Department of African American StudiesUniversity at Buffalo

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DEPARTMENTAL NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS

NEW FOR FALL 2008: Lecture series at the Michigan Street Baptist Church, at 511 Michigan Avenue, Buffalo

One-hundred-seventy-one years ago the African American community in the great city of Buffalo, NY was defined in the notes of journalist Charles B. Ray, Mississippi native and editor of The Colored American, as being above any community of colored people that he had visited during his tour of Western New York. Mr. Ray was witnessing that which we reflect upon in hindsight; the humble beginnings of the Colored community in one of the most storied cities in the nation. Charles B. Ray experienced the stuff that strong Black communities around the country were built upon, a lust for literacy and a strong religious culture. The beauty of the storied City of Lights, though, is that the very place that nurtured the Colored community that Mr. Ray addresses still stands as the oldest African American built, owned and operated structure in Western New York.

The Michigan Street Baptist Church, at 511 Michigan Avenue, is a gem in the City of Buffalo’s turbulent past fraught with hatred and injustice. Its origins date back to sometime between 1832 and 1837 when thirteen men and women who had been allowed to worship alongside ‘whites’ at the Washington Street Baptist Church decided to withdraw from that congregation to form the Second Baptist Church of Buffalo. As a voice of the people, the Michigan Street Baptist Church’s congregation has had a history of speaking out in support of African American progress. Their momentous efforts range from enabling African Americans to harness the energy and resources of the black community, allowing for the transformation of their ideas and aspirations into functional programs and activities, to a stern stance in opposition to racial prejudice and discrimination. (For more information on the history of the church please visit www.themichiganstreetbaptistchurch.org)

The abridged story of the Historic Michigan Street Baptist Church is twofold, consisting first of the unwritten chronicle of its involvement in the transportation of fugitives in seek of freedom from the ante bellum south, then fast forwarding to the era of the Rev. Dr. J. Edward Nash, Ms. Mary Talbert and the civil rights movement. What lies in between, though, is the base which supports our modus operandi. Before the politicizing of black folks through the leadership of Rev. Dr. Nash the culture of using the church as a place to promote literacy on the issues of the day was evident. Discussions lead by abolitionists like Fredrick Douglas, William Wells Brown, Henry Highland Garnet and Martin Delany were layered in its effects on the African American community. Not only did they inform and invigorate but these talks evoked conversation on national issues, giving people a stance, which is, in part, the essence of literacy. (For more information on Rev. Dr. Nash please visit www.nashhousemuseum.org)

What the era of Rev. Dr. J. Edward Nash brought to the table was an aggressive stride towards equality in all aspects of African American life. During his tenure the Michigan Street Baptist Church experienced a second wave of notable guest speakers in the likes of like-minded fellow scholar Booker T. Washington and a controversial W.E.B Dubois. Rev. Dr. Nash embodied the will to rise above the separatist nature of the city for the sake of educating the next generation. The lectures that we present in his name seek to carry on his dream of educating the community. Our vision is to preserve the past through cultivating the future; our dream is to leave the City of Buffalo in better condition when we depart than the moment we arrived.

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NEW UNDERGRADUATE COURSE OFFERING FOR SPRING 2008!
"Bonded Women"
African American Studies 461 LSW
Tuesdays and Thursdays 3:30-4:50pm
with Professor Lilliam Williams
Please see the attached document for more information on the "Bonded Women" course

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African American Studies Summer School Course Offerings

Section one, May 21-June 29, 2007
AAS 586--The Multicultural School Curriculum, MW, 5:00-7:30, three credit hours (3)
Instructor:  Dr. Y G-M Lulat
Location:  Merriweather Branch, Buffalo and Erie County Public Library
1324 Jefferson Avenue (at Utica)

The course description follows:
Among the many educational reform trends in the U.S., Canada and the United Kingdom in recent years has been the well-intentioned advocacy of infusing the school curriculum with a multicultural perspective. This course critically examines the successes and failures of this trend. Topics that will be covered include: a general history of education from the perspective of the struggle for civil rights; the sociological basis of curriculum theory, practice and development; the history of multiculturalism in school curricula; multiculturalism and the hidden curriculum; the multicultural class lesson: theory versus practice; the alternative school movement and the politics of the multiculturalism; the multicultural curriculum and school achievement; the future of the multicultural curriculum: debating the pros and cons.

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African American Studies is pleased to support the Theatre & Dance Department's celebration of the works of Suzan Lori-Parks.

365 DAYS/ 365 PLAYS, By Suzan-Lori Parks

The 365 Days/365 Plays Festival is a nation-wide staging of 365 plays written over the course of one calendar year by Pulitzer Prize-winning, African-American playwright Suzan-Lori Parks. She is the writer and director of the award-winning Broadway play "Top Dog/Under Dog." Theatres and universities across the country are each staging one week of plays from the annual cycle to unfold an epic production of all 365 plays. Web site: http://www.365days365plays.com

Here at UB, we are producing Week #24 of the festival (April 23-29) as a collaborative project between Media Study and Theatre & Dance. Theatre and dance students will join forces with students in media. Our production will be staged in the Intermedial Performance Studio and will
combine both virtual and live actors, settings, and interfaces.

Performance Dates: Thursday, April 26 and Friday, April 27, Times TBD

Media Study Television Studio, Performance is free

The Suzan-Lori Parks Symposium with visiting scholars will be held at 3p.m. on April 26, Location TBD

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Lecture by filmmaker Zeinabu irene Davis
Thursday February 22, 2007 at 3:00 in Capen 31

This event is sponsored by the African American Studies Department and the
Institute for Research and Education on Women and Gender.

Black Women in Film: One Filmmaker's Journey

Women of African Descent have been a part of cinema history from its very beginnings in 1896 where they were test subjects for the camera to make sure that there were no harmful side effects from being filmed to creating a rich history of images made by them and about them. Indeed Black women have a complicated history with mass media - indeed mainstream media has perpetuated stereotypes of Black women such as the Mammy, the tragic mulatto, the emasculating woman (Sapphire) and the video 'ho. On the other hand, more recently Black women actresses have been gaining more respect and exposure and earning both Academy Award nominations and Golden Globe awards. Does this signify change? Where are the Black women directors and producers? This lecture briefly looks at some of the history of black women in Hollywood film in front of and behind the camera through the discussion of the filmmaker's involvement in media making. Through examples of her work, Professor Davis will illustrate how she combats stereotypes and offers more fully developed representations of Black women.

Professor Zeinabu irene Davis is a full Professor in the Department of Communication at University of California, San Diego where she teaches and continues to make film. Her feature film, Compensation is a part of the Women's Film Festival and won the Gordon Parks Award for Best Director in 1999. She is currently completing on a documentary on a Black woman
trumpet player, Ms. Clora Bryant and as a proud mother of two, she is also making a video essay on breastfeeding and Black women.

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Thursday, Feb. 22, 2007, at 7 pm
11th International Women's Film Festival

COMPENSATION, with director Zeinabu irene Davis in person!
1999, US, 95 minutes, BW Feature.
Inspired by a poem written by Paul Laurence Dunbar, this moving narrative presents two unique African-American love stories between a deaf woman and a hearing man. Malindy, an educated seamstress, befriends Arthur, a recent migrant to 1910 Chicago; this tale is woven alongside the contemporary story of Nico, a children's librarian, who learns ASL in order to date Malaika, a graphic designer. Director Davis incorporates title cards, dialogue, and silent film music with images of Chicago past and present to provide a view of Black Deaf culture and the vast possibilities of language and communication.

Market Arcade Film and Arts Center, 639 Main Street, Buffalo NY
(across from Shea's Theater)
TICKETS: $8.50 general, $6.50 students, $6 seniors

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OTHER NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS


Last Modified: December 20, 2006


Department of African American Studies
732 Clemens Hall, Box 604680, Buffalo, New York 14260-4680
Phone: (716) 645-2082 Fax: (716) 645-5976
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