Tag: Wilbur N. Daniel African American Cultural Center
School closings force reschedule of 8th Annual Black History Bowl
The Eighth Annual Black History Bowl at Austin Peay State University has been rescheduled for 5 p.m., Feb. 1, in the Music/Mass Communication Building’s Mabry Concert Hall. The event, a scholastic competition open to teams from local schools, was originally scheduled for Jan. 25, but inclement weather and local school closings made it necessary to reschedule.
“The purpose of the bowl is to build a sense of collegiality among students. “It gives them an opportunity to have a high command of knowledge and to apply that knowledge,” Dr. Barbara Peterson, associate professor of education, said.
The APSU Student Tennessee Education Association (STEA) club is partnering with APSU’s Wilbur N. Daniel African American Cultural Center, the APSU ROTC program and the College of Education’s Project MORE Scholars to host the event, and NewsChannel5 reporter Marcus Washington is scheduled to serve as the event’s emcee.
Local schools received study packets for the event, and the scholastic bowl will have teams facing off on different topics of black history, such as arts and entertainment, biography, history, military history, science, sports and facts and trivia.
Peterson also said the event helps develop a deeper cultural awareness among students in the community, as well as allowing them to cultivate collaborative skills and teamwork strategies.
For more information on the Black History Bowl, contact Peterson at petersonb@apsu.edu.
“Dancing to a Black Man’s Tune” author speaks at APSU
Dr. Susan Curtis, Professor/Director – American Studies, Purdue University
The public is invited to a presentation by Dr. Susan Curtis, professor of American Studies and Director of Interdisciplinary Studies at Purdue University, on October 18. The presentation is free and open to the public.
Dr. Curtis will speak on “The Politics of Memory: Archives, Historic Preservation, and Lessons of the Past,” at the Morgan University Center Ballroom B/C from 7-8 p.m.
Dr. Curtis is the author of “Dancing to a Black Man’s Tune – A Life of Scott Joplin” and “Colored Memories – A biographer’s Quest for the Elusive Lester A. Walton.” She teaches mostly graduate-level courses in U.S. cultural history, American Studies, and the history of religion in America.
In recent years, her chief project in the classroom and in research has been to integrate the meaning of American culture in multiracial and multiethnic society. She seeks ways to understand cultural collaboration and conflict across racial boundaries and to expose the power of culture to delimit opportunities, expression, acceptance, and citizenship.
Dr. Curtis’ APSU visit is sponsored by the Wilbur N. Daniel African American Cultural Center in collaboration with the Woodward Library Society and the APSU Honors Program.
USCT Living History Association annual conference converges on Clarksville
The Greater Clarksville Community is invited to a reception honoring the United States Colored Troops Living History Association. The reception will be held October 19, 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the Wilbur N. Daniel African American Cultural Center. Civil War scholars Hari Jones and Dr. David H. Slay will speak at the reception. Jones is one of the foremost authorities on the role of African Americans in the Civil War. Dr. SLay manages the USS Cairo site at Vicksburg. Their talk is scheduled for 1:15 p.m. The reception is free and open to the public.
On October 19, re-enactors will visit local schools to discuss the role of USCT in the Civil War and the everyday life of Civil War soldiers. Scheduled schools are Northeast Middle and High Schools at 9 and 10 a.m.; Tabernacle Christian School at 11 a.m. and Rossview High School throughout the morning.
Dr. Slay will conduct the afternoon in the Montgomery Room of the Riverview Inn at 2 p.m. on October 20. He will speak on “United States Colored Troops in the Middle Mississippi Valley.”
The conference concludes with a banquet on October 20 at the Morgan University Center. The banquet will be at 6:30 p.m. Hari Jones, assistant director and curator of the African American Civil War Freedom Foundation and Museum is the keynote speaker. The banquet is open to the public.
United States Colored Troop re-enactors along with local Civil War re-enactors will gather at the APSU McCord parking lot (College Street) at 5:30 p.m. to form a procession to the Morgan University Center for the banquet. The banquet signifies the conclusion of the conference.
Banquet tickets are $25 ($20 for USCTLHA members) and are available through the Mt. Olive Cemetery Historical Preservation Society by calling Geneva Bell (931) 552-8026 or Beth Kasper (931) 387-3715. Tickets are also available online at www.artsandheritage.us. (Online ticket orders carry a $2.00 shipping/handling fee.)
These events are sponsored by the Mount Olive Cemetery Historical Society, APSU Phi Alpha Theta History Honor Society, the Wilbur N. Daniel African American Cultural Center, AmVets Post # 78, the Clarksville/Montgomery County Arts & Heritage Development Council, the Clarksville/Montgomery County Sesquicentennial Commission, the Office of APSU President Tim Hall and Walmart Supercenter – Wilma Rudolph Blvd.
“Charity starts at home” food/hygiene drive at AACC
The Wilbur N. Daniel African American Cultural Center announces its Food and Hygiene Drive. The drive is set to run from October 10 to November 9. The center is conducting the drive in collaboration with the APSU Food Pantry.
APSU students making donations are eligible for a $100 Governor’s Square Mall Gift Certificate grand prize. Each 10 non-perishable food/hygiene items earns one ticket in the drawing. Faculty, staff and community members are eligible for a gift bag option.
All non-perishable items and hygiene must be dropped off at the Wilbur N. Daniel African American Cultural Center (Clement 120) between 8 a.m. – 6 p.m., Monday and Tuesday. 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m., Wednesday thru Friday.
‘I Am A Man’ opens ‘Hot Topic’ presentation series
Austin Peay State University African American Studies launches its 2012 ‘Hot Topic’ presentation and discussion series on October 11. The Wilbur N.Daniel African American Cultural Center, (Clement 120), presents ‘Hot Topic: I Am A Man, The State of Black Male Identity, 6-8 p.m.
This is the frist of the 2012 series of presentations. Assistant Professor Johnny Jones will chair this presentation and open discussion.
The Hot Topic sessions are designed to stimulate thought, review and discussion of topics of self-empowerment, self-improvement and advocacy within the community.
Free refreshments will be served.
Wilbur N. Daniel African American Cultural Center serves as a host site for the presentations in coordination with the APSU African American Studies Program.
For more info, call the Wilbur N. Daniel African Cultural Center at (931) 221-7120 or email: aacc@apsu.edu.
APSU AACC seeks scholarship, grad ceremony funding support
Several years ago, a group of Austin Peay State University graduates endowed the African American Alumni Scholarship Fund with the aim of providing African-American students with the opportunity to earn a college education. After a successful initial investment, financial support for the scholarship has slowly dissipated. For the last few years, the scholarship has sat dormant, unable to provide assistance for deserving students.
Now all that is about to change. Earlier this year, the APSU Advancement Office suggested that the Wilbur N. Daniel African American Cultural Center assume leadership of the scholarship. The two departments have now embarked on an aggressive new fundraising campaign to return the scholarship to viability.
Wilbur N. Daniel African American Cultural Center at APSU
“The center’s advisory committee is actually starting the criteria development process for this scholarship. “Right now, we’re in the fundraising process. And my hope is that the mentality will start to be as we graduate students and they become alumni that they will invest back into this program,” Henderson Hill III, director of the cultural center, said.
In July, the center sent out pledge cards to hundreds of African-American alumni and supporters of the center. But Hill specified that the scholarship fund provides a worthy opportunity for anyone looking to support APSU.
“We want friends of the center, friends of the institution, former alumni, not just African-Americans, but those who just understand the importance of this type of work to help give back. “We’ve had some pretty positive responses, he said.
“The ceremony is for all African-American students who wish to participate, the same way military students, nursing students and business students have their own recognition ceremonies. “Our graduates, some of them are first generation and for them to have their parents and even grandparents there is a really, really big deal. Some are nontraditional, and for their children to see them go through this process is very heartwarming,” Hill said.
- The ceremony is free for the students, and they receive complimentary Kente stoles to wear at graduation. Last spring, about 50 students participated in the event. As more students graduate, this becomes a financial struggle for the center to host.
Kente Stole like those given at African American Graduation Recognition Ceremony
“We’re able to do it more effectively if we have more support. “The students don’t have to pay for anything. We do the whole program, we pay for the people on the program, and we pay for the reception for them and their family. We have a photographer. We pay for all that. It helps when we can offset the cost with some type of financial support,” Hill said.
“When alumni and friends donate to the African American Scholarship and the Recognition Ceremony it shows the value they place on the educational experience at Austin Peay. “Your support is an investment that will help students achieve their hopes and dreams now and in the future. I hope that everyone will take the opportunity today to change a student’s life by making a donation,” Kimberly Scott, APSU director of annual giving, said.
For more information on the ceremony, the scholarship fund, or to make a donation, contact the WNDAACC at www.apsu.edu/aacc.
APSU welcomes Peay Read Keynote Speaker Wes Moore
The Peay Read Student Reading Initiative welcomes Wes Moore, author of “The Other Wes Moore,” to the main campus on September 27. The author will be the celebrity guest at a ‘Meet & Greet’ at the Wilbur N. Daniels African American Cultural Center, 3 – 4 p.m., 120 Clement Bldg.
Moore’s novel tells the story of two boys who share the same name, born a year apart and live blocks apart from each other. Both boys grow up fatherless in similar Baltimore neighborhoods and experience rough childhoods and both had run-ins with the police.Yet one becomes an admired personality while the other ends up in prison. How is this possible?
In alternating narratives that take readers from heart-wrenching losses to moments of surprising redemption, “The Other Wes Moore” tells the story of a generation of boys trying to find their way in a hostile world.
New students this fall beginning their APSU college careers will have this book on their reading list. The Peay Read is designed to provide a unifying experience and contribute to the academic experiences of freshmen students. Additionally, the reading program also offers opportunities for the entire campus community.
Moore will speak at 7 p.m. in the Dunn Center at APSU. The talk is free and open to the public. A book signing will follow the talk.
W. N. Daniel African American Cultural Center launches annual fundraiser campaign
Wilbur N. Daniel African American Cultural Center at APSU
The Wilbur N. Daniels African American Cultural Center at Austin Peay State University marks the launch of its annual fundraiser campaign. The African American Cultural Center enjoys the distinction of being the first formal cultural awareness center of its kind on an college campus in the United States. Since its inception, it has fostered the greater awareness and appreciation of the uniqueness of the African American experience, celebrating the achievements of the ancestors of African Americans as well African Americans themselves.
“The Wilbur N. Daniel African American Cultural Center at Austin Peay State University continues to enhance students’ knowledge of the culture and heritage that is unique to the African American experience. The Cultural Center celebrates the achievements of African Americans by providing the opportunity for students to gain the knowledge and appreciation for the history and culture we all share,” said Henderson Hill, Center Director.
The Cultural Center provides academic, cultural, personal and social support. It is a place where students can come together, study and form lifelong bonds. Students that attend APSU pursue a variety of majors and because of the family-like support system that the Cultural Center fosters, it enables them to succeed.
“The African American Alumni Scholarship and the African American Graduate Recognition Ceremony are two ways that the Cultural Center continues to strive for excellence. These initiatives help current students succeed in the pursuit of their education and it provides adoration upon graduation,” noted Director Hill.
The Wilbur N. Daniels African American Cultural Center Fundrasing Campaign hopes that alumni, friends, community members and stakeholders alike will consider helping the Cultural Center make a difference by contributing today. Contributions can be made online at www.apsu.edu/advancement/giving and enter AACC-Scholarship or AACC-Recognition in the gift designation box.
Please be sure to visit the Center online at http://www.apsu.edu./aacc where you can obtain information on the center’s programs and see the calendar of events. Don’t forget the ongoing Summer Food Drive- make a donations soon. Thank you in advance for your support.
On Facebook, friend the center: www.facebook.com/AACCAPSU.
For more info, visit the website or call 931-221-7120.
Family donates Posey artwork to W.N.D. African American Cultural Center
Marvin Posey, artist
The painter Marvin Posey was one of the most promising young artists to emerge from Tennessee in many years. His work has appeared in major galleries nationwide and is included in the private collections of individuals such as former President Bill Clinton and former Vice President Al Gore. But in 2003, at the age of 38, Posey died of a massive heart attack.
Since his untimely passing, Posey’s family has donated several of his celebrated works to his alma mater, Austin Peay State University. And a recent gift of three paintings to the school’s Wilbur N. Daniel African American Cultural Center will now create a centralized spot for art enthusiasts and community members to view his works.
“We have these pieces donated by Marvin Posey’s family, and another on loan from the library. “We’re coordinating to structure a Marvin Posey area in the Center where we’ll have four pieces on display,” Henderson Hill, AACC director, said.
The new area will join an already impressive gallery space within the Center. Sculptures and paintings by both amateurs and professional artists line the walls, along with works brought from Africa by alumni and faculty. Shortly after the donation of the Posey pieces, the center received another notable gift by local artist and APSU alumnus Howard Brown.
Brown previously donated an extraordinary marble and wood sculpture, titled “John 10:11,” to the cultural center. That was 12 years ago. Earlier this spring, he stopped by campus to talk with Hill about the work, when he offered to give the center another sculpture.
“He pulls out an iPhone and says, ‘Here’s the artwork I’ve done. “I picked one out and he said, ‘OK, I’ll bring it back.’ An hour later, he brings it by,” Hill recalled.
That piece, titled “John 14:26,” is a striking black granite sculpture now on display in a glass case within the center. Hill hopes these new works will motivate members of the local community to visit the center.
“We want people to know we have them and come and look at them,” he said.
Information on the Center, such as hours of operation and a listing of artworks in its collection, is available online at www.apsu.edu/aacc.
APSU Library to host “Lincoln: The Constitution and the Civil War”
The Felix G. Woodward Library at Austin Peay State University has been selected as one of 200 libraries in the U.S. to host a traveling panel exhibition created and funded by the National Constitution Center, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the American Library Association. APSU is at the tail-end of the tour, and will not host the exhibit until 2015.
Using the U.S. Constitution as its cohesive thread, “Lincoln: The Constitution and the Civil War” offers a fresh and innovative perspective on the Civil War that brings into focus the constitutional crises at the heart of this great conflict.
The exhibition identifies three crises—the secession of the Southern states, slavery and wartime civil liberties—and explores how Lincoln sought to meet these political and constitutional challenges.
The exhibition will tour throughout the U.S. from September 2011 through May 2015, and each library will host the exhibition for a period of six weeks. Each site will hold public humanities programs related to the exhibition and will be awarded a grant of $750 to provide a reception and purchase marketing materials.
APSU faculty members from the departments of history and philosophy, political science, languages and literature, music, and theatre and dance will participate as program presenters. The program is co-sponsored by the Felix G. Woodward Library and the Wilbur N. Daniel African American Cultural Center.
For more information, contact the Woodward Library, 931-221-7346.
