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Kristina García
News Officer
klg@upenn.edu
Africana Studies
African Americans have been blocked from voting, but the Black vote is not a ‘bloc’
African Americans have been blocked from voting, but the Black vote is not a ‘bloc’
Black History Month’s theme for 2020 is African Americans and the Vote. Three Penn scholars define what the “Black vote” means when viewed through history, and what it doesn’t mean when viewed as an indivisible bloc.
Exhibition showcases the brilliance of Black women writers
Exhibition showcases the brilliance of Black women writers
A major exhibition and symposium organized by two Penn graduate students highlighting African American women literature is open in the Penn Libraries’ Kamin Gallery.
‘FACES’ captures, not defines, Black identity on campus
‘FACES’ captures, not defines, Black identity on campus
Sophomore Hadja Diallo and Senior Christine Olagun-Samuel published the inaugural issue of Faces of Black Penn on behalf of the Black Student League, a new magazine that features the diversity inherent in the Black campus experience.
Angela Davis ‘refuses to give up’
Angela Davis ‘refuses to give up’
Angela Davis and Gina Dent joined Margo Natalie Crawford of the Center for Africana Studies for this year’s Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Lecture in Social Justice.
The 25th annual MLK symposium
The 25th annual MLK symposium
Across campus, students, faculty, and staff will gather for the 25th annual Commemorative Symposium honoring the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. from Jan. 15 through Feb. 1.
Contemporary art enhances Penn Museum’s Africa Galleries
Contemporary art enhances Penn Museum’s Africa Galleries
New installations showcase the diversity and artistry of modern culture in dialogue with historic artifacts.
Herman Beavers’ balancing act of creativity and educational innovation
Herman Beavers’ balancing act of creativity and educational innovation
The professor of English and Africana studies is defined by his artistic curiosity and commitment to community building as a teacher and mentor.
Penn Museum’s transformation revealed
Penn Museum’s transformation revealed
The main level reopens after a historic renovation featuring the relocated sphinx and completely reimagined Africa and Mexico/Central America galleries.
‘School year’s resolutions’
‘School year’s resolutions’
Here, a collection of Penn faculty and students share some of their goals for the 2019-20 academic year, plus a quote that's keeping them motivated.
Penn remembers and celebrates Toni Morrison
Penn remembers and celebrates Toni Morrison
The Penn community recalls the life and legacy of renowned author and teacher Toni Morrison, H‘88.
Media Contact
In the News
The New York Times
Where does affirmative action leave Asian-Americans?
Two studies led by Camille Z. Charles of the School of Arts and Sciences found an overrepresentation of black immigrant students at “highly selective” colleges and universities, compared to black American descendants of enslaved people. “I think there are American blacks whose families have suffered generationally who are being squeezed out,” she said.
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Philadelphia Inquirer
Toni Morrison, renowned writer, Nobel laureate and Princeton University professor, dies at 88
Herman Beavers of the School of Arts and Sciences memorializes the late Toni Morrison. “She taught us how not to be guided by the white gaze. She made it okay for us to really think about how we see the world and really be central in it,” Beavers said. “She showed us that we didn’t need white people to explain what our lives meant or even acknowledge it. We could do it ourselves.”
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Philadelphia Inquirer
What you need to know about reparations after the first congressional hearing convened on the topic in more than a decade
Mary Frances Berry of the School of Arts and Sciences said the contemporary descendants of the enslaved Africans who demanded, but did not receive, pensions at the turn of the 20th century should be compensated today. “We have a group of people who we can identify, the descendants of those who argued for reparations, who sent stuff to Congress while they were being under surveillance and whose leaders were put in prison.”
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The Independent
Civil rights activist Mary Frances Berry visits Stark County
Mary Frances Berry of the School of Arts and Sciences paid a visit to Kent State University’s Stark campus and other schools in the area in honor of Black History Month. She urged students aspiring to change society to keep up the good fight. “Movements do work,” she said. “The answer to every social problem, every injustice, every grievance is to organize.”
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Chronicle of Higher Education
The new canon: What’s the most influential book of the past 20 years?
On a list of most influential books, PIK Professor Dorothy Roberts’ Killing the Black Body: Race, Reproduction, and the Meaning of Liberty was described as an “interdisciplinary tour de force” that contains “more than a few lessons for our current moment.”
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CNN
Actually, the U.S. Has a Long History of Separating Families
Heather Williams of the School of Arts and Sciences weighed in on family separations at the U.S.-Mexico border. “When I hear the voices of those children, it absolutely resonates because that's how I imagine it was with the [formerly enslaved] people that I study,” said Williams.
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