the Lt. Governor’s panel included Kurt Schmoke, Former Mayor of Baltimore City and Dean of Howard University School of Law; U.S. Representative Terri Sewell (D-AL); David Strickland, Administrator, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation; Martina Lewis Bradford, Deputy Sergeant-At-Arms, United States Senate; and Richard Taylor, Former Secretary of Transportation, Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Lt. Governor Anthony G. Brown has dedicated his professional life to public service. Elected alongside Governor Martin O’Malley in 2006 and reelected in 2010, Lt. Governor Brown leads the O’Malley-Brown administration’s work to expand and improve health care, support economic development, help victims of domestic violence, increase access to higher education, and provide Veterans with better services and resources.

TEXT CREDIT: Lt. Governor Anthony G. Brown 100 State Circle • Annapolis, Maryland 21401 • 410.974.3901 • 1.800.811.8336 • MD Relay 1.800.201.7165

IMAGE CREDIT: StateMaryland

Dr. Mary Anne Akers, Evan Richardson Appointed to the Maryland Parks Advisory Commission

Dr. Mary Anne Akers, Evan Richardson Appointed to the Maryland Parks Advisory Commission.

Dr. Mary Anne Akers, Dean of the School of Architecture and Planning, and Evan Richardson, Assistant to the Dean, have been providing service to the State of Maryland as appointed Commissioners for the Maryland Parks Advisory Commission and Maryland Commission on African-American History and Culture (MCAAHC), respectively.

In 2010, Governor Martin O'Malley appointed Dr. Mary Anne Akers to the Maryland Parks Advisory Commission. The Commission is charged with developing recommendations on an ongoing basis for the Governor and Department of Natural Resources Secretary as well as proposing new or enhanced management strategies to improve and promote Maryland state parks.

As for Mr. Richardson, he will be completing his first-term as a State Commissioner for MCAAHC in July 2012. The Commission serves as the statewide clearinghouse for preserving evidence of and documenting the African-American experience in Maryland. Governor Martin O'Malley appointed Mr. Richardson in 2008. For more information about the MCAAHC, go to www.africanamerican.maryland.gov/.

TEXT CREDIT: Morgan State University 1700 East Cold Spring Lane, Baltimore MD 21251 • 443.885.3333

Seven African-American students in the Class of 2015 started their training in August at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine.

Seven African-American Students Begin Studies at SIU School of Medicine

Seven African-American students in the Class of 2015 started their training in August at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine.

“Having these students here at SIU speaks well for the future of more accessible medical care in the state of Illinois and in our country,” said Dr. Wesley G. McNeese, executive assistant to the dean for diversity, multicultural and minority affairs at SIU. “Statistically, students from underrepresented groups are more likely to practice among underserved populations and to choose the general practice of medicine over specialization.”

McNeese, who is a 1986 medical school graduate of SIU, attributes the number of minority students to focused recruitment strategies from the Office of Admissions, increased advocacy by the School’s diversity office and networking opportunities with local minority physicians.

All students in the class of 2015 began the year by participating in a “white coat” ceremony, which welcomes students into the profession. The class has 34 men and 38 women including seven African-American students. The seven students in the class are –

Photo Caption: Seven African-American newly enrolled students at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine are (front, left to right) Tris Miller, Jaleen Sims, GaToya Jones and Gaybriel Newt; (back, left to right) Shakese Hudley, Chris Simpson and Desirè Ketchandji.

Shakese Hudley is the daughter of Sharvez and Shirley Hudley of Denver, Colo.
GaToya Jones is the daughter of George Jones of Princeton, Texas, and the late LaSha Jones.
Desirè Ketchandji is the son of Marceline Leumar of Pearland, Texas, and Daniel Ketchandji of Douala, Cameroon.
Tris Miller is the daughter of Perry Miller of Springfield and the late Bruce Miller.
Gaybriel Newton is the daughter of Robbie Rhodes of Farmington Hills, Mich.
Chris Simpson is the son of Everett and Felicia Simpson of Houston, Texas.
Jaleen Sims is the daughter of Larry D. Randle Sr. and Joyce D. Randle, both of Wichita, Kan. She is married to Ray L. Sims II of Jackson, Miss.

During the ceremony in Carbondale, the students received their first white coats from the President of the School’s Alumni Society Dr. Douglas Carlson, professor of pediatrics and director of the Hospitalist Medicine division in the Department of Pediatrics at Washington University and St. Louis Children’s Hospital. The coats were provided by the School’s Alumni Society.

The students also received a pin made up of the words “Compassion, Respect and Integrity” from the SIU Foundation. The event is designed to establish a “psychological contract of professionalism and empathy” in medicine.

Currently a total of 47 (16% percent) minority students are enrolled in the SIU medical school. “Minorities,” as determined by the Association of American Medical Colleges, are the racial and ethnic populations that are underrepresented in the medical profession relative to their numbers in the general population and include African-American, Hispanic, Native American and Alaskan Native.

Established in 1970, SIU School of Medicine is based in Carbondale and Springfield and focused on the health-care needs of downstate Illinois. It educates physicians to practice in Illinois communities and has graduated 2,399 physicians, including 218 minorities since the first class in 1975 Its website is www.siumed.edu. -30-

Top African American Art Collector Describes his Journey

(St. Mary’s City, MD)— African American art collector Robert Steele will describe the impact of his collection at a public talk at 4:45 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 21, in Boyden Gallery at St. Mary’s College of Maryland. He and his wife, Jean, spent years searching print workshops for great art by some of the nation’s leading artists. Thirty-two works from the collection are on display at the gallery this fall. Boyden Gallery in Montgomery Hall is open 11 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Press Release #11-161 Lee Capristo (240) 895-4795 lwcapristo@smcm.edu

Office of Publications & Media Relations 18952 E. Fisher Road St. Mary's City, Maryland 20686-3001

University of Nebraska to unveil 'George Flippin Project' to honor school's first black student-athlete

At 6-foot-2 and 200 pounds, George Flippin was a large man for his day. That, along with his hard-running style, helped him to become one of the University of Nebraska’s very first football stars.

But in the course of his lifetime Flippin became a man of great stature in many other ways. As the university’s first African-American athlete, he saw success on the field despite enduring racial bigotry from opposing teams and fans. He excelled in the classroom, completed medical school in three years, practiced medicine in Illinois and Arkansas, then returned to Nebraska to establish a hospital in Stromsburg in 1907.

A world traveler, Flippin often studied advances in Europe and brought them back to his well-respected practice in Nebraska. When he died in 1929, his funeral was said to be the largest Stromsburg had ever seen.

On Friday, Sept. 16, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln will honor Flippin’s legacy with the unveiling of a new art project bearing his likeness at the Jackie Gaughan Multicultural Center. The event begins at 7:15 p.m. and is free and open to the public.

The four-by-six-foot mural-style portrait of Flippin standing proudly in his Nebraska football uniform – a white sweater emblazoned with a red ‘N’ – was the culmination of the work of a dozen student volunteers.

This is one of the 24 painted square pieces that combine to form The Flippin Project, a student-designed mural honoring the University of Nebraska's first African-American athlete. The mural will be unveiled at a Sept. 16 ceremony at the Jackie Gaughan Multicultural Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Crystal Sanders, an August 2011 graduate of UNL from Placentia, Calif., painted this segment of the mural.

The Flippin Project, as it has become known, provided an opportunity to transcend cultural boundaries through art by enlisting the talents of the volunteers from Prof. Aaron Holz’s advanced painting class in the Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts. Holz and Jon Humiston, creative director at UNL’s Office of University Communications, divided a black-and-white photo of Flippin into 24 equal-sized squares, then asked each student to paint two of them. No other creative instruction was given, so students could interpret and paint their slices of the overall portrait in whatever manner they chose. The result is a fascinating patchwork of styles, colors, effects and interpretations that reflect the students’ diversity while unifying to form the iconic image of the university’s pioneering student-athlete. Students worked independently, researching Flippin’s life and his contributions to the university, before putting brushes to canvas. “One of the most amazing things about George Flippin’s story was that despite being the first free-born generation in his family, he was able to use his incredible talent to rise beyond the racial obstacles of the time,” said Kyren Conley, a senior from Alliance who participated in the project. “I was also proud to learn that despite the times of widespread segregation and racism, his team supported and respected him.”

Crystal Sanders, another of the student artists, graduated in August. She said she was pleased with how the mural came together and that like in football it required a team effort by the student artists. In the end, she said it will help to preserve Flippin’s legacy at UNL. The mural will remain on permanent display at the multicultural center.

“I am very proud to be a part of the history of the school I graduated from and I am proud of the school for acknowledging art as having importance,” she said. Other students participating in the art project were Spenser Albertsen, Matt Belk, Anthony Blue, Michaela E. Bradley, Derek Joy, James Laville, Caitlin Mackie, Dana Oltman, Kan Seidel and Stephanie Tompsett.

In addition to the mural’s unveiling, several speakers during the event will discuss Flippin’s life, his impact on the university and his contribution to the state.

The Gaughan Center, linked to the east side of the Nebraska Union, opened in 2010. It features 30,000 square feet of space, including student offices, tutoring rooms and areas for faculty, staff and students dedicated to diversity and multicultural programming.

Writer: Steve Smith, University Communications, (402) 472-4226, ssmith13@unl.edu

Released on 09/09/2011, at 12:00 AM Office of University Communications University of Nebraska–Lincoln. WHEN: Friday, Sep. 16. WHERE: Jackie Gaughan Multicultural Center. Lincoln, Neb., September 9th, 2011 —

News Release Contacts: Jon D Humiston, Creative Director, Office of University Communications phone: 402 472 7026

UMASS AMHERST LIBRARIES ANNOUNCE W.E.B. DU BOIS FELLOWS TO GIVE TALKS

UMASS AMHERST LIBRARIES ANNOUNCE W.E.B. DU BOIS FELLOWS TO GIVE TALKS

Amherst, MA – The winners of the Libraries’ Du Bois Fellowships, Markeysha Davis and Rickey Fayne, will give talks based on their research on Friday, September 16, from 4 to 6 p.m., in the Conference Room on Floor 26, Du Bois Library.

Markeysha Davis, of the Afro-American Studies Department at UMass Amherst, will give a talk “Daring Propaganda for the Beauty of the Human Mind: Redefinition and Reaffirmation of the Black Self in Poetry and Drama of the 1960s and 1970s.”

Davis’s research examines the ways that black poets and playwrights of the 1960s and 1970s imagined and defined black nationhood by attempting to symbolically destroy the Du Boisian dilemma of black “double-consciousness.” The work of these artists during this period is indelibly rooted in W.E.B. Du Bois’s theory of the purpose of black art—theatre especially—for, by and about African Americans, their lives, their history and their culture. Some of the artists include Amiri Baraka, Charles Wesley, Ed Bullins, and Nikki Giovanni.

Rickey Fayne, of the English Department at Northwestern University, will give a talk “The Will to Achieve: Philosophy and Psychology in Service of Social Action in W.E.B. Du Bois’s Pan-African American Consciousness.”

Faynes’s presentation intends to explicate the way in which Du Bois makes use of an imagined Africa within his writings and artistic productions in order to foment social change. He will argue that Du Bois rearticulates William James’s philosophical and psychological understanding of the personal consciousness and applies these ideals to black Americans as a whole in order to create a collective Pan-African American Consciousness.

For more information, contact Danielle Kovacs (dkovacs@library.umass.edu, 413-545-2784).

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NEWS RELEASE: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEDATE: 9/08/11 CONTACT : LESLIE SCHALER, COMMUNICATION PROGRAM COORDINATOR, (413) 545-0162