Commonwealth Speakers:The African American Experience
A detail from a publication opposing the Fugitive Slave Law.
Black Reparations: Are they Justified?
Are public apologies for slavery and lynching injecting new life into the black reparations debate? In June 2005, the United States Senate apologized for failing to pass nearly 200 proposed federal anti-lynching bills, and Wachovia Bank expressed regrets for their ties to slavery. But do apologies put the issue to rest? Examining the history of slavery and lynching, Tonya Thames-Leonard facilitates a discussion about whether reparations for these mars on American history are feasible and deserved.
Tonya L. Thames-Leonard, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of History, West Chester University, West Chester
Reading King Reading: The Role of the Humanities in the Development of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. is known around the world for his work as a minister and as a civil rights leader, and his speeches are filled with ideas that he learned from some of our greatest philosophers and theologians. King was deeply influenced by his studies in sociology, theology and philosophy, including his studies in the philosophy of personalism at Pennsylvania's Crozer Theological Seminary and Boston University. Arnold Farr will explore how King's intellectual development is intimately linked to his work in the Civil Rights Movement.
Arnold L. Farr, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Philosophy & Director, Africana Studies Program, Saint Joseph's University, Philadelphia
Did You Feed My Turkey? Play Parties, Rhythms and Rhymes from the African American Community
Play Party Rhythms and Rhymes are chants, ring dances, hand clapping stories, call and response songs, finger plays and jump/skipping games played by children. Storyteller Linda Goss shares a variety of these rhythms she learned as a child growing up in rural Tennessee, and compares them with rhythms and rhymes she has collected from children and adults in Philadelphia neighborhoods and other urban areas. Requirements: Table, chair, and open space for audience participation; Microphone and movable chairs for audience preferred.
Linda Y. Goss, Co-Founder of the National Association of Black Storytellers and Artist-in-Residence at the Rosenbach Museum, Philadelphia
Domestic Terrorism: Revisiting the Civil Rights Movement and the Mapping of American Identity
Is the war on terrorism creating an environment more inclined to prosecute the domestic terrorists of the Civil Rights Movement? In 2002, a former Klansman was convicted and sentenced to life in prison for the 1963 church bombing that left four black girls dead. In June 2005, a federal court ordered the exhumation of the lynched body of the 14-year-old black child Emmett Till, and a majority-white jury in Mississippi found an ex-Klansman guilty of manslaughter for the 1964 murders of three civil rights workers. Why now? Tonya Thames-Leonard will investigate connections between these new legal developments and the increasing intolerance Americans exhibit for terroristic activities - both present and past. Requirements: Slide projector and screen.
Tonya L. Thames-Leonard, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of History, West Chester University, West Chester
The Harlem Renaissance
The Harlem Renaissance is a noted period of African American cultural expression. Music historian Harrison Ridley, Jr. will play recordings that illustrate musical evolution - such as the innovation of the "stride piano" form and the famous gig bands that took shape in this period. Participants will also learn the history of such world famous theaters as the Cotton Club, the Savoy Ballroom and the popular and still active Apollo Theater. Requirements: Screen, slide projector, overhead projector, CD and cassette players, TV/VCR, DVD player, display table and chalkboard. Microphone preferred.
Harrison Ridley, Jr., Lecturer, Temple University, WRTI Radio Host, "The Historical Approach to the Positive Music," Philadelphia
It's Storytelling Time! A Journey through the African American Storytelling Tradition
Through a lively participatory presentation and discussion, Linda Goss shares some of her favorite folktales, family narratives, and legends from the African American storytelling tradition that she has collected over three decades. She will demonstrate how field hollers and praise singing are used to enhance a story, and audiences will join in the stories through call-and-response techniques. In a workshop component, participants will learn how to put expression in their faces, to vary and project their own voices and to move their bodies to best tell the stories they want to share. Requirements: Table and chair. Microphone and movable chairs for audience preferred.
Linda Y. Goss, Co-Founder of the National Association of Black Storytellers and Artist-in-Residence at the Rosenbach Museum, Philadelphia