 uring
the dark days of the 1950s and early 60s, when segregation was the law
in many American communities, courageous civil rights workers risked their
lives for the rights of African Americans to freely integrate into all
aspects of American society. Those battles are now our part of our common
history, but has integration lived up to its promise? Is it the cure for
the racial wounds that have inflicted the United States since colonial
times? Wright State University's Seventh Annual National Conference on
the Future Shape of Black Religion will examine these issues and more when
it presents "Beyond the Integrationist Era: Progress or RegressionÓ
from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday, March 14, and from 8:30 a.m. to 3:15
p.m. on Saturday, March 15. The Friday session will be held in the Bethel
Baptist Church in Dayton and the Saturday session will take place in WSU's
Student Union Multipurpose Room. "This year's conference will focus
on where we are as a nation in the aftermath of the 1960s integration,Ó
said Paul Griffin, Ph.D., chair of the WSU Department of Religion and conference
organizer. "We will be looking at the hard questions such as: Has
integration worked? Can we make it work? Is it even possible in the U.S.?Ó
The two-day conference will feature guest lectures by nationally known
scholars Molefi Kete Asante, professor and chair of the Department of African
American Studies at Temple University, and the Rev. Frank Madison Reid
III, Ph.D., University Art Galleries as well as providing scholarships
for three WSU students. |
According to Craig Martin, coordinator of the University Galleries, Culture Works has made it possible for the galleries to create multimedia CD ROM programs that expand the scope of exhibitions. "With this new technology, made possible through a grant from Culture Works, we are able to put more images on a CD ROM than we can show in the gallery," said Martin. "It's given us the opportunity to bring a more diverse audience to the gallery and made us a leader in gallery technology." One of Culture Works' best bargains is the PASSPORT to arts and culture. This ticket discount card is given to those who contribute $52 or more annually and allows the PASSPORT holder to purchase tickets to most performances by the seven member groups at a two-for-one or discounted price. A $52 donation to Culture Works will pay for a pair of pointe shoes for a ballerina, or an acting workshop for middle school students, or subsidizing part of the ticket cost for the 15,000 children who attend the young people's concerts given by the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra every year. "The arts are the heart and soul of any community," said Perry Moore, dean of the College of Liberal Arts. "Thus, it is essential that we support Culture Works as it sustains all of the arts in the Miami Valley." |