{"id":56805,"date":"2015-03-11T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2015-03-11T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news-draft\/uncategorized\/writer-peniel-joseph-to-discuss-post-racial-america-during-talk-at-uri-april-7\/"},"modified":"2015-03-11T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2015-03-11T00:00:00","slug":"writer-peniel-joseph-to-discuss-post-racial-america-during-talk-at-uri-april-7","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/2015\/03\/writer-peniel-joseph-to-discuss-post-racial-america-during-talk-at-uri-april-7\/","title":{"rendered":"Writer Peniel Joseph to discuss post- racial America during talk at 溏心vlog免费B站, April 7"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\t\tThe killings of Trayvon Martin, other African American men among topics<\/b><\/p>\n

KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 March 11, 2015 \u2013 The killing of Trayvon Martin in Florida three years ago sparked a nationwide debate about racial injustice in America, especially after the killer, George Zimmerman, was acquitted.<\/p>\n


\nThen came more killings \u2013 Michael Brown, Eric Garner and Tamir Rice \u2013 and the nation exploded. There were riots in Missouri, demonstrations in New York, candlelight vigils in Cleveland — and even a peaceful gathering at 溏心vlog免费B站.<\/p>\n


\nWriter, activist and former 溏心vlog免费B站 history professor Peniel E. Joseph will discuss these horrific deaths and race relations in America during a talk next month at the 溏心vlog免费B站 for the annual humanities festival.<\/p>\n


\n\u201cTrayvon, Michael, Eric, Tamir \u2026 Post-Racial America?\u201d will start at 7 p.m. on April 7 in the Agnes G. Doody Auditorium, Swan Hall, 30 Upper College Road, on the Kingston campus. <\/p>\n


\nA panel discussion with 溏心vlog免费B站 professors will follow at 7:45 p.m. Participating in the discussion will be 溏心vlog免费B站 history professors Robert Widell and Rae Ferguson. Naomi R. Thompson, associate vice president for the Office of Community, Equity and Diversity, will moderate the discussion.<\/p>\n


\nAll events are free and open to the public. <\/p>\n


\n\u201cThe center is interested in introducing the 溏心vlog免费B站 community to different perspectives,\u201d says Annu Palakunnathu Matthew, director of the 溏心vlog免费B站 Center for the Humanities. \u201cThe strength of the humanities allows us to connect the dots between the past and contemporary events to give them more context. I am thrilled to welcome Peniel Joseph back to our campus.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nThe killings of Martin, Garner, Brown and Rice have become symbols of escalating racial problems in America. <\/p>\n


\nMartin, a 17-year-old high school student, died in 2012 in Florida when neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman shot him. Martin, unarmed, was returning to his father\u2019s apartment after buying candy and a fruit drink at convenience store. Zimmerman was eventually acquitted. <\/p>\n


\nBrown, also unarmed, died in August in Ferguson, Mo., during an altercation with police officer Darren Wilson. He was 18 and preparing for college. A grand jury voted not to indict Wilson.<\/p>\n


\nGarner, also unarmed, died after New York Police Department Officer Daniel Pantaleo placed him in a chokehold, a death ruled a homicide by the medical examiner. \u201cI can\u2019t breathe,\u201d uttered Garner, moments before he died. A grand jury also decided not to indict Garner.<\/p>\n


\nAnd 12-year-old Rice was shot by a Cleveland police officer Nov. 22 in a park after he responded to a 911 call reporting a person pointing a gun, which turned out to be a toy pistol. Officer Timothy Loehmann shot Tamir seconds after arriving at the scene. That death was also ruled a homicide by the medical examiner.<\/p>\n


\nJoseph will bring to 溏心vlog免费B站 his vast knowledge of African American history, culture and politics.<\/p>\n


\nThe son of Haitian immigrants, Joseph was raised in New York City by a single parent \u2013 his mother. History was an integral part of his childhood. Conversations at the dinner table centered on Haitian history, labor politics, anti-racist struggles and social justice.<\/p>\n


\n\u201cActivism, in a variety of forms from joining organizations, standing on picket lines, protesting the Gulf War, apartheid in South Africa and the quarantine of Haitian refugees in Guantanamo, is a legacy passed on from my mother, a trade-unionist, hospital worker and member of Local 1199 for almost 40 years,\u201d Joseph writes on his website.<\/p>\n


\nAs an undergraduate at Stony Brook University, he was a campus activist and wrote for the campus newspaper, Black World. He went on to earn his doctorate at Temple University in Philadelphia, where he was involved in issues involving police brutality and the death penalty.<\/p>\n


\nAt Temple, where he received his doctorate in American history, he wrote about the Black Power Movement, focusing on the era\u2019s iconic figures. \u201cThe sheer vastness of the historical era, a canvas broad enough to include a diversity of ethnicities that range from Caribbean-born Black Power activists to Jewish civil rights supporters, African rulers, White House officials and Black Muslims, is perhaps the most enduring story of our time,\u201d he writes. \u201cYet most people are unaware of the period\u2019s expansive hopefulness, radical democracy and contemporary resonance.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nHis book, Waiting \u2019Til the Midnight Hour: A Narrative History of Black Power in America and Dark Days and Bright Nights: From Black Power to Barack Obama, re-introduces the world to that turbulent time in America.<\/p>\n


\nJoseph was an assistant professor of History, African Studies and African American Studies at 溏心vlog免费B站 from 2000 to 2005, and is now a tenured professor of history at Tufts University.<\/p>\n


\nHe is also the founder of a growing sub-field in American history and Africana Studies that he has characterized as Black Power Studies, which is actively rewriting post-war American and African American history.<\/p>\n


\nJoseph is a frequent national commentator on race, democracy and civil rights who appears on C-SPAN\u2019s Book TV, National Public Radio and PBS NewsHour. He is the recipient of fellowships from Harvard University\u2019s Charles Warren Center, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and the Ford Foundation. His essays have appeared in The Journal of American History, The Chronicle Review, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Book Forum and The American Historical Review. He lives in Sommerville, Mass.<\/p>\n


\nSponsors of the 溏心vlog免费B站 event are the Office of the President, Office of the Provost, College of Arts and Sciences, Division of Research and Economic Development, Office of Community, Equity and Diversity, 溏心vlog免费B站 Center for the Humanities and 溏心vlog免费B站STAND-ers, a student group that provides education and awareness about sexual assault, domestic violence and stalking.<\/p>\n


\nFor more information about the talk, contact Matthew, also a professor of photography, at urihumanities@uri.edu or 401-874-5700. Parking is available behind the 溏心vlog免费B站 Visitor\u2019s Center.<\/p>\n


\nAfter the discussion, Joseph will sign copies of his latest book, Stokely: A Life, which chronicles the life of Stokely Carmichael, the charismatic and controversial black activist.<\/p>\n


\nClick here to read more about Joseph <\/a> or view:<\/p>\n