The Atlantic's "State of the Union"

The January/February 2009 of The Atlantic magazine has several articles on American race relations in the "State of the Union" section:

• "The End of White America?"
  
• "American Girl [Michelle Obama]"
  
• "Race Over?"

40th Anniversary documentary

CLA Media Mill Video

A slightly larger version of the video can be viewed on St. Paul Neighborhood Network Access.

NOMMO Author Series: John Edgar Wideman

On Thursday, February 5, 7:00 P.M. at the University of Minnesota Cowles Auditorium, AA&AS professor Alexs Pate discusses the state of the art of African American literature with John Edgar Wideman, the author of more than 18 books of fiction and nonfiction. Wideman was the first writer to win the PEN/Faulkner Award twice, in 1984 for Sent for You Yesterday and in 1990 for Philadelphia Fire. His memoir Brothers and Keepers received a National Book Critics Circle nomination, and his memoir Fatheralong was a finalist for the National Book Award. In addition, he has won the Rea Award for the Short Story, the Lannan Foundation Fellowship for Fiction, and the MacArthur grant. Wideman's articles on Malcolm X, Spike Lee, Denzel Washington, Michael Jordan, Eminem, Thelonious Monk, and others have appeared in The New Yorker, Vogue, Esquire, Emerge, and The New York Times Magazine. Wideman is on the faculty of the African Studies Department of Brown University. The NOMMO African American Author Series is sponsored by the Givens Foundation for African American Literature in partnership with the University of Minnesota and the Friends of the University Libraries.

President Obama's Inauguration

Many Minnesotans are making pilgrimages to Washington, D.C. to witness President Obama's historic inauguration. The Minneapolis Star-Tribune has posted a multimedia story about an event most African Americans did not think they would see in their lifetimes.

January 24, 2009 40th Anniversary roundtable discussion

Morrill Hall 40 Years Later: The Legacy Of Activism and Engaged Scholarship Continues, a roundtable discussion on the Morrill Hall Occupation of 1969 will take place on Saturday, January 24, 2009, 10:00 A.M. to 1:00 P.M. in the Presidents Room of Coffman Memorial Union.

In January of 1969 Black students at the University of Minnesota staged an occupation of Morrill Hall &mdash home of University administration &mdash to demand the creation of a department committed to Black studies. Their actions led to the formation of the University's Department of African American & African Studies, along with the Martin Luther King, Jr. Advising Office and the Multicultural Center for Academic Excellence.

On the 40th anniversary of that event, Twin Cities community members and participants in the 1969 Morrill Hall Takeover will convene a roundtable discussion to review the events of January, 1969, and to reflect on the legacy of their actions. They will also talk about the role of activism today. The public is welcome to attend and will be invited to participate in a question and answer session.

Panelists:

• Spike Moss, The Way community organization (1969)
  
• Lester Cannon, U of M Student (1969)
  
• Mahmoud El-Kati, The Way community organization (1969)
  
• Marie Braddock Williams, U of M Student (1969)
  
• Dr. Horace Huntley, U of M Student (1969)
  
• Rose Freeman Massey, U of M Student (1969)
  
• Dr. John Wright, U of M Student (1969); AA&AS faculty member
  
• Jared E. Leighton, graduate student at the U of Nebraska, and author of the Master's degree thesis "'A Small Revolution': The Role of a Black Power Revolt in Creating and Sustaining a Black Studies Department at the University of Minnesota."

December-January issue of "The Village"

The latest issue of The Village is now available. The Village is a newsletter for friends and alumni of the Department of African American & African Studies.

Inside the December 2008-January 2009 issue:

• welcome from the community outreach coordinator
  
• outreach website
  
• alumni profile
  
• course spotlight
  
• youth stand on the shoulders of giants
  
• faculty spotlight
  
• upcoming events
  
• quote of the month

From Every Voice concert

The University of Minnesota's annual "From Every Voice" concert commemorating Martin Luther King Day will be held on February 22, 2009. This year's concert features the a cappella group Take 6.