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Black activists, scholars and writers to mark centennial of DuBois classic

CHAPEL HILL -- A century ago this year, publication of W.E.B. DuBois's "The Souls of Black Folk" marked a redefinition of African-Americans and African people around the world.

DuBois wasn't the first scholar to introduce the idea of an aesthetic particular to all black people, said Dr. Joseph Jordan, director of the Sonja Haynes Stone Black Cultural Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. But he was the writer and activist who made the concept as accessible to the public as it had been to scholarly readers.

"DuBois was probably one of the towering scholars of the 20th century, and he was a significant presence in every important social justice movement of the century," said Jordan, a professor of African/African-American studies. "In almost every field of the liberal arts, you see echoes of his work."

What those echoes mean to Americans today, as they live in an increasingly diverse society, will be examined in six free public programs sponsored at UNC Jan. 29-Feb. 26 by the Stone Center, one of many academic and cultural centers nationwide that are marking the book's centennial.

"The Souls of Black Folk Symposium Series" will consist of panel discussions, speeches and a book signing by black scholars and activists. Topics will include "Social Justice and Radical Thought," "Framing Blackness and Black Identities in the 21st Century" and "DuBois, Souls and Black Feminist Thought."

Speakers will include professor and author Dr. Elizabeth Nunez, whose "Bruised Hibiscus" won an American Book Award in 2001; professors Dr. Beverly Guy-Sheftall of Spelman College and Dr. Joy James of Brown University; Rolling Stone contributing editor Touré, author of the short story collection "The Portable Promised Land"; and Rosa Clemente, hip-hop activist and a producer and co-host on New York radio station WBAI.

Events will be free and open to the public. (Details are listed below).

DuBois' book, a collection of 14 essays, defined the problem of the 20^th century as that of the color line and held up a vision for change by looking at culture, politics and leadership in the African-American community, Jordan said.

"He talked about a double consciousness," Jordan said. "African-Americans have a particular set of experiences they share with each other that have to be lived within another, broader culture that they have to relate to as well."

Today, he said, Indians, Hispanics and other groups refer to DuBois' work to illuminate their own experiences. Scholars still research his writing, some using his work as starting points for new texts in history, philosophy, political science, sociology and other disciplines.

An influential figure in the founding of the NAACP, DuBois was a central figure in the development of a focus on blacks within the field of sociology, Jordan said: "He published a monumental study, 'The Philadelphia Negro,' that was one of the first in-depth sociological inquiries into the lives of African-Americans in this country, one that is still studied today."

DuBois involved himself in social justice issues around the world and has been honored by many nations, Jordan said.

"He gave voice to a significant community of scholars and blazed a trail both culturally and politically. A good number of persons have articulated a cultural notion of blackness in America, but few have adequately described the social and political implications of that cultural situation. He was able to do that convincingly."

The "Souls of Black Folk Symposium Series" is co-sponsored with UNC's James M. Johnston Center for Undergraduate Excellence, Office of the Provost, Caribbean Students Association, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc., Wilson Library and the philosophy department. For more information, call the Stone Center at (919) 962-2001. Program details and descriptions are:

· Jan. 29, "Social Justice and Radical Thought: The Liberatory Vision in DuBois’ Souls," 7 p.m. Toy Lounge, fourth floor, Dey Hall. Panel discussion by:

• Dr. Bernard Boxill, a UNC philosophy professor and specialist in social, political and African-American philosophy. He wrote "Blacks and Social Justice" (1984) and is finishing "Boundaries and Justice," on international ethics and distributive justice. His scholarly journal articles include "Morality of Reparations," in Social Theory and Practice (1972); "The Morality of Preferential Hiring," in Philosophy and Public Affairs (1978); "Global Equality of Opportunity," in Social Philosophy and Policy (1987); "Two Traditions in African-American Political Thought," Philosophical Forum (1993); and "Washington, DuBois, and Plessy v. Ferguson," in Law and Philosophy (1997). His essays in scholarly anthologies have included "Equality, Discrimination and Preferential Treatment" in "A Companion to Ethics" (1990), and "Dignity, Slavery and the 13th Amendment" in "The Constitution of Rights" (1992).
  
  
• Ajamu Dillahunt, president of the Raleigh Area Local of the American Postal Workers Union and director of research and education for the N.C. Council of the union. Dillahunt also is on the national steering committee of Black Workers for Justice, which advocates for workers' rights, particularly around the issue of a living wage; the national council of the Black Radical Congress, held in Chicago in 1998; and the policy committee of Labor Notes Magazine. He previously was active in Friends of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, the African Liberation Support Committee and the National Black United Front. He was a board chairperson for the N.C. Occupational Safety and Health Project.
  
  
• Dr. Sylvia Hill, an activist in the 1980s and '90s in protests against apartheid and colonialism in Southern Africa, now a professor of criminal justice and co-director of the Institute for Public Safety and Justice at the University of the District of Columbia. Hill was secretary general for the North American delegation to the Sixth Pan African Congress in Dar es Salaam in 1974. She helped mobilize participation in the congress, which followed the tradition of W.E.B. DuBois' Pan African Congresses. In 1994, Hill helped direct a U.S. visit by Nelson Mandela and the African National Congress.
  
  

• Jan. 30, Book signing of "The Portable Promised Land" by Touré, a contributing editor, Rolling Stone magazine. 3:30 p.m., Bull's Head Bookshop, UNC Student Stores. Touré has written cover stories for the magazine on Alicia Keys, DMX, Lauryn Hill and N Sync. His work also has appeared in the New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, the Village Voice, Playboy, Vogue, Tennis Magazine, "The Best American Essays of 1999" and "The Best American Sportswriting of 2001." Touré's first novel, "Soul City," is scheduled for publication in September.
  
  
• Jan. 30, "21st-Century Incarnations: Refiguration of the Black Aesthetic in Popular Culture," discussion with Touré and Rosa Clemente. 7 p.m., Toy Lounge, fourth floor, Dey Hall. Clemente lectures and conducts diversity workshops nationwide. An activist in Albany, N.Y., she holds a master's degree in professional and Africana studies from Cornell University. In 2000, she helped lead public support of the prosecution in the trial in Albany of four New York City police officers accused of murdering Amadou Diallo in the Bronx. She produces and co-hosts "Where We Live" on WBAI in New York, a station of the Pacifica Radio Foundation. The foundation seeks to contribute to lasting understanding among nations and among individuals of all nations, races, creeds and colors, and to gather and disseminate information on the causes of conflict among such groups.
  
  
• Feb. 3, "Framing Blackness and Black Identities in the 21st Century," lecture by Dr. Elizabeth Nunez. 7 p.m., Pleasants Family Assembly Room, Wilson Library. Nunez is a distinguished professor of English at Medgar Evers College, part of the City University of New York. She has written four novels: "Discretion" (Ballantine, 2002), "Bruised Hibiscus" (Seal Press, 2000), "Beyond the Limbo Silence" (Seal Press, 1998) and "When Rocks Dance" (Putnam, 1986). "Bruised Hibiscus" won one of 12 American Book Awards given in 2001 by the Before Columbus Foundation of Oakland, Calif. The awards recognize outstanding literary achievement by contemporary American authors to acknowledge the excellence and multicultural diversity of American writing. "Beyond the Limbo Silence" won a 1999 Independent Publishers Book Award in the multicultural fiction category. Nunez' honors have included a YWCA Woman of Distinction Award and a Sojourner Truth Award from the National Association of Black Business and Professional Women's Clubs.
  
  
• Feb. 6, "DuBois, Souls and Black Feminist Thought," lecture by Dr. Beverly Guy-Sheftall. 7 p.m., Pleasants Family Assembly Room, Wilson Library. Guy-Shefthall is Anna Julia Cooper Professor of Women's Studies at Spelman College in Atlanta, where she founded and directs the Women's Research and Resource Center. She co-edited "Sturdy Black Bridges: Visions of Black Women in Literature" (Doubleday, 1979), "Traps: African American Men on Gender and Sexuality" (Indiana University Press, 2001); "Words of Fire: An Anthology of African-American Feminist Thought" (New Press, 1995); Gender Talk: Sexism, Power, and Politics in the African American Community (One World, 2003) and "Double Stitch: Black Women Write about Mothers and Daughters," (Beacon Press, 1991); she wrote "Daughters of Sorrow: Attitudes Toward Black Women 1880-1920 (Carlson Press, 1990). Guy-Sheftall is founding co-editor of SAGE: A Scholarly Journal on Black Women.
  
  
• Feb. 26, "Imprisoned Intellectuals/Imprisoned Souls," lecture by Dr. Joy James. Noon, Old Well Room, Carolina Inn. A professor of Africana studies at Brown University, James specializes in African-American social and political thought, black feminist thought, race theory, urban politics and the prison industrial complex. Her books include "States of Confinement: Policing, Detention and Prisons" (St. Martin's Press, 2000); Race, Women and Revolution (Rowman and Littlefield, 1999); "Shadowboxing: Representations of Black Feminist Politics (St. Martin's Press, 1999); "Transcending the Talented Tenth: Black Leaders and American Intellectuals (Routledge, 1997); and "Resisting State Violence: Gender, Race and Radicalism in U.S. Culture" (University of Minnesota Press, 1996). She has edited or co-edited titles including "The Angela Y. Davis Reader," "The Black Feminist Reader," "Problems of Resistance," "Spirit, Space and Survival: African-American Women in (White) Academe" and "Imprisoned Intellectuals," new from Rowman and Littlefield Publishers. James, active in human rights groups advocating for political prisoners, has received research grants from the Rockefeller and Ford foundations and the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in New York.

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Contact: Jocelyn Womack, 919-962-0395, Jocelyn_Womack@unc.edu.