Morrill Hall/Rachel Tilsen Social Justice Fund

The Morrill Hall and Rachel Tilsen Social Justice Fund has been created to acknowledge and honor the work of the Afro American Action Committee (AAAC) and Rachel Tilsen. By acknowledging the 1969 Morrill Hall Take-Over at the University of Minnesota Campus (see the award-winning film at www.vimeo.com/6608437) and Rachel Tilsen, we recognize the importance of personal sacrifices as well as organizational efforts in the struggle for social justice. The Afro American Action Committee (AAAC) emerged from a rich tradition of protest, revolt, and resistance to the spirit of racism and ruthless domination. AAAC embraced the "incarnate spirit of justice, hatred of a lie, that willingness to sacrifice money, reputation, education and life itself on the Alter of right." AAAC stood on the shoulders of the NAACP and the Niagara Movement. The members of AAAC believed, they stood and they spoke. In fact the tenacity of the AAAC members transformed the University of Minnesota to become more inclusive, more tolerant, and less separated from the dynamics of the entire community.

Rachel Tilsen epitomized the term Social Justice. Rachel was more than just a mother, grandmother, daughter, sister, friend and wife. She was a fierce freedom fighter and lover of life. In many respects her legacy lies in her courage and the attributes she instilled in every woman that had the opportunity to meet her. She was not only a freedom fighter she was a teacher. Rachel taught others to have respect for self, family, culture and history. She was a morale lifter who believed that you had to let your voice be heard and that you had to follow your words with action. She championed what she believed. Rachel insisted that we have a responsibility to stand up for the people who do not have the strength or the will to stand for themselves. Rachel fought for social justice regardless of race, color, religion or creed.

The Morrill Hall and Rachel Tilsen Social Justice Fund is intended to continue and promote the activism AAAC and Rachel subscribed to: equality and justice for all people, with all people equally valued; vigilant relentless struggle in the fight for justice.

Grants up to $5000 will be awarded to individuals or organizations for projects addressing social justice.

Applications and criteria are available for download. Email questions to mhrtjfquestions@gmail.com

Applications will be accepted up to midnight April 1, 2010.

Awards will be presented on May 1, 2010 at the inaugural Morrill Hall/Rachel Tilsen Social Justice Fund Gala Event.

African Americans in the movies, 2009

2009 had few great roles for African Americans in the movies, according to a February 21, 2010 article in the Minneapolis Star Tribune newspaper.

HeLa cell line

In 1951 an African American woman's biopsy cells were made available to biological researchers, without her knowledge or consent. Today her cell line is one of the most powerful ones for scientific research. See a Wired magazine article on Henrietta Lacks for more information.

2010 Martin Luther King Celebration

The University of Minnesota's 2010 Martin Luther King Celebration will honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and commemorate Black History Month with music, song, readings, and spoken word poetry. This year's event takes place from 4:00-5:30 p.m. on February 21, 2010, in the Ted Mann Concert Hall on the West Bank of the University's Twin Cities campus. The event is free and open to the public.

February 3 "coffee hour" presentation

On Wednesday, February 3, Dr. Wendy Thompson will present "Trade: Negotiating Money, Goods, and 'Foreignness' in the Experiences of African Traders in Contemporary Hong Kong and China" from 2:15-4:00 in the Geneva H. Southall Library (Social Sciences Tower 815). [Presentation Abstract]

In July of 2009, Guangzhou police raided the Tangqi Garment Mall, a shopping center predominately frequented by Nigerian traders. The raid led to the critical injury of at least one man who had either jumped or fallen from a building in an attempt to escape. While it wasn't the first time a police raid had targeted the Guangzhou Nigerian community--city police regularly stopped African men in public and searched them without their consent in an attempt to look for "foreigners" who had overstayed their visas and were in China illegally--this particular incident led to a protest against the police in which one- to two-hundred Nigerians gathered outside the Kuangquan Street station and stopped traffic for five hours. The protest would make national and world news as it was the first time in contemporary Chinese history that "foreigners" had staged anything like it publically.
Dr. Thompson's presentation is a preview of her post-protest findings during the three weeks she spent in Hong Kong and Mainland China in late November/early December of 2009. She will be showing a series of photographs and giving personal observations of contact with African men and women in Hong Kong as well as with a small community of Yoruba traders on the Mainland. Dr. Thompson sees this preliminary research as providing new insight to existing knowledge on African Diaspora, contemporary migration, and the impact of globalization on twenty-first century race relations in Asia.

iAfrica at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts

From 6-9 P.M. on Thursday, January 21, 2010 the Minneapolis Institute of Arts presents iAfrica: Connecting with Sub-Saharan Art. Visitors with iPhones can download an application that incorporates detailed information about the objects and themes in the exhibition. The app also has a component that allows visitors to virtually play one of the musical objects in the exhibition. Both the app and the iAfrica event are free.

Kwanzaa research featured in an AP story

Professor Keith Mayes' research on Kwanzaa is discussed in an Associated Press article. His research is also featured in a multimedia story on the CLA home page.