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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Mar. 2, 2018
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| HCC Announces Inaugural Speaker for Presidential Lecture Series |
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WELDON, N.C. – Halifax Community College (HCC) is proud to announce the inaugural speaker for the Presidential Lecture Series. The first event will be held March 22 at 11 a.m. in the Dr. Ervin V. Griffin, Sr. Centre.
Dr. Kenneth Janken is a professor of African American and Diaspora studies at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, where he has been since 1991. Born and raised in Los Angeles, his family’s roots in California go back to the first years of the 20th century. He was educated entirely in public schools, and earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in history from Hunter College of the City University of New York and his Ph.D. in American history from Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. He is the author of three books, most recently The Wilmington Ten: Violence, Injustice, and the Rise of Black Politics in the 1970s (UNC Press, 2016).
His most recent book, The Wilmington Ten, tells the story of a statewide injustice that took place here in North Carolina. As it is described on the UNC Press website,
In February 1971, racial tension surrounding school desegregation in Wilmington, North Carolina, culminated in four days of violence and skirmishes between white vigilantes and black residents. The turmoil resulted in two deaths, six injuries, more than $500,000 in damage, and the firebombing of a white-owned store, before the National Guard restored uneasy peace. Despite glaring irregularities in the subsequent trial, ten young persons were convicted of arson and conspiracy and then sentenced to a total of 282 years in prison. They became known internationally as the Wilmington Ten. A powerful movement arose within North Carolina and beyond to demand their freedom, and after several witnesses admitted to perjury, a federal appeals court, also citing prosecutorial misconduct, overturned the convictions in 1980.
Janken will discuss his findings from his book, as well as incorporate history into the larger story of politics in the United States.
The event is free and open to the public. All are invited, and encouraged, to attend.
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Halifax Community
College's Mission
Halifax Community College strives to meet the
diverse needs of our community by providing
high-quality, accessible and affordable education
and services for a rapidly changing and globally
competitive marketplace.
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Media Contact: Molly Wallace, Director of Public Relations & Marketing, mwallace786@halifaxcc.edu, 252-538-4319 |
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