Lander University will continue its Race and Identity Dialogue through the month of March, with three virtual sessions for students, faculty, staff and members of the public.
The first session, titled "Letters on Blackness: Exploring African American Literature," will take place on Tuesday, March 9 at 5:30 p.m. The session will include presentations by Dr. James Anderson, associate professor of English and English education at Lander and Rev. Dr. Wallis C. Baxter, III, adjunct assistant professor of English at Gettysburg College and focus on works by James Baldwin, Ta-Nehisi Coates and Ariel Felton. Rev. Alexis Carter Thomas of Lander will serve as moderator.
The second session, titled "African American Voices in Poetry," will take place on Thursday, March 11 at 5:30 p.m., and will be led by Starlyn "Dusty" McGee-Anderson, lecturer of English at Lander. The event will explore the poetry of celebrated African American poets, including Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen, James Baldwin, Marilyn Nelson, Natasha Tretheway and Gwendolyn Brooks.
The final session of the month, titled "Parenting and Telling Stories to Children," will take place on Thursday, March 25 at 5:30 p.m., and will be moderated by Dr. Shaunette Parker, visiting lecturer of psychology at Lander. Speakers will include Mamie Nicholson, president of the Self Family Foundation, and Dr. Demario Watts, director of Student Activities at Lander University. The session aims to discuss the nuances involved in parenting children of color, and will illustrate how to appropriately talk to children about racism.
These sessions are part of a semester-long series of virtual discussions bringing together scholars, civic and campus leaders, and students for the purpose of encouraging dialogue about race and identity. The series is supported by funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities through a grant from South Carolina Humanities.
All sessions will be virtual and hosted via Crowdcast. These events are free and open to the community. To register, please visit www.lander.edu/ridialogue. Once registered, the Crowdcast platform will allow participants to add the event to their personal electronic calendars.
South Carolina Humanities
The mission of South Carolina Humanities is to enrich the cultural and intellectual lives of all South Carolinians. This not-for-profit organization presents and/or supports literary initiatives, lectures, exhibits, festivals, publications, oral history projects, videos and other humanities-based experiences that reach more than 250,000 citizens annually. South Carolina Humanities receives funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities as well as corporate, foundation and individual donors. It is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors comprised of community leaders from throughout the state.