Date of Lecture: March 25, 2015
About the Speaker: Karsonya Wise Whitehead is assistant professor of communication and Africana and African American studies at Loyola University Maryland and founding executive director of the The Emilie Frances Davis Center for Education, Research, and Culture. She is the author of ""Notes from a Colored Girl: The Civil War Pocket Diaries of Emilie Frances Davis" (University of South Carolina Press, 2014) and "Letters to My Black Sons: Raising Boys in a Post-Racial America" (Apprentice House, 2015). She is also a K-12 Master Teacher in African American History; an award-winning curriculum writer and lesson plan developer; and, a three-time New York Emmy nominated documentary filmmaker.
About the Talk: Dr. Whitehead explores the role of the black church in the context of American history, the recent events in Ferguson and New York, and the African American experience. Throughout American history, from the Civil War to Civil Rights, the church has been at the center of black activist movements. The Black Lives Matter movement, which arose last year in response to high-profile incidents of police brutality against black men, depends less on the church as incubator. Today, there are more channels for meeting, organizing and leading, but Dr. Whitehead suggests the common drivers of these movements are: faith, opportunity, talent and grit.
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Note: Due to a technical problem, only audio of this lecture is available. Click here to view the "Black Rage" video shown at the beginning of the lecture.