Join us for the 4th Annual Parren J. Mitchell Symposium
Truth & Lies: Race, Media, and Politics
Wednesday, April 26, 2017
10:00am-4:00pm
On Wednesday, April 26, 2017, the Critical Race Initiative, Department of Sociology, and College of Behavioral and Social Sciences at the University of Maryland, will host the 4th Annual Parren J. Mitchell Symposium. The symposium was created to celebrate the legacy of the late Congressman Parren J. Mitchell.
In 1952, after suing the University to gain admission, Parren J. Mitchell became the first African American to attend graduate school at the University of Maryland, receiving a Master’s degree in Sociology. Congressman Mitchell stated later in his life that his sociology training shaped his activism in politics and social change.
The theme for this year’s symposium is Truth & Lies: Race, Media, and Politics. There are three panels focusing on different aspects of this topic: The Power of Popular Culture (10:00am), Intersectionality (12:15pm), and The Politics of Racial Representation (2:00pm). Speakers include: Damon Young and Panama Jackson of VerySmartBrothas.com, sports journalist Kevin Blackistone, Matthew Hughey (UConn), Nancy Yuen (Biola University),Carmen Lugo-Lugo (Washington State), and Brian Foster (University of Mississippi) as well as UMD’s own Janelle Wong and Catherine Knight-Steele. The Intersectionality panel, which is in conjunction with the African American History, Culture, and Digital Humanities initiative, will feature a dialogue between Dean Bonnie Thornton Dill and Patricia Hill Collins.
A reception will follow the symposium at 4:30pm (Colony Ballroom) with a keynote by Kevin Blackistone.
PANELS
The Power of Popular Culture
Intersectionality and Critical Race Theory: A Dialogue
The Politics of Racial Representation
Intersectionality and Critical Race Theory: A Dialogue
The Politics of Racial Representation