A distinct place in history: Claflin celebrates BHM with series of events
Sunday, February 03, 2008Special to The T&D
Claflin University will honor the achievements of black Americans and their contributions to society through a series of events commemorating Black History Month.
Claflin's celebration of Black History Month includes a film festival and several lectures that focus on different aspects of the African diaspora, and the institution's own prominent place in black history during the civil rights movement of the 1950s and '60s. Events are free to the public. All events will be held in the James and Dorothy Z. Elmore Chapel, Lecture Room 15, unless otherwise indicated.
The month's activities are sponsored by Claflin University's School of Humanities and Social Sciences and its Program of African and African-American Studies.
A Denzel Washington Film Festival will begin at 7 p.m. Monday, Feb. 4, with a screening of the 1992 biopic, "Malcolm X," which earned Washington an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor for his titular portrayal. The festival concludes 6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 5, with a screening of "Glory," a 1989 Academy Award-winning drama based on the history of the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Regiment during the American Civil War. The 54th regiment's final battle in the film takes place at Fort Wagner on Morris Island. Washington earned an Academy Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role.
Earle C. Mitchell III, an accomplished mentor and scholar of African and African-American Studies, will lecture on "Cinematic Images and the Eradication of African Thought" at 11 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 12. Mitchell's company, 3rd iMedia, Webcasts lectures, sells books and shares other information related to his Pan-African studies. For more information, visit www.3rdimedia.com.
At 11 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 14, Morgan Sherman, a 2006 Claflin alumnus, will lecture on "Poverty, African-American Youth and Advocacy." Sherman serves as manager of TellThem!, the grassroots network of the New Morning Foundation, a nonprofit organization that seeks to reduce the number of adolescent pregnancies in South Carolina. For more information, visit www.tellthemsc.org.
Sonya George, an Orangeburg chiropractor and an ergonomics expert, will discuss "Young Adult Health and Well-Being in the African-American Experience" at 11 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 20.
The month's activities conclude with an open campus dialogue, "What Would Jesus Do? Katrina, Jena and Christianity in America," at 7 p.m. Monday, Feb. 25.
Also incorporated into Claflin's 2008 Black History Month observance will be the University's annual Religious Emphasis Week, which will be held Sunday through Wednesday, Feb. 17-20. The week's featured speaker will be Dr. James C. Perkins, pastor of Greater Christ Baptist Church in Detroit, Mich.
The 2008 National Black History Month theme, "Carter G. Woodson and the Origins of Multiculturalism," honors the scholar and "Father of Black History" who pioneered an intellectual movement to educate Americans about cultural diversity and democracy.
Claflin University, its students and its alumni have held distinct places in the history of black Americans in this state and nation. In 1960, Claflin students participated in some of the earliest "sit-ins" to desegregate retail establishments in the South. As with similar demonstrations across the South, they were met with resistance, armed police, water hoses, tear gas, beatings and arrests.
In 1965, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. visited the University to promote the peaceful pursuit of human rights and the maintenance of human dignity. Three years later, in 1968, seven Claflin University students were wounded when state law enforcement officers opened fire on a group of student protesters on the campus of neighboring then-South Carolina State College.
A few of Claflin University's alumni trailblazers include Robert Bates, the first certified black architect; Cassandra Maxwell Birney, the first black female attorney admitted to the South Carolina Bar; the Honorable Ernest Finney, the first black chief justice of the South Carolina Supreme Court; and state Sen. Kay Patterson (D-Richland).
Claflin University’s Black History Month events
* Feb. 4 — Film screening: “Malcolm X.” 7 p.m. Denzel Washington Film Festival. James and Dorothy Z. Elmore Chapel, Lecture Room 15.
* Feb. 5 — Film screening: “Glory.” 6 p.m. Denzel Washington Film Festival. James and Dorothy Z. Elmore Chapel, Lecture Room 15.
* Feb. 13 — Lecture: “Cinematic Images and the Eradication of African Thought.” 11 a.m. Speaker: Mr. Earle C. Mitchell III, 3rd iMedia. James and Dorothy Z. Elmore Chapel, Lecture Room 15.
* Feb. 14 — Lecture: “Poverty, African-American Youth and Advocacy.” 11 a.m. Speaker: Morgan Sherman, ’06, TellThem! James and Dorothy Z. Elmore Chapel, Lecture Room 15.
* Feb. 17-20 — Religious Emphasis Week. Speaker: Dr. James C. Perkins, Pastor, Greater Christ Baptist Church, Detroit, Mich.
* Feb. 20 — Lecture: “Young Adult Health and Well-Being in the African-American Experience.” 11 a.m. Speaker: Dr. Sonya George, chiropractor/ergonomics expert. James and Dorothy Z. Elmore Chapel, Lecture Room 15.
* Feb. 25 — Open Campus Dialogue: “What Would Jesus Do? Katrina, Jena and Christianity in America.” 7 p.m. James and Dorothy Z. Elmore Chapel, Lecture Room 15.
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