Why We Sing: Indianapolis Gospel Music in Church, Community and Industry

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- A major academic conference on gospel music at Indiana University Bloomington on Saturday, Nov. 12, will feature eight musical icons as well as a performance by a large, volunteer-based community choir at a historic Bloomington church.

The public is invited to attend the conference, "Why We Sing: Indianapolis Gospel Music in Church, Community and Industry," from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center, 275 N. Jordan Ave. Doors will open at 7 p.m. for a concert at Fairview United Methodist Church, 600 W. Sixth St. The events are free of charge.

The conference will focus on how this uniquely African American music performed and recorded in Indianapolis has served to inform and enrich musical expression both locally and globally. Gospel music has been a distinctive component of religious expression in African American churches since its rise to prominence in the mid-20th century.

"This is really a contribution to expanding the body of knowledge that exists about gospel music nationwide," said Mellonee Burnim, director of IU's Ethnomusicology Institute and a professor of folklore and ethnomusicology in the IU College of Arts and Sciences.

"There's a challenge of doing research within the context of a religious environment, because one of the things that happens when we're looking at religious music is there can be things that are inexplicable that occur and move beyond the dimension of the ordinary," said Burnim, one of three conference organizers.

The Eastern Star Baptist Church Mass Choir Courtesy of Indiana University

In time, ethnomusicologists like Burnim have become more able to look at gospel music's multidimensionality and see it as having both cultural and religious functions. "We have moved well beyond the kind of myopic view of religious music," she added. "We know there is much to be learned about people and who they are from studying all forms of music." Indianapolis is home to two major independent gospel music labels, Aleho and Tyscot records, which have attracted award-winning, chart-topping recording artists from across the country. It also has been well represented in the leadership of organizations such as the Gospel Music Workshop of America, the Gospel Announcers Guild and the Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship. Conference participants will include Dr. Leonard Scott, co-founder of Tyscot Records and pastor of Rock Community Church; Al "The Bishop" Hobbs, founder of Aleho Records, former general manager of WTLC-Radio and past executive vice chair of the Gospel Music Workshop of America;

Sherri Garrison, minister of music and director of worship at Eastern Star Baptist Church and a former director of the Gospel Music Workshop of America; Rev. A. Thomas Hill, a recording artist and pastor of Healing Streams Word & Worship Center; and Rodnie Bryant, founding director of Christian Community Mass Choir and a Tyscot Recording Artist.

"Why We Sing" will conclude with a concert at Fairview United Methodist Church, which showcases a local volunteer-based community choir, under Garrison's direction; and performances by Bryant and Lamar Campbell, who also has performed with Aaron Neville on the "Today" and "Late Night with David Letterman" shows. They will be accompanied by a four-piece live band, under the musical direction of gospel recording artist Tyron Cooper, former director of the IU Soul Revue.

Cooper, a doctoral student in folklore and ethnomusicology from Bloomington and one of the conference organizers, said the community choir, which will perform at the evening concert, has generated a lot of interest in the conference. "Every day, we hear from new folks, so this choir could be enormous," he said.

"We started this process a year ago now," added Raynetta Wiggins, a master's student in folklore and ethnomusicology from Birmingham, Ala., and another conference organizer. "Initially, I think we envisioned something rather small ... It kind of grew because we wanted to add a sonic dimension to it.

"As far as we know, nothing like this has been done -- being able to break this ground and bring this particular music into an academic setting and to document these artists and their contributions," Wiggins added.

Anyone is welcome to become a part of the community choir and can sign up by sending an e-mail to IndyGospelConference@gmail.com.

"Our plan is to take people higher and higher and higher, starting out in the morning with artists talking about their work in the community and in the church," Burnim said. "We move from that context to looking at the founders of the two largest African American record labels in Indianapolis, and then ending the conference with a third session that is forward looking, talking about directions that gospel music is moving in the 21st century."

Burnim said it is evident that the conference also will strengthen ties between IU and the larger African American community. "It was a conscious choice for us to plan the conference to be on site here at the university, because it is a way of reaching out and showing how scholarship can complement the work of members of the community across the state," she said.

Cooper, who has recorded with gospel artists as a guitarist over the last two decades, noted the multidimensional nature of people involved with the music. For example, Scott founded his music label, is a performer, a pastor, a radio personality and a full-time dentist.

"These are renaissance people," he noted. "This conference will detail the background creators. We've got executives and producers coming in and people in promotions and marketing, people who make things happen in the industry. These are people who have really been overlooked, particularly in the literature and by the lay people who listen to the music ... You don't realize the community of creators and artistic people who come together for multiple agendas, including economic, social and religious intents colliding at the same time."

"We will see, across the board, this entrepreneurial spirit that comes through," Burnim added. "These are people who have a vision of who they are as musicians and what they can do with that music."

Sponsors of the conference are the College Arts and Humanities Institute, Institute for Advanced Study, the Office of the Vice President for Equity, Diversity and Multicultural Affairs, Jacobs School of Music, Department of Folklore and Ethnomusicology, Traditional Arts Indiana, the Archive of African American Music and Culture, the Department of African American and African Diaspora Studies, the African American Arts Institute and Fairview United Methodist Church.

To speak with Burnim, Cooper or Wiggins about their project, please contact George Vlahakis at University Communications, 812-855-0846 or vlahakis@iu.edu, who has additional contact information.

H.R.2447 To grant the congressional gold medal to the Montford Point Marines VIDEO

H.R.2447 -- To grant the congressional gold medal to the Montford Point Marines. (Engrossed in House [Passed House] - EH)

HR 2447 EH 112th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 2447 AN ACT

To grant the congressional gold medal to the Montford Point Marines.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

Congress makes the following findings:

(1) On June 25, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order No. 8802 establishing the Fair Employment Practices Commission and opening the doors for the very first African-Americans to enlist in the United States Marine Corps.

(2) The first Black Marine recruits were trained at Camp Montford Point, near the New River in Jacksonville, North Carolina.

(3) On August 26, 1942, Howard P. Perry of Charlotte, North Carolina, was the first Black private to set foot on Montford Point.

(4) During April 1943 the first African-American Marine Drill Instructors took over as the senior Drill Instructors of the eight platoons then in training; the 16th Platoon (Edgar R. Huff), 17th (Thomas Brokaw), 18th (Charles E. Allen), 19th (Gilbert H. Johnson), 20th (Arnold R. Bostic), 21st (Mortimer A. Cox), 22nd (Edgar R. Davis, Jr.), and 23rd (George A. Jackson).

(5) Black Marines of the 8th Ammunition Company and the 36th Depot Company landed on the island of Iwo Jima on D-Day, February 19, 1945.

(6) The largest number of Black Marines to serve in combat during World War II took part in the seizure of Okinawa in the Ryuku Islands with some 2,000 Black Marines seeing action during the campaign.

(7) On November 10, 1945, the first African-American Marine, Frederick C. Branch, was commissioned as a second lieutenant at the Marine Corps Base in Quantico, Virginia.

(8) Overall 19,168 Blacks served in the Marine Corps in World War II.

(9) An enterprising group of men, including original Montford Pointer Master Sergeant Brooks E. Gray, planned a reunion of the Men of Montford Point, and on September 15, 1965, approximately 400 Montford Point Marines gathered at the Adelphi Hotel in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to lay the foundation for the Montford Point Marine Association Inc., 16 years after the closure of Montford Point as a training facility for Black recruits.

(10) Organized as a non-military, nonprofit entity, the Montford Point Marine Association's main mission is to preserve the legacy of the first Black Marines.

(11) Today the Montford Point Marine Association has 36 chapters throughout the United States.

(12) Many of these first Black Marines stayed in the Marine Corps like Sergeant Major Edgar R. Huff.

(13) Sergeant Major Huff was one of the very first recruits aboard Montford Point.

(14) Sergeant Major Huff was also the first African-American Sergeant Major and the first African-American Marine to retire with 30 years of service which included combat in three major wars, World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War.

(15) During the Tet Offensive, Sergeant Major Huff was awarded the Bronze Star Medal with combat `V' for valor for saving the life of his radio operator.

(16) Another original Montford Pointer who saw extensive combat action in both the Korean War and the Vietnam War was Sergeant Major Louis Roundtree.

(17) Sergeant Major Roundtree was awarded the Silver Star Medal, four Bronze Star Medals, three Purple Hearts, and numerous other personal and unit awards for his service during these conflicts.

(18) On April 19, 1974, Montford Point was renamed Camp Johnson after legendary Montford Pointer Sergeant Major Gilbert `Hashmark' Johnson.

(19) The Montford Point Marine Association has several memorials in place to perpetuate the memory of the first African-American Marines and their accomplishments, including--

(A) the Montford Point Marine Association Edgar R. Huff Memorial Scholarship which is offered annually through the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation;

(B) the Montford Point Museum located aboard Camp Johnson (Montford Point) in Jacksonville, North Carolina;

(C) the Brooks Elbert Gray, Jr. Consolidated Academic Instruction Facility named in honor of original Montford Pointer and the Montford Point Marine Corps Association founder Master Gunnery Sergeant Gray. This facility was dedicated on 15 April 2005 aboard Camp Johnson, North Carolina; and

(D) during July of 1997 Branch Hall, a building within the Officers Candidate School in Quantico, Virginia, was named in honor of Captain Frederick Branch.

SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL.

(a) Award Authorized- The Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements for the award, on behalf of the Congress, of a single gold medal of appropriate design in honor of the Montford Point Marines, collectively, in recognition of their personal sacrifice and service to their country.

(b) Design and Striking- For the purposes of the award referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury (hereafter in this Act referred to as the `Secretary') shall strike the gold medal with suitable emblems, devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the Secretary.

SEC. 3. DUPLICATE MEDALS.

Under such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, the Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in bronze of the gold medal struck under section 2, at a price sufficient to cover the costs of the medals, including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses.

SEC. 4. NATIONAL MEDALS.

Medals struck pursuant to this Act are National medals for purposes of chapter 51 of title 31, United States Code.

SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS; PROCEEDS OF SALE.

(a) Authorization of Appropriations- There is authorized to be charged against the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund, an amount not to exceed $30,000 to pay for the cost of the medals authorized under section 2.

(b) Proceeds of Sale- Amounts received from the sale of duplicate bronze medals under section 3 shall be deposited in the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund.

Passed the House of Representatives October 25, 2011. Attest: Clerk. 112th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 2447

AN ACT

To grant the congressional gold medal to the Montford Point Marines.

Eighth annual NOMMO African American Authors Series

What: Eighth annual NOMMO African American Authors Series

Who: Novelist Percival Everett and poet Elizabeth Alexander

When: Wednesday, Nov. 2, (Percival Everett); Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2012 (Elizabeth Alexander). Both events begin at 7 p.m.

Where: Cowles Auditorium, Hubert H. Humphrey Center, University of Minnesota West Bank campus, 301 19th Ave. S., Minneapolis

MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (10/24/2011) —Two widely acclaimed contemporary African American writers have been selected for this year's NOMMO African American Authors series, co-sponsored by the Givens Foundation for African American Literature and the Friends of the University of Minnesota Libraries. Percival Everett and Elizabeth Alexander will read from and discuss their work with host Alexs Pate, U of M professor and author of the novel "Amistad" on Wednesday, Nov. 2, (Percival Everett) and Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2012 (Elizabeth Alexander) at 7 p.m. in Cowles Auditorium, Hubert H. Humphrey Center, 301 19th Ave. S., Minneapolis, on the university’s West Bank.

About Percival Everett
Everett is the author of nearly twenty novels, three collections of short fiction and two volumes of poetry, including the recent collection "Swimming Swimmers Swimming". Among his novels are "Assumption" and "I Am Not Sidney Poitier," which won the Believer Book Award. Everett is also the recipient of the PEN Center USA Award for Fiction, the Academy Award from an American Academy of Arts and Letters, the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award, the Vallombrosa Von Rezzori Prize, the PEN/Oakland-Josephine Miles Award for Excellence in Literature and a New American Writing Award. His stories have been included in the "Pushcart Prize Anthology" and "Best American Short Stories." He has served as a judge for, among others, the 1997 National Book Award for fiction and the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction in 1991. He teaches fiction writing and critical theory and is currently Distinguished Professor of English at the University of Southern California.

Best known for composing and delivering President Barack Obama's inaugural poem "Praise Song for the Day," Elizabeth Alexander is a poet, essayist, playwright and teacher.

About Elizabeth Alexander Best known for composing and delivering President Barack Obama's inaugural poem "Praise Song for the Day," Alexander is a poet, essayist, playwright and teacher. Alexander has published five books of poems, including American Sublime, which was listed on the American Library Association's 2006 "Notable Books of the Year" and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize that same year. Her first young adult collection (co-authored with Marilyn Nelson), "Miss Crandall's School for Young Ladies and Little Misses of Color," received the 2008 Connecticut Book Award. Her two collections of essays are "The Black Interior" and "Power and Possibility," and her play "Diva Studies" was produced at the Yale School of Drama. She has also composed words for musical projects with composers Elana Ruehr and Lewis Spratlan.

Tickets are available for $15 per event or $25 for the two-event series. Complimentary tickets available to U of M students and Friends of the University of Minnesota Libraries. Call (612) 624-2345 or visit www.tickets.umn.edu.

About the NOMMO African American Authors series
Presented annually since 2004 by the Givens Foundation for African American Literature (givens.org), the series provides rare opportunities to publicly define the state of the art of African American literature and to locate the work and contributions of national as well as Twin Cities African American writers within the present authoring of our literary tradition.

A Dogon word meaning "the magic power of the word," NOMMO has been co-sponsored since 2007 by the Friends of the University of Minnesota Libraries (lib.umn.edu/friends). This activity is made possible in part by a grant provided by the Minnesota State Arts Board through an appropriation by the Minnesota State Legislature from the state's general fund and its arts and cultural heritage fund with money from the vote of the people of Minnesota on Nov. 4, 2008. Additional sponsors this year are the University of Minnesota Urban Research and Outreach/Engagement Center

(uroc.umn.edu), University of Minnesota Creative Writing Program (creativewriting.umn.edu) and the Edelstein-Keller Visiting Writers Series (www.english.umn.edu/engagement/edelstein).

Contacts: Marlo Welshons, University of Minnesota Libraries, welsh0066@umn.edu, (612) 625-9148 Preston Smith, University News Service, smith@umn.edu, (612) 625-0552.

EPA CARE grant to identify and reduce risks from toxic pollution in a historically African American and highly industrialized area

Erica Holloman, a doctoral student at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, and the Greater Southeast Development Corporation, a local non-profit, have received a $100,000 CARE grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to work with community groups and residents in the city of Newport News. Their goal is to identify and reduce risks from toxic pollution in the Southeast Community, a historically African-American and highly industrialized area of the city.

The EPA held a ceremony to honor the winners of these highly competitive grants at its Ronald Reagan Building on October 18th. Only 100 CARE grants have been awarded nationwide since the program launched in 2005.

Dr. Linda Schaffner, Associate Dean of Academic Studies at VIMS, says “Less than 10 percent of all applicants to the CARE program are successful. It speaks very highly of Erica’s talent and moxie that she received one of these awards while still a graduate student.”

The CARE program—Community Action for a Renewed Environment—helps communities across the country better understand and address their environmental problems through local partnerships. Since its launch in 2005, CARE has leveraged EPA grant funding dollar-for-dollar with in-kind donations to 87 communities in 40 states and territories with more than 1,700 partners.

In Newport News, Holloman will collaborate with the Greater Southeast Development Corporation and its Moton Community House to better inform Southeast residents about how toxic pollutants may be affecting the local environment and their own health.

Erica Holloman

Holloman then plans to partner with the informed citizenry on projects to improve local environmental quality and reduce associated health risks. “Our project will provide a framework and a scientific process that addresses environmental quality and associated impacts from a community perspective,” says Holloman. “It will empower the community to take action to reduce exposure and risk as soon as possible.” Holloman’s CARE project builds on her dissertation research at VIMS, in which she used “community-based participatory research” to study fish and shellfish consumption and its possible relation to mercury exposure among African-American women in the same Newport News neighborhood. Mercury is a toxic metal that tends to accumulate up the marine food chain—reaching dangerous levels in some predatory fish.

Holloman says her dissertation shows that “even though women in Southeast Newport News aren’t subsistence anglers, they consume fish and shellfish at a subsistence-angler rate, and that the amount consumed plays a significant role in their dietary mercury exposure.”

TEXT and IMAGE CREDIT: Virginia Institute of Marine Science. School of Marine Science. College of William and Mary. Gloucester Point, VA 23062. (804) 684-7000.

Multicultural issues in children's and adolescent literature, particularly as it relates to African and African American cultures

Two Penn State faculty members are co-editors of a newly released book that addresses multicultural issues in children's and adolescent literature, particularly as it relates to African and African American cultures.

Vivian Yenika-Agbaw, associate professor of language and literacy education at University Park, and Mary Napoli, associate professor of education and reading at Penn State Harrisburg, have assembled African and African American Children's and Adolescent Literature in the Classroom: A Critical Guide (Peter Lang Publishers, 2011).

The book is a comprehensive collection of essays that challenge current understanding of what multicultural texts really are in an age of globalization. These essays illustrate multicultural literature's power to educate young readers about the numerous and varied perspectives on their own cultures and roles in society, as well as those of other cultures. The scholarship presented in the book suggests that not only should multicultural literature be integrated within the school curriculum, but that it can be examined to reveal subtle cultural nuances that show how cultures, customs, and people may be at once similar and different.

Yenika-Agbaw and Napoli both contributed chapters to the book. Yenika-Agbaw’s chapter, “Disability in Africana Adolescent Literature,” discusses representations of children with disabilities in African and African American adolescent novels. Napoli, in her chapter titled “Powerful Words: Celebrating Poetry with Young Children,” looks at how African and African American poetry can enrich the lives of young children.

Dr. Vivian Yenika-Agbaw

The book is part of Peter Lang’s Black Studies and Critical Thinking interdisciplinary series, which examines the intellectual traditions of and cultural contributions made by people of African descent throughout the world. ### The Penn State College of Education serves approximately 2,800 undergraduate and 1,200 graduate students each year. The College prepares administrators, counselors, psychologists and researchers, as well as K-12 teachers in 21 different specialty areas. All of the College of Education graduate programs that are ranked by the U.S. News & World Report appear at least in the top 15, with six programs in the top 10.

The College is known nationally for its education research and outreach, housing such centers as the Center for the Study of Higher Education, the Center for Science and the Schools, the Mid-Atlantic Center for Mathematics Teaching and Learning, and the Regional Education Laboratory Mid-Atlantic.

For more information on Penn State's College of Education, contact EdRelations@psu.edu, call 814-863-2216, or visit www.ed.psu.edu.

Iraq War vet: 'I am not anti-NYPD, I am anti-police brutality' VIDEO

WATCH ONE PROTESTOR TAKE A STAND AGAINST THE POLICE BRUTALITY ON WALL STREET

TEXT and VIDEO CREDIT: thegrio

Arts in the African American Tradition: Celebrating the diversity of black music and dance

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Indiana University's African American Arts Institute will present its annual "A Potpourri of Arts in the African American Tradition" concert on Saturday, Nov. 5, at 8 p.m. at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater, 114 E. Kirkwood Ave. in downtown Bloomington.

Tickets are $20 for adults, $10 for children and students (limit two per IU I.D.). Tickets are available at the Buskirk-Chumley Box Office, phone 812-323-3020.

"A Potpourri of the Arts" was created to bring together, in a single program, the diverse range of styles of the institute's ensembles: the African American Dance Company, African American Choral Ensemble and IU Soul Revue. This year's Potpourri encompasses music and dance from slavery to the present. The grand finale is a special arrangement of Earth Wind and Fire's "Celebrate," performed by the three ensembles.

The African American Dance Company will depict a story of black diaspora, illustrating an evolution of styles from African dance to hip-hop. The company will highlight circular configurations and circular movements, an African dance characteristic that has been carried over to the new world, including the "ring shout," one of the early African American religious musical traditions. The company will dance to African Bamayaa music from Ghana, Hubert Laws' "Amazing Grace," and Sweet Honey in the Rock's "When I Rise and Lean on Me."

African American Dance Company by Mark McCullough. "Courtesy of Indiana University."

The African American Choral Ensemble's program will draw from a rich and varied array from black sacred genres, ranging from the spiritual to contemporary gospel. An opening medley of spirituals, arranged by Gary Hines for Sounds of Blackness, takes the audience to director Keith McCutchen's special arrangement of "Ole Time Religion" coupled with ragtime version of "When the Saints Go Marching In." Contemporary gospel selections like "Free," recorded by Natalie Wilson and the S.O.P. Chorale, and Ricky Dillard's "Strange" merge sacred themes and gospel style with jazz, hop-hop and other styles of music representing the African American traditions. Celebrating its 40th anniversary, the IU Soul Revue will perform an encapsulation of music from the early soul sound of Ray Charles ("I've Got A Woman") to the more recent sounds of Janelle Monáe ("Tightrope") and Beyoncé ("1 1").

Selections recorded by Diana Ross, Luther Vandross, Bell Biv Devoe, and Sly and the Family Stone will fill in the Revue's diverse range of black popular music styles set for this program.

The African American Arts Institute is committed to promoting and preserving African American culture through performance, education, creative activity, research and outreach. For more information and a calendar of AAAI events, visit the African American Arts Institute website at www.indiana.edu/~aaai or call 812-855-5427.

The institute's current executive director is Charles E. Sykes. The African American Arts Institute is a unit of the Office of the Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Multicultural Affairs. The ensembles are credit-bearing courses offered through the Department of African American and African Diaspora Studies in the College of Arts and Sciences.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contacts Krista Wilhelmsen African American Arts Institute kriwilhe@umail.iu.edu 812-855-5427

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