Phone: (305) 348-2232 Fax: (305) 348-3333
E-mail:FIUINFO@servms.fiu.edu
FIUıs African-New World Studies Program Hosts First Ella Baker/ Malcolm
X
Lecture
MIAMI (February 6, 1999) -- As part of Florida International
Universityıs
African-American Month celebration, the FIU African-New
World Studies Program
has selected Mary Frances Berry to speak during
the inaugural Ella
Baker-Malcolm X Lecture.
³As we celebrate Black History Month, it is
important to recognize that
Dr. Mary Frances Berryıs intellectual and
activist contributions, her
struggles and achievements are important for the
advancement of the
African-American community as a whole and African-American
women in
particular,² said Carole Boyce Davies, director of FIU African-New
World
Studies Program.
As part of the FIU African-New World Studies, Distinguished
Africana
Scholars Lecture Series, Berryıs lecture on ³The Disenfranchisement
of
African Americans Via the Criminal Justice System,² will take place
on
Friday, February 12, 7 p.m. at the Roz & Cal Kovens Conference
Center,
N.E. 151 Street & Biscayne Boulevard.
³Her lecture celebrates the legacies of Ella Baker and Malcolm X,
two
stellar figures who fought for the advancement of human rights
for
African-Americans and for human justice for all," said Dr. Boyce Davies.
Born in Nashville, Berry received her Ph.D. in history from
the
University of Michigan and JD degree from the University of Michigan
Law
School. Currently she is the Geraldine R. Segal Professor of
American Social Thought at the University of Pennsylvania where
she
teaches history and law.
Berry has served on the U.S. Commission on
Civil Rights, as well as
serving as the Assistant Secretary for Education in
the U.S. Department
of Health, Education, and Welfare.
Berry has
received 27 honorary doctoral degrees as well as numerous
awards for her
public service and scholarly activities.
The author of several books, Berry is recognized as one of the 75
women
included in ³I Dream A World: Portraits of Black Women Who
Changed
America.² Sienna College Research Institute and the Women's Hall of
Fame
designated her one of ³America's Women of the Century.²
The lecture is free and open to the public. For more information call
the
African-New World Studies Program at 305-919-5521.
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PRESS CONTACT:
Rolando Irizarry, (305)348-2234