January 15 (Thursday)—Jazz and the African American Struggle for Freedom. 7-9 pm, Black and Williams Center, 498 Georgetown St. (Information from 1/7/98 Ace Magazine
January 18 (Sunday)—A Celebration of the Works and Contributions of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Sst. Stephen Baptist Church, 1008 S 15th St., Louisville, (502)-584-7777. (Information from 1/7/98 Ace Magazine.)
January 19 (Monday)—Downtown Freedom March for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. 10 am, Heritage Hall, Lexington Center. Main Program, 11 am – 12:30 pm, Heritage Hall, Lexington Center, Civil Rights Movement. Music by Dr. Richard Davis and members of the Lexington Jazz Artist Residency Workshop Ensemble. Free.
January 27 (Tuesday)—“A.A. Burleigh–Berea’s First Black Graduate,” living history presentation by Hasan Davis, 7 pm, Student Center Theater, U.K., free, followed by reception for Hasan Davis at the Martin Luther King Center. Presented by the Martin Luther King Cultural Center and the Department of African-American Studies and Research.
January 28 (Wednesday)—U.K. Latino Student Organization invites students, faculty, and staff to come to their first organizational meeting, 7 pm, room 111, U.K. Student Center.
January 30 (Friday)—Franklin Gilliam, UCLA, “Prime Suspects: The Effects of Local News on the Viewing Public,” 3 pm, 230 New Student Center, U.K. “Professor Franklin Gilliam (Center for African American Studies, and Dept. of Political Science, UCLA) has published widely on race, politics, and prejudice and is completing a book with Shanto Iyengar entitled “Race, Crime and Broadcast News.” Heralded as a path-breaking work in the study of political communications and prejudice, the book reports on a series of innovative experiments examining viewers’ reactions to television news stories on violent crime where the race and other characteristics of the perpetrator in the news stories in manipulated. The study promises to shed important light on the reactions of blacks as well as whites to racially biased news portrayals of violent crime.” UK Series on Prejudice, Stereotyping, and Public Policy. Supported by the Commonwealth Distinguished Visiting Scholar Awards, Political Science, Psychology, the Martin School, African American Studies, Sociology, and Social Theory.
January 31 (Saturday)—U.K. SAB Next Stage Series presents Urban Bush Women, dance, 8 pm, U.K. Singletary Center, Concert Hall, $9-$19, call 257-8427 for ticket information. Urban Bush Women is “an ensemble of African-American artists that explores the struggle of the human spirit through movement, live music, a cappella vocalizations and the spoken word…”
February 1 (Sunday) – March 31 (Tuesday)—“In celebration of Black History Month, U.K. has brought a collection of Shona Sculptures to campus. The sculptures will be displayed from February 1 to March 31 in the Martin Luther King Jr. Cultural Center.” “From February 1st through March 31st, this exhibit will be at the Martin Luther King Jr. Cultural Center (Room 124 Student Center) as part of its observance of African American History Month. Shona stone sculpture from Zimbabwe has, since the fall of Apartheid, earned recognition and acclaim from arts patrons and critics worldwide. Exhibit hours are from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm, Monday through Friday, and admission is free. Call 257-4130 for more information.”
February 2 (Monday) – 9 (Monday)—TV program on the History Channel February 2-6 and concludes February 9: Movies In Time: Roots (10 am ET/ 7 am PT; repeats 3 pm ET/ 12 pm PT): The epic mini-series based on the Alex Haley book that traces his family history from slavery to freedom during the first 100 years of the United States. John Amos, Ben Vereen, Leslie Uggams and Sandy Duncan join Sander Vanocur for a discussion about the making of one of the most watched mini-series in TV history.
February 2 (Monday)—Talk by Georgia Powers, “I Shared the Dream: Politics and Civil Rights in Kentucky.” 8 pm, Worsham Theater, New Student Center, U.K. Georgia Powers is the first female and first black to serve in the Kentucky State Senate.
February 2 (Monday)—AWARE meeting: Race Relations Discussion, 7-8:30 pm, Room 359 Student Center, U.K. “Racism is a problem that continues to perforate the very fabric that hems our society’s cultures together. If we are committed to growing together as a campus, community, and nation, we must first grow as individuals. As a means toward that end, you are cordially invited, along with your peers and colleagues, to join A.W.A.R.E. in an evening of inward examination of our own beliefs, actions, and thought processes. Participants will be asked to engage in a self-assessment exercise, analyzing their own responses to questions concerning race relations. If you are honest with yourself, you will probably find at least a few areas of your heart that need some attention. Everyone will be encouraged to take part in an open dialogue to explore these issues. An honest evaluation and discussion will go along way toward discerning the areas of concentration needed for effective change, culminating in a substantive strategy for individual action.”
February 4 (Wednesday)—“The Prophets of Rage: The Legacy of the Black Panther Party,” Daniel Crowe, Graduate Student in History. Noon , 230 New Student Center, U.K.
6 (Friday)—“Rap, Race, and Equality,” video presentation, noon, M.L. King, Jr. Cultural Center, 124 Student Center, U.K.
6 (Friday)—Today is the deadline for submissions for “Celebrating Our Diversity: A Community Reading,” to be held March 5 at 6:30 pm at the Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning, 251 West Second Street, 254-4175. Manuscripts may be poetry or prose, not to exceed five pages in length or 1,800 words.
9 (Monday)—“Down Freedom’s Main Line: A Black Englishman’s Journey through the Deep South,” Gary Younge (The Guardian, London), noon, 305 Whitehall Classroom Building, U.K. Some background information: Journalist Gary Younge grew up in the South. Stevenage, Hertfordshire in the south of England, to be precise. But as a young black Briton in a suburban new town there were very few vehicles for him to seek out his racial identity. So he became transfixed by the culture, landscape and especially the politics of the American South. Drawing on material from his forthcoming book, Younge’s talk will retrace the route of the Freedom Riders, a group of integreated civil rights campaigners who fought to desegregate interstate travel, from Washington DC to New Orleans. He chronicles how the South has changed, why much of it has stayed the same and shows how Southerners, both black and white, react to a man who “looks local but sounds foreign”. Gary Younge is a journalist with the British newspaper, The Guardian. He has also worked for the Washington Post as the Lawrence Stern Fellow, and is currently on sabbatical to write a commissioned book in which he travels the route of the Freedom Riders. Sponsored by the Department of Geography, African American Student Affairs, and African American Studies and Research.
9 (Monday)—Talk by Dr. Clayborne Carson: “Martin and Malcolm and the Missed Opportunity for a Common Solution.” 8 pm, Center Theater, Old Student Center, U.K. “Carson is the foremost authority on King…. He is a history professor at Stanford University, and is serving as the senior editor of a 14-volume series of King’s papers. He has recently published the third volume of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Papers Project, consisting of some of King’s speeches, papers, articles and annotations. It is one of only a few large-scale documentary research ventures on a black person. He is also working on a book about the Black Panther party and a biography of King.” For more information call 257-3593.
11 (Wednesday)—“The Long-Term Effects of Exposure to Violence on African American Adult Psychological Distress,” Carol Bunch, Graduate Student in Counseling Psychology. Noon (or 12:30 pm?), 230 New Student Center, U.K.
February 12 (Thursday)—“Reflecting B(l)ackward: The 1968 Black Student Union Movement at the University of Kentucky.” 1 pm, Center Theater, Old Student Center, U.K. Moderator: Dr. William “Bill” Turner. Panelists: Dr. Doris Wilkinson, Chester Grundy, Theodore Berry, Mr. Guy Mendes.
February 13 (Friday)—“A Question of Color: Color Consciousness in Black America,” video presentation, noon, M.L. King, Jr. Cultural Center, 124 Student Center, U.K.
February 17 (Tuesday)—AWARE meeting, 7-8:30 pm, Room 363 Student Center, U.K. “Confronting Stereotypes In Real World Situations.” “Sandra Cairo will lead this program which will address how to confront stereotypes in real world situations. How to navigate your way when dealing with stereotypes creates inner conflict. Much of the program will focus on exploratory exercises that will be both informative and entertaining. As always, the purpose of AWARE meetings is to engage men and women of all races in educated and constructive discussions. Everyone will have a chance to speak if they so choose.”
February 19 (Thursday)—“Lexington Public Library, Central Branch, 140 E. Main St., 231-5530, February 19 Public Forum: “History of African-American Music.”” (Information from 2/18/98 Ace Magazine.)
February 21 (Saturday)—Annual Central Kentucky Council for Peace and Justice Dinner and Resource Fair, 5-8:30 pm, Hunter Presbyterian Church, 109 Rosemont Garden, Lexington. At 7:00 pm Sr. Marge Eilerman, who has been involved in protests at the School of the Americas at Fort Benning, GA, will speak on the topic “Living Out Peace and Justice.”
