Program of Events
A Celebration of Black Alumni at Alumni Weekend
October 27–30, 2011
Ongoing
Icons of the Civil Rights Movement by Pamela Chatterton-Purdy
Currently on view in the School of Theology library during public hours.
School of Theology Library
The School of Theology invites you to view an exhibition of civil rights icons that influenced people at Boston University and around the world with their strength and perseverance. The exhibition focuses on famous civil rights leaders and events that shaped the 1950s and 1960s movement.
The oil paintings, created on gold and red carved wood, are designed to look like religious icons. Rosa Parks, Medgar Evers, and Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. are among those depicted by Cape Cod artist Pamela Chatterton-Purdy. The works are displayed throughout the school in Rooms B-23, 325 and the School of Theology Library through March 2012.
Complimentary
Thursday, October 27
The King Legacy: A Personal Journey
4:30–6 p.m.
Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center
Join Walter E. Fluker, the School of Theology’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Professor of Ethical Leadership, in exploring King’s (GRS’55, Hon.’59) role in the civil rights movement. Delve into the archives that King presented to BU for safekeeping, which include more than 83,000 artifacts from his student years at BU, his 1959 trip to India, the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.
Complimentary
Reception for the 2011 Lowell Lecture
6–7:15 p.m.
George Sherman Union, Terrace Lounge
Mix and mingle with fellow alumni, including this year’s speaker, civil rights leader and the man Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, on the eve of his assassination, called “the leading non-violent theorist in the world,” James Morris Lawson (STH’60). Enjoy conversation and hot hors d’oeuvres, as well as a cash bar.
Complimentary
2011 Lowell Lecture: The Living Legacy
Made possible by generous support from the Lowell Institute
7:30–9 p.m.
George Sherman Union, Conference Auditorium
Civil rights leader Reverend Dr. James Morris Lawson (STH’60) will narrate the struggles and unrecognized complexities of the Civil Rights Movement, with particular attention paid to the practice and power of nonviolent resistance. He will draw on his experiences studying the principles of non-violent resistance as modeled and taught by Mohandas Gandhi and his personal history of employing these tactics, which in 1951 earned him a 14-month stay in prison for refusing to report for the draft.
Complimentary
Friday, October 28
Ethics of Leadership
A Howard Thurman Center and MLK Leadership Seminar
1:30–3 p.m.
Howard Thurman Center
Walter Earl Fluker (GRS’88), the Martin Luther King, Jr. Professor of Ethical Leadership and editor of the Howard Thurman Papers Project, in collaboration with Katherine Kennedy, director of the Howard Thurman Center, will lead a seminar for alumni seeking to learn more about upholding to the highest ethical standards as leaders.
Complimentary
Black Alumni Welcome Reception
5:30–7 p.m.
Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center
Experience an inviting cocktail reception while perusing the exhibits in the University’s archives—including the Martin Luther King, Jr. Collection. Cocktails and hors d’oeuvres will be served.
Complimentary
Howard Zinn Memorial Lecture Featuring Bob Herbert
7–8:30 p.m.
George Sherman Union, Metcalf Ballroom
Hear from veteran former New York Times journalist Bob Herbert at one of the College of Arts & Sciences most distinguished events of the year.
Complimentary
Saturday, October 29
Stirring the Pot: A History of African Cuisine
A Back to Class Session
11 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
808 Comm. Ave., Gastronomy Test Kitchen
Join Jim McCann, professor of history, for a lecture and hands-on demonstration of African cooking.
Cost: $15
African American Studies Program Welcome Back Reception and Open House
1–3 p.m.
138 Mountfort Street, Brookline, Massachusetts 02446
Alumni, students, parents, and friends, enjoy a welcome back reception at the African American Studies Program building with Linda Heywood, Director of the African American Studies Program. Connect with faculty and alumni and find out what the Program is up to forty years after its inception. Refreshments will be served.
Complimentary
A Presentation and Book Signing by Joseph M. Cronin
Reforming Boston Schools, 1930 to the Present: Overcoming Corruption and Racial Segregation (Palgrave MacMillan, 2008)
2–4 p.m.
Barnes & Noble @ BU
In 2006, Boston Public Schools won the Eli Broad Prize for the Most Improved Urban School System in America. But from the 1930s into the 1970s, the city’s schools succumbed to scandals, including the sale of jobs and racial segregation. Cronin’s book describes the black voices before and after court decisions and the struggles of Boston teachers before and after collective bargaining. The contributions of universities, corporations, and political leaders to restore academic achievement are evaluated by one who observed Boston schools for forty years.
Complimentary
Fall Fringe Festival: Intimate Apparel, by Lynn Nottage
2-4 p.m
BU Theatre, Lane-Comley Studio 210, 264 Huntington Ave.
In turn-of-the-century New York, a talented African-American seamstress creates lingerie for Fifth Avenue ladies and ladies of the night, in a poignant exploration of race and class in America. Box Office: www.bostontheatrescene.com or 617-933-8600
Cost: $7
The Big Payback: The History of the Business of Hip-Hop
A Back to Class Session
3–4 p.m.
Location TBD
Learn from hip-hop veteran and author Dan Charnas (CAS’89) about the evolution of this now ubiquitous genre, from its early days in Harlem in the 1960s, and hear stories of his work with Rick Rubin, famed producer and cofounder of Def Jam Recordings.
Cost: $5
Black Alumni Celebration & Recognition Dinner
8 p.m.
George Sherman Union, Metcalf Ballroom, 775 Commonwealth Ave.
Round up your family to celebrate the collective history of black alumni at Boston University. Enjoy student-provided entertainment, as well as a sumptuous buffet dinner featuring an array of salads, pasta, entrées, and mouthwatering desserts. Beer, wine, and soft drinks are included in the ticket price; cash premium bar service will be available. Isabel Wilkerson, former national correspondent and bureau chief at The New York Times, and the first black woman to win a Pulitzer Prize for journalism, will discuss her new book, “The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration.”
Cost: $30
Sunday, October 30
Jazz Brunch
9–11 a.m.
George Sherman Union
Say farewell to fellow alumni at this brunch celebration, featuring a live performance to celebrate the African American experience at Boston University.
Cost: $20
