Today's Date: March 29, 2024
Re:wild and Colossal Biosciences team up to leverage revolutionary technology to save critically endangered species on the brink   •   Make-A-Wish and celebrity wish granters announce goal to recruit 1 million people to become "WishMakers"   •   YMCA of the USA Partners With Old Spice To Increase High School Graduation Among Boys And Young Men Of Color Through Mentorship   •   Visit Visalia Recognizes Autism Awareness Month in April   •   Amerex Group Unveils Red Carter Swimwear's Revitalized Collection   •   Anaergia Announces Escrow Closing of Second Tranche of the Strategic Investment   •   VIRGIN HOTELS CHAMPIONS INCLUSIVE TRAVEL FOR NEURODIVERSE TRAVELERS   •   National University Receives 2024 Military Friendly® Gold Designation   •   Equalpride Partners with TransLash Media for Trans Day of Visibility, Amplifying Voices of Black Trans Femmes in the Arts   •   Empire State Realty Trust Receives WELL Health-Safety Leadership Award; Becomes Among the First Commercial Office and Multifamil   •   Chosgo K23: One of the Best Bluetooth Hearing Aids for Seniors   •   Suffolk Kicks off 2024 “Build With Us @ Suffolk” Program in Boston for Trade Partners, Opening Doors for Minority-,   •   Anaergia Announces Delay in the Filing of Its Audited Financial Statements and Related Disclosures   •   Carnegie Learning Named 2024 SIIA CODiE Award Finalist for Best Educational Game and Best AI Implementation in Ed Tech   •   Fosun Management on 2023 Annual Results: Focusing on Core Industries with Established Advantages   •   Midea Group releases its first-ever ESG brand story with an unexpected VIP visit highlighting its commitment to sustainability.   •   Parkland Corporation Announces the Results of the 2024 Annual General Meeting of Shareholders   •   Coachella Concerned That People Have Sex, Says AHF   •   Jamieson Wellness Publishes Inaugural Sustainability Impact Report   •   Sypher Secures Strategic Partnership with FAIA to Fuel Growth
Bookmark and Share

Forty Years at Vassar College: Africana Identities in the Diaspora

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

SUMMARY: The Africana Studies Program will mark the anniversary of its founding with the conference, “Forty Years at Vassar College: Africana Identities in the Diaspora,” 4/17-20. Weekend-long events will include lectures, panel discussions, and an exhibition.

 

PUBLIC CONTACT: Office of Campus Activities, (845) 437-5370; Patricia Mathis, Administrative Assistant for the Africana Studies Program, (845) 437-7490, pamathis@vassar.edu

 

POUGHKEEPSIE, NY – In 1969 the Africana Studies Program at Vassar College was founded through the efforts of students and employees who sought greater academic and social diversity on campus, and to make permanent the burgeoning department of Black Studies.

 

Forty years later, Africana Studies remains the first and longest-running multidisciplinary program at the college, and remains committed to social justice. In commemoration, the program will host “Forty Years at Vassar College: Africana Identities in the Diaspora,” a weekend-long conference from Friday, April 17 through Sunday, April 19. Bestselling social justice advocate and author Randall Robinson will give the keynote address on Saturday, April 18, at 6:00pm. The lecture is free and open to the public.

 

ABOUT THE AFRICANA STUDIES CONFERENCE

“Forty Years at Vassar College: Africana Identities in the Diaspora” has been made possible with generous support from Lynai Jones ’92 and Roosevelt and Paula Williams Madison ’74, with additional support from the Office of the Dean of Faculty. For additional information on the conference, including a complete schedule and a formal invitation, contact Patricia Mathis, the administrative assistant for the Africana Studies Program, at (845) 437-7490, or at pamathis@vassar.edu.

 

Through panel discussions and presentations, the conference will explore the political and intellectual roots of Africana Studies and related programs in the United States, as well as the global Africana intellectual project, the specific trajectory of the program at Vassar, and the future of other disciplines, departments, and programs relating the experiences of peoples of African descent in the 21st century.

 

Highlights include:

 

--Randall Robinson, founder of the international non-profit group TransAfrica and author of An Unbroken Agony: Haiti, from Revolution to the Kidnapping of a President, will deliver the keynote address and 2009 Matthew Vassar lecture on “Haiti, President Obama, and the African-world Psyche,” on Saturday, April 18, at the Taylor Hall Auditorium (Room 102), at 6:00 p.m.

 

--Panel discussions on a wide range of topics—featuring professors from institutions including University of Chicago, Wesleyan University, Rutgers University, and Middlebury College, as well as Vassar administrators, professors and students—will be held throughout the weekend.

 

Additionally, the history of Vassar's Africana Studies program will be chronicled through an exhibit on the first floor of Main Building. Curated by senior Africana Studies majors Kyle Nelson and Summer’s-Grace Green, the exhibit will be installed at sites of the historic 1969 takeover of Main Building that spurred the program.

 

“We have the opportunity to display our recognition and remembrance of Vassar’s past and the way that it continues to impact our present,” said Green. “The efforts of the students in 1969 demonstrated that Vassar was dedicated to appreciating students of all backgrounds and building a campus life around acceptance and inclusion.”

ABOUT THE AFRICANA STUDIES PROGRAM

For forty years, the faculty and students of the Africana Studies Program have helped Vassar move toward a more diverse and egalitarian college community.

 

The program began in response to the Civil Rights and Black Student Movements of the late 1960s. In 1969, thirty-four black female Vassar students occupied Main Building and demanded that the college create a curriculum space within the institution for teaching, researching, and discussing the experiences of peoples of the African Diaspora. 

 

Since then, the program has provided students with a comparative and scientific perspective in their approach to the study of the histories, politics, cultures, and experiences of people of African descent. Drawing from a wide range of faculty, Africana Studies offers a uniquely comprehensive interdisciplinary curriculum, covering fields such as art, geography, literature, political science, religion and sociology.

  

Individuals with disabilities requiring accommodations or information on accessibility should contact Campus Activities Office at (845) 437-5370. Without sufficient notice, appropriate space and/or assistance may not be available.

 

Vassar College is a highly selective, coeducational, independent, residential liberal arts college founded in 1861.

 

 



-- 
Emily Darrow
Media Relations Associate
Office of College Relations

Vassar College
Box 9, 124 Raymond Ave.
Poughkeepsie, NY 12604

Tel: 845.437.7690
Fax: 845.437.7239
emdarrow@vassar.edu www.vassar.edu



Back to top
| Back to home page
Video

White House Live Stream
LIVE VIDEO EVERY SATURDAY
alsharpton Rev. Al Sharpton
9 to 11 am EST
jjackson Rev. Jesse Jackson
10 to noon CST


Video

LIVE BROADCASTS
Sounds Make the News ®
WAOK-Urban
Atlanta - WAOK-Urban
KPFA-Progressive
Berkley / San Francisco - KPFA-Progressive
WVON-Urban
Chicago - WVON-Urban
KJLH - Urban
Los Angeles - KJLH - Urban
WKDM-Mandarin Chinese
New York - WKDM-Mandarin Chinese
WADO-Spanish
New York - WADO-Spanish
WBAI - Progressive
New York - WBAI - Progressive
WOL-Urban
Washington - WOL-Urban

Listen to United Natiosns News