Monthly Archives: January 2015

Remembering the Civil Rights Revolution: The Right to Vote and Quality Education 50 Years after Freedom Summer

 

 

A panel discussion featuring Freedom Summer participants, civil rights activists, and historians.

Thursday, February 26 at 6pm in the Addlestone Library, room 227

Free & open to the public.  Panelists will have books available for sale after the event.
AAST_PanelDiscussion-FreedomSummer

Black History Month: One of Time Magazine’s 40 Under 40 to Speak on Campus

black history monthIn keeping with the College of Charleston’s commitment to diversity on its campus, and in celebration of 2015-Black History Month, the Office of Institutional Diversity (OID) will host Rep.

ATTEND: See more events hosted by the Office of Institutional Diversity.Bakari Sellers, Esq., as the keynote speaker for its “Signature Speaker Series.” Rep. Sellers will speak on Thursday, February 5, 2015, at 5:00 p.m., in the Stern Center Ballroom, located on the College of Charleston campus (71 George St.). The event is free and open to the public. Rep. Sellers will present “How far have we come and where do we go from here?: A Journey to excellence….

Elected in 2006 to the South Carolina House of Representatives at the age of 22, Bakari Sellers is an attorney, one of the youngest State Representatives, and the youngest black elected official in the United States. Viewing himself, not as a politician, but as a public servant, Sellers is a passionate keynote speaker on civil rights, equality, education, and faith.

READ: Rep. Sellars was recognized as one of the top 40 under 40 by Time Magazine.

Education has always been a top priority for Sellers. He graduated from the South Carolina public school system and then proceeded to Morehouse College, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree. While at Morehouse college, Sellers was elected Student Government Association President and, by virtue of his position, served on the College’s Board of Trustees. He earned his juris doctorate from the University of South Carolina School of Law and soon entered politics, working for United States Congressman James Clyburn, Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin, and the Southeastern Regional Director of the NAACP.

With the strong moral and ethical grounding of his parents and grandparents, the never-ending thirst for education of his mother, and the undying passion for equal opportunity of his father, Sellers has returned to South Carolina. He hopes to continue the Sellers’ legacy of walking in faith, while creating change that benefits all persons—no matter the race, color, or creed.

According to Dr. John Bello-Ogunu, Sr., associate vice president and chief diversity officer at the College of Charleston, “We are very fortunate to have Rep. Sellers as our 2015-Black History Month keynote speaker. The rich and enviable history of his personal and professional accomplishments is a significant connectingbridge between the painful history of yesterday’s struggles of Blacks in America and the hope-filled stories of their present day victories and successes.”

OID’s Signature Speaker Series was created to promote community dialogue on diversity and social justice issues through presentations, workshops and seminars by local, regional and national speakers with the ultimate goal of advancing diversity, access, equity and inclusion at the College of Charleston.

Scholarship and Community Engagement in the Charleston Promise Neighborhood: Opportunities and Challenges

This semester we’re continuing a series of informal talks with faculty discussing their current research. All talks will take place in the African American Studies conference room, located in Education Center Suite 207, room D.

January 28, 12pm—Michael Hemphill, Health and Human Performance

Scholarship and Community Engagement
in the Charleston Promise Neighborhood: Opportunities and Challenges

Laugh Along with the Top Black Comedians

Laugh Along with the Top Black Comedians

Need a laugh? Want to hear jokes from some of the world’s most successful black comedians, as well as their thoughts on the evolution of black comedy?

comedians

On Thursday, February 5, 2015, the College will screen Why We Laugh: Great Black Comedians, a documentary based on comedian Darryl Littleton’s 2008 book, Why We Laugh: Black Comedians on Black Comedy. The film traces the development of black comedy in America and includes interviews with comedians Bill Cosby, Chris Rock, D.L. Hughley, Steve Harvey and more.

After the film, Littleton will perform and then answer questions about his book and the documentary, of which he was an executive producer.

The film will begin screening at 6 p.m. at the College’s Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture at 125 Bull Street in Charleston.

EXPLORE: Learn More about the Avery Research Center.

For more information on Why We Laugh, check out the film’s preview: