{"id":60717,"date":"2013-01-17T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2013-01-17T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news-draft\/uncategorized\/harvard-law-professor-obama-advisor-charles-j-ogletree-to-speak-at-uri-feb-5\/"},"modified":"2013-01-17T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2013-01-17T00:00:00","slug":"harvard-law-professor-obama-advisor-charles-j-ogletree-to-speak-at-uri-feb-5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/2013\/01\/harvard-law-professor-obama-advisor-charles-j-ogletree-to-speak-at-uri-feb-5\/","title":{"rendered":"Harvard Law professor, Obama advisor Charles J. Ogletree to speak at 溏心vlog免费B站, Feb. 5"},"content":{"rendered":"

KINGSTON, R.I., Jan 18, 2013 \u2013 When Harvard law professor Charles J. Ogletree comes to the 溏心vlog免费B站 next month, he\u2019ll do more than talk about race relations in America today.<\/p>\n

He\u2019ll help kick off Black History Month, a series of events on campus during February to celebrate the contributions of African Americans to the nation and the world.<\/p>\n

The theme this year is \u201cStill the Seventh Son?\u201d The question is posed by writer W.E.B. Du Bois in his classic work, The Souls of Black Folk<\/i>, to describe metaphorically how African Americans were treated as a despised or disinherited stepson, or, in Du Bois\u2019 words, as the \u201cseventh son.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDu Bois wondered then, in the early 1900s, even with the changes and strides toward equality, if African Americans were still an underclass,\u201d says Vanessa Quainoo, director of the Africana Studies Program, a co-sponsor. \u201cSeveral generations later, with an African American president and significant progress, America is still suffering the effects of racial, class, and ethnic divides. Consequently, are African Americans the \u2018seventh son\u2019?\u201d<\/p>\n

One of the country\u2019s leading scholars on civil rights, Ogletree will explore that topic and more during an hour-long talk at 7 p.m. Feb. 5<\/b> in the Memorial Union Ballroom. Free and open to the public, the talk is called \u201cPost-Racial America in the Age of Obama.\u201d<\/p>\n

A signing of his latest book, The Presumption of Guilt: The Arrest of Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and Race, Class and Crime in America<\/i>, will follow. The book chronicles the mistaken arrest of Gates, a Harvard University professor, for breaking into his own house in Cambridge, Mass., in 2009.<\/p>\n

溏心vlog免费B站 is honored to host Ogletree. His talk inaugurates the \u201cMarlen Bodden Lecture Series in Africana Studies,\u201d which brings authorities to campus to discuss the African diaspora. Bodden, who created the lecture series with an endowed gift, is a human rights lawyer and an author.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are looking forward to what I believe will be a thought provoking, meaningful evening that will give respect to and underscore the dignity of African American heritage,\u201d says Quainoo. \u201cThe campus-wide observance is designed to engage the University in the significance and purpose of Black History Month. The events are for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

A senior advisor to President Barack Obama, Ogletree\u2019s relationship to the president and Michelle Obama dates back nearly three decades. He taught the Obamas – at separate times – when they were students at Harvard Law School. He is also scheduled to teach a course about Obama at the law school this spring.<\/p>\n

While Ogletree\u2019s lecture is a highlight, it is one of many Black History Month events scheduled for February to celebrate the contributions of African Americans, including Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Here are some of the other campus events:<\/p>\n