April 3, 2008
Williamson to give Samuel E. Kelly Lecture April 23
Black Students, Campus Activism, and the Reform of Higher Education: History and Legacy is the title of this year’s Samuel E. Kelly Lecture, set for 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 23, in the Henry Art Gallery. Sponsored by the Office of Minority Affairs and Diversity, the speech is by Joy Ann Williamson, associate professor in the College of Education.
In the 1960s and 1970s, American higher educational institutions became contested terrain in a way they never had before. Williamson will examine both the history and legacy of the battle between higher educational institutions and state governments, between administrators and students, and between students and other students over first and fourteenth amendment rights, and academic freedom.
Williamson specializes in African American educational history. Her work examines the reciprocal relationship between mid-twentieth century social movements and institutions of higher education. Her most recent book, Radicalizing the Ebony Tower: Black Colleges and the Black Freedom Struggle in Mississippi, examines issues of institutional autonomy, institutional response to internal and external pressures, and the relationship between historically black colleges and the Civil Rights and Black Power movements.
The lecture is free, but registration is requested. E-mail cpromad@u.washington.edu or call 206-685-0518 by April 16.
Begun in 2005, the annual lecture honors of Samuel E. Kelly, who was named the first vice president of the UW Office of Minority Affairs in 1970. The lecture series is dedicated to acknowledging the work of distinguished UW faculty by showcasing nationally recognized faculty research focusing on diversity and social justice.
The 2008 Samuel E. Kelly Lecture is presented in partnership with the UW Alumni Association and the Diversity Research Institute.
