Events to examine future of African American studies

The department of African American studies will present two events March 6 as part of the Grace Holt Memorial Celebration, an annual speaker series commemorating the professor who founded UIC’s black studies program — which later became the department of African American studies.

Events include a Legacy Luncheon with Greg Gaither, founder of the Illinois African American Juvenile Justice Center, and Nakisha Hobbs, principal and co-founder of Village Leadership Academy. The 2017 Grace Holt student awards will be presented at this event, which starts at noon in the UIC African American Cultural Center, second floor, Addams Hall.

“The Future of African American Studies,” a roundtable discussion of African American scholars, begins at 4:30 p.m. in the Residents’ Dining Hall, Jane Addams Hull-House Museum. Speakers include Christopher Cameron, associate professor of history at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte and president and founder of the African American Intellectual Historical Society, and Aisha Finch, associate professor of gender studies and African American studies at UCLA. Roderick Ferguson, UIC professor of African American and gender and women’s studies, will serve as moderator. Audience discussion and reception will follow.

Admission is free and open to the public.

For information, call (312) 996-2950.