Daryl Michael Scott writes:
Black
History Month this year was special. Besides our normal doings, we
participated TWICE in White House events. But first things first: The National Headquarters held the 87th
Annual Luncheon on February 23rd. Be sure to let people know that our
luncheon - established by Woodson - is the mother of all Black History
luncheons. Over 1000 people gathered to hear Mary Frances Berry, our
former Executive Council member and University of Pennsylvania
endowed-chair professor, give a provocative speech on the annual theme.
She challenged us to continue the tradition of making it necessary for
American presidents to do the right thing. Professor Berry, we heard you and appreciate your prodding us.
We
know that few members and friends can travel to DC for the luncheon,
but we always have members who come from across the country. President
Anita Shepard and J. Platt-Mims of the James Weldon Johnson Branch came
from Jacksonville. A group from Long Island, New York, were favorably
impressed and left with information on how to start a branch.
At
the Luncheon, we teamed with our sponsor, Farmers Insurance, to
recognize twenty women who are Living Legacies-people renowned for the
efforts in their communities. I must say that meeting twenty women who
have made a difference provides inspiration to keep our own work moving
forward. Special thanks to Louis Hicks, Valerie Maholmes, and the rest
of the Luncheon Committee for another great event.
In
the most pleasant surprise of the day, the National President of Omega
Phi Psi-Carter G. Woodson's fraternity-presented us with a $10,000 check
to carry the work forward. Click here for pictures from the luncheon http://www.asalh2013.photoherald.com/index.php/view_event.php
Now, about the White House
events: For the first time in our history, ASALH presented a scholarly
discussion of the National Annual Theme at the White House. On February
19th, Jelani Cobb of the University of
Connecticut, Edna Medford of Howard University, James B. Peterson of
Leigh University, and Kaye Whitehead of Loyola University Maryland gave
us insight on the Emancipation Proclamation and the March on Washington
under the skillful moderation of Claudrena Harold of the University of
Virginia. Additionally, Kenya King did a re-enactment of Lena Horne at
the historic event, and James A. Green, Mass Choir Director of the
Providence Baptist Church sang, "Lift Every Voice and Sing." I cannot
thank our participants enough for raising the bar on Black History
programming. Click here for pictures http://asalh.tumblr.com/.
On February 27th,
ASALH co-sponsored a Black History Month reception at the White House
at which President Barack Obama made remarks on the annual theme to an
audience that included a wide array of Americans from all walks of life,
including US Attorney General Eric Holder, sports greats Hank Aaron and
Magic Johnson, civil rights leaders Benjamin Jealous and Al Sharpton,
public intellectuals Michael Eric Dyson and Charles Ogletree,
entertainers Harry Belafonte, Phylicia Rashad, and Viveca Fox, the
educator Freeman A. Hrabowski III, educational advocate Arnold Mitchem,
and hundreds more. Our special guests were the editors of ASALH's
publications-Dean LaVonne I. Neal and Prof. Alisha Moore of the Black History Bulletin and Prof. Marilyn Thomas-Houston my senior co-editor of Fire!!!: The Multimedia Journal of Black Studies. We sorely missed Prof. V. P. Franklin, editor of the Journal of African American History, who
could not make a second
trip from California after attending the luncheon the week before. Our
agenda was to allow the editors to network with people who might learn
of the importance of our scholarly work. We'll see. Click here for
pictures http://www.facebook.com/pages/ASALH-Association-for-the-Study-of-African-American-Life-and-History/80203398563
How
did we succeed in connecting with the White House? It was through the
tireless efforts of two board members recruited to help us with our
public relations-Kenya King and Roy Betts. By reaching out to
non-academics who believe in our mission, we added to our collective
skill set and obtained an elusive goal.
Finally,
kudos to Sylvia Y. Cyrus and our headquarters staff for succeeding
despite being more overstretched than ever. Thanks to you all, ASALH has
started 2013 with a roar!!!
Sincerely,
Daryl Michael Scott
President
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