President Sorensen and the African American Studies Program will commemorate the 40th anniversary of the desegregation of the University with two events Sept. 11.
A roundtable discussion on “The State of African American Studies” will be held from 1 to 3 p.m. in Lumpkin Auditorium on the eighth floor of the Moore School of Business. The University will sponsor a celebration of the desegregation of USC from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Capstone Campus Room. Both programs are free and open to the public.
On Sept. 11, 1963, Henrie Montieth Treadwell, James Solomon, and Robert Anderson became the first African-American students to enroll at USC since Reconstruction.
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| Valinda Littlefield |
"Part of the reason for the celebration is to get students involved and to help them understand the history, the struggle, and the importance of what these people did,” said Valinda Littlefield, an assistant professor in the history department and in the African American Studies Program.
“Students think things now are the way they’ve always been, but they need to be reminded that 40 years really isn’t that long. Students think it’s ancient history, but it’s not. It just happened.”
At the roundtable, speakers will examine specifically USC’s African American Studies Program. “They’ll address strong points or weak links,” Littlefield said. “USC’s program is 31 years old. We’re at that critical juncture where we need to think about moving to a higher level.”
The speakers will talk about their specific areas and how they fit into African American Studies. They also will address how the program can make links with other departments on campus. A question-and-answer session will follow the discussion. Speakers will include:
- James Anderson, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, who will discuss African-American education
- Randall Burkett, Emory University, who will talk about preserving African-American documents and materials
- Trudier Harris-Lopez, UNC at Chapel Hill, who will address links between African-American studies and literature
- Robert Pratt, University of Georgia, who will discuss oral history
- Deborah Gray White, Rutgers University, who will look at connections between African-American studies and people of color in other countries.
“We want to get a dialogue going and talk about how we take advantage of all these wonderful, rich resources we have here at USC and to look at where we want to go and what’s the most logical way to get there,” Littlefield said.
The evening program will feature people who were involved in the desegregation of USC on Sept. 11, 1963. In addition to Treadwell and Solomon, speakers will include Dan Carter, history; Judge Jasper Cureton; I.S. Leevy Johnson, a lawyer; and Judge Matthew Perry.
Speakers will discuss their experiences 40 years ago and then answer prepared questions. Following the discussion, they will answer questions from the audience. A reception with jazz by Skipp Pearson and Jazzology will follow.
“We’ll videotape the events and interview people involved in the desegregation individually and someday, hopefully, put together a documentary on the 1963 desegregation of USC,” Littlefield said.
“It’s important for the University to have this commemoration, especially because of the period in which it took place,” said Cleveland L. Sellers Jr., director of the African American Studies Program. “1963 was the heart of protest activity with the March on Washington taking place on Aug. 28. Just a couple of weeks later, the desegregation took place here at USC. It’s important to focus attention on those events so that the younger generation will know the positive aspects that followed such as equal employment opportunities.”
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The first African-American students to enroll at USC since Reconstruction walk on campus Sept. 11, 1963.
