By Lanita Withers Goins, University Relations
Contact: (336) 334-3890
Posted 3-19-09
GREENSBORO, N.C. – Authors Curtis Austin and Ernest Hill will be the keynote speakers at the annual Conference on African American Culture and Experience (CACE) on April 2-3 at UNCG.
This year’s program will focus on the intersection of race, gender and politics. CACE is sponsored by the African American Studies Program and co-sponsored by the Office of the Provost, the College of Arts and Sciences, and the Department of History.
The event is open to the public and the cost is $10. Enrollment by the March 27 early registration deadline is highly encouraged. Registration is available online at www.uncg.edu/afs/caceregistration2009.html.
This year’s theme is inspired by the rise of African-American influence in politics, said Dr. Tara T. Green, director of the African American Studies Program. There are more African-American politicians now than any other time in history, Green said, noting Barack Obama’s historic election as the nation’s first African-American president and the recent election of Michael Steele to head the Republican National Committee.
“We want to have these conversations to think back historically, look at where we are and where we should be going,” she said.
Austin will give a 3:30 p.m. lecture titled “The Politics of Race and Gender in the Black Panther Party” on Friday, April 3, in the Elliott University Center auditorium. He is an associate professor of history and director of the Center for Black Studies at the University of Southern Mississippi and the author of “Up Against the Wall: Violence and the Making and Unmaking of the Black Panther Party”.
Hill will read from his works during the conference’s Literary Café at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, April 2, in the Elliott University Center’s Multicultural Resource Center. Hill is the author of five novels, including his latest, “A Person of Interest.” Poet Demetrius Noble and novelist Ashanti White are also scheduled to participate.
The conference will feature several panels, including a discussion on politics and black faith traditions at 1:30 p.m. Friday, April 3, followed by a discussion on the same topic with local faith leaders beginning at 2:30 p.m. in the Elliott University Center.
For more information on the conference, contact the African American Studies Program office at (336) 334-5507 or email afs@uncg.edu.
