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Africana Studies

26th annual MLK symposium goes online
Woman cups a candle with a gloved hand. She is standing in a circle with other candle-holders in the snow.

The candlelight vigil “was always powerful and will continue to be” as it offers a moment to reflect on the man and his legacy, says Toliver. Here, the Penn community gathers in 2007 to commemorate. 

26th annual MLK symposium goes online

Virtual events over three weeks offer opportunities to reflect, engage, and celebrate with family, colleagues, and friends.

Kristina García

Exacerbating the health care divide
Large rendering of the healthcare cross symbol with people standing both on top of and below the symbol against a background featuring the coronavirus germ floating nearby.

Exacerbating the health care divide

With rates of diagnoses and death disproportionately affecting racial minorities and low-income workers, experts from the School of Arts & Sciences address how COVID-19 has further exposed already dire health outcome inequalities.

From Omnia

‘Then and Now: Black-Jewish Relations in the Civil Rights Movement’
Historical mugshots of 15 people wearing signs around their necks that say, "Police Dept. Jackson, Miss., 7.2.61" along with prison identification numbers

Entire busloads of Freedom Riders were arrested when they reached southern states (here, Jackson Mississippi). Interfaith collaboration was a vital part of the Civil Rights Movement, Butler said.

‘Then and Now: Black-Jewish Relations in the Civil Rights Movement’

Professor of religious studies Anthea Butler gave an overview of shared history and discussed next steps in “Then and Now: Black-Jewish Relations in the Civil Rights Movement,” an event hosted by the Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies.

Kristina García

How the Africana Studies Summer Institute went virtual
Student with "What's one thing we wish we were told as freshman" in text across a Zoom screen

Niko Simpkins (above) and Camille Charles (top right) were among those featured in the Institute's final video presentation.

How the Africana Studies Summer Institute went virtual

The 2020 Africana Summer Institute adopted a new vision, working to prepare freshmen for a virtual life at Penn.

Kristina García

Mary Frances Berry, a ‘woman of the century’
portrait of woman with cropped hair and glasses

Mary Frances Berry, Geraldine R. Segal Professor of American Social Thought and a professor of history and Africana studies. (Image: Jim Abbott)

Mary Frances Berry, a ‘woman of the century’

In a profile, the Geraldine R. Segal Professor of American Social Thought and Professor of History discusses her history as an adviser on education and civil rights, and today’s protest movements.

From Penn IUR

Takeaways from the vice presidential debate
Kamala Harris waving and smiling at left, Vice President Mike Pence at a podium on the right

Senator Kamala Harris and Vice President Mike Pence

Takeaways from the vice presidential debate

Historian Barbara D. Savage shares her thoughts on the first vice presidential debate in history featuring a Black woman.

Kristen de Groot

Black joy and resistance in ‘times of struggle’
Nakeeya Garland smiling with ocean view in background

Nakeeya Garland in Senegal, where she did a study abroad during the fall semester of 2019. (Pre-pandemic photo)

Black joy and resistance in ‘times of struggle’

Nakeeya Garland, a senior from Oakland, California majoring in Africana studies, examines Black joy and resistance during a summer internship at the African American Museum of Philadelphia.

Kristina García

Barbara Savage sees ‘bright spots’ in her research, even in a pandemic
Barbara Savage

Barbara Savage, Geraldine R. Segal Professor of American Social Thought. (Image: Penn Arts & Sciences)

Barbara Savage sees ‘bright spots’ in her research, even in a pandemic

Before the world went into lockdown, the Geraldine R. Segal Professor of American Social Thought in the Department of Africana Studies at Penn had been traveling around the globe to conduct research for her latest project.

From Africana Studies

A new approach to aiding Black male trauma survivors
Person holding their hand up to their head while leanding head slightly forward.

A new approach to aiding Black male trauma survivors

In a collaborative new study between the School of Nursing and Drexel University, researchers have peeled back the layers of what causes and prevents many trauma-surviving Black men from seeking needed professional behavioral health care.

From Penn Nursing News

What happens to a dream deferred? 60-Second Lectures on racial injustice
Screenshot of four people in a grid form, top left is Mary Frances Berry, top right is Margo Natalie Crawford, bottom left is Guthrie Ramsey, bottom right is Dagmawi Woubshet

Clockwise from top left: Mary Frances Berry; Margo Natalie Crawford; Guthrie Ramsey; and Dagmawi Woubshet. (Image: Penn Arts & Sciences)

What happens to a dream deferred? 60-Second Lectures on racial injustice

In an effort to amplify the messages of the recent protests against racist violence, Penn Arts & Sciences created a special series: What Happens to a Dream Deferred? 60-Second Lectures on Racial Injustice.

From Omnia