The work of composer William Grant Still will be featured in an illustrated lecture by his daughter and a concert by College of Musical Arts faculty and guests on Feb. 9.

Dyson talk highlights Black History Month

The University will mark Black History Month with an extensive series of events continuing through March. Films, lectures, discussion groups, concerts and theater will be featured.

Dr. Michael Eric Dyson, a widely recognized professor, ordained Baptist minister, writer, media figure and cutural critic, will be the keynote speaker for the fifth annual Black Issues Conference Saturday (Feb. 7). Titled “Definition Hip-Hop,” the conference will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in 101 Olscamp Hall.

Dyson was named by Essence magazine as one of the nation's "50 most inspiring African-Americans." His books and articles have won several awards, and his writing has been published on the op-ed pages of leading newspapers, including the New York Times and the Washington Post. He has also appeared on talk shows, from "Charlie Rose" to "Politically Incorrect."

His groundbreaking book, Making Malcolm: The Myth and Meaning of Malcolm X, was selected as a Notable Book by both the New York Times and the Philadelphia Inquirer. His biography, I May Not Get There With You: The True Martin Luther King, Jr., was a national bestseller and was nominated for the NAACP Image Award. Another of his books, Holler If You Hear Me: Searching For Tupac Shakur, also a national bestseller, was nominated as "One of the Best Books for Youth" by the American Library Association, named as "One of the Best Books of 2001" by Publisher's Weekly, and honored as "the Number One Best-Selling Book About Black Studies in 2001" by Amazon.com. His most recent book, Why I Love Black Women, documents the lives of African-American women, including gospel great Vanessa Bell Armstrong and Congresswoman Barbara Lee.

Dr. Dyson is a weekly newspaper columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times and a weekly radio commentator for Tavis Smiley's National Public Radio program. Hailing from the ghetto streets of Detroit, he was a teen father who lived on welfare and started college at 21, before going on to garner a Ph.D. from Princeton University, and teaching at Brown University, the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and Columbia University. He is currently the Avalon Professor in Humanities at the University of Pennsylvania.

The cost to attend the Black Issues Conference is $7 for students and $10 for the public. Contact the Center for Multicultural & Academic Initiatives at 2-2642 for more information.

On Feb. 28 and 29, the center will host its annual dinner theater. This year’s theme is “80s Thriller,” featuring University faculty, staff and students singing and dancing to music from that decade. Performances are 7-10 p.m. Feb. 28 and 3-6 p.m. Feb. 29 in the Lenhart Grand Ballroom of the Bowen-Thompson Student Union. Tickets cost $15 each and may be reserved by calling the center at 2-2642.

Next Monday (Feb. 9) “The Life and Music of William Grant Still: Dean of African-American Composers” will feature a slide show and lecture by Still’s daughter, Judith Anne Still, at 6:30 p.m., followed by a concert of his music at 8 p.m. in Bryan Recital Hall of the Moore Musical Arts Center. In “A Voice High Sounding,” Judith Anne Still will explore the career of her father (1895-1978), who was the first African-American to conduct a major orchestra, the first to have an opera performed by a major opera company, and the first to have an opera performed on national television. Performing in the free concert will be 15 members of the College of Musical Arts and several guest artists, including Greg Kostraba of WGTE-FM. The event is sponsored by the College of Musical Arts and WGTE-FM public radio.

"Dutchman,” by Amiri Baraka, and “Sally’s Rape,” by Robbie McCauley, two one-act plays exploring the African-American experience, will be on stage Feb. 12-15 in the Joe E. Brown Theatre, sponsored by the Department of Theatre and Film. For ticket information, call the box office at 2-2719.

Also included in February’s events are two noontime brown bag lunches, “Mighty Times: The Legacy of Rosa Parks” on Wednesday (Feb. 4) and “African-American Women and Eating Disorders” on Feb. 25, at the Women’s Center, 107 Hanna Hall.

Other highlights of Black History Month are two lectures:
• La Mesa Oblicua will present retired ethnic studies faculty member Jack A. Taylor in “A Tribute to Black History Month” at 12:30 p.m. Feb. 11 in 101 Olscamp Hall.
• Shannon Jackson, an English department faculty member at the University of California-Berkeley, will explore “Racial Performativity and Anti-Racist Performance” as part of the Provost’s Lecture Series, hosted by the Institute for the Study of Culture and Society. Her talk will begin at 7:15 p.m. Feb. 24 in 202B Bowen-Thompson Student Union. Call 2-0585 for more details.

The BGSU Festival Series resumes on March 4 with Imani Winds, a five-member woodwind ensemble of African-American and Latino musicians who will give the Louise F. Rees Memorial Concert at 8 p.m. in Kobacker Hall of the Moore Musical Arts Center. Tickets, at $32, $24 and $16, are available by calling the box office at 2-8171. The quintet’s March 2-4 visit to Bowling Green will also include a community mini-residency of educational programs.

Finally, on March 19, the African Studies Colloquium will feature Endeavor shuttle astronaut Mae Jemison as the keynote speaker. Tickets to attend the 12:30 p.m. luncheon in the Lenhart Grand Ballroom are $8 and may be reserved by calling 2-7814.

See the February and March issues of Monitor for a full and updated listing of Black History Month events.