- STATEMENT ON JANUARY 6 ASSAULT ON THE U.S. CAPITOL
In May, following the killing of George Floyd, I wrote: “to sustain our democracy, and enact our shared values of freedom, prosperity, equality, safety, and a brighter future for our children, we must solve our problems collaboratively.” I repeated this sentiment on the eve of the 2020 election. And I reiterate it again today.
Not only does the attack on the Capitol cut deeply into the soul of who we are, but the inequity in the response to and treatment of the rioters, juxtaposed against the much more forceful action by authorities we witnessed earlier in the year, simply begs the question: How committed are we to equal justice for all? This necessarily means that we must engage in a critical reflection and deep examination of what we stand for as a nation.
Even as we condemn the assault on our democracy on Jan. 6, we must look ahead to how we heal our communities and our country. We must contemplate our unique role in that process. Universities are crucial to this shared endeavor – places where civil discourse, thoughtful debate, and real problem-solving can occur. This accrues to the benefit of us all. I look forward to a spring semester where we come together in this spirit and do the hard work necessary to help heal this country spiritually, socially, and morally. I have deep faith in the American project. Truth and freedom will ultimately prevail.
Originally post can be found here.
- UNCG project tells stories of unsung civil rights heroes
We all know of the Greensboro Four, Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr., and John Lewis. But what about the civil rights activists who don’t end up in history books?
Bennett College students protest downtown. A UNC Greensboro project seeks to tell the stories of these lesser-known civil rights heroes of the 1960s and 1970s.
UNCG’s “Unsung Heroes of the Civil Rights Movement Project” launched today with 14 video interviews with activists whose work, while not always recognized, had profound impacts on the civil rights movement and helped set the stage for today’s #BlackLivesMatter movement.
The project is a collaboration between the Dept. of Media Studies, the Dept. of History, and University Libraries. “Unsung Heroes” dates back to 2009, when Professor Matthew Barr (Media Studies) and Dr. Chuck Bolton (History) collaborated on an interdisciplinary visual history course. In 2010, Dr. Curtis Austin of Arizona State University joined the project team.
Most recently, the project has expanded to include UNCG Libraries and undergraduate students. Thanks to funding from the Mellon Foundation, teams of students were trained to conduct visual history interviews, with guidance from Barr, Dr. Torren Gatson (History), and Professors Jennida Chase and Hassan Pitts (Media Studies). The student teams included Muhammad Karim and Atigre Farmer of Media Studies, and October Kamara and Summer Kinney of History. The Libraries team includes Richard Cox, Erin Lawrimore, and David Gwynn.
While the project’s focus has been the U.S. South in the 1960s and ’70s, the team hopes to create an expansive, national archive, highlighting activism from the 1960s to today. The project is designed to serve not only as a resource for researchers, educators, and students, but for the general public as well.
“The goal is to have hundreds of interviews,” Barr said. “This certainly isn’t the only civil rights archive, but the more you archive, the better. The more stories, the better. We’re trying to change the way we look at history.”
The interviews are visual history interviews, which means it’s not just audio. You get to see the people being interviewed – their body language, gestures, and facial expressions.
“Oral histories are great, podcasts are great, but there’s something powerful about actually seeing these people. The visual component is so important,” Barr said.
October Kamara, a recent graduate of UNCG’s history program and a current master’s student at Middle Tennessee State University, conducted four interviews as part of the project.
Throughout the experience, Kamara developed skills that helped prepare her for graduate work in public history.
“I really learned to collaborate well with others,” she said. “I was meeting with the team every week, figuring out logistics, and then working together to figure out the best way to present these stories. It really got me thinking outside of the box about what history can do and how it can engage a larger audience.”
For Atigre Farmer, a recent media studies graduate, hearing these often untold stories and perspectives was deeply impactful. “Learning about what came before you can inspire you to keep that going on today,” she said.
The launch of the project is especially timely, as the country continues to have conversations about systemic racism and the incidents of racist violence and police brutality from the summer.
“This project speaks to the fact that uplift is possible, no matter the trials and tribulations,” said Gatson, whose research focuses on African American history in the U.S. South. “‘Unsung Heroes’ connects us back to the civil rights movement of the ’60s and ’70s and compels us to ask the tough questions. Have we made strides in the right direction? Or are we still trapped in this vortex of systemic oppression and racism? This project offers a window into these deeper conversations.”
Learn more and watch the interviews at libresearch.uncg.edu/unsung_heroes/.
UNCG in the Media
- UNC Greensboro’s Faculty Diversity Jumped in Five Years. How Did It Do It?
UNC Greensboro’s Faculty Diversity Jumped in Five Years. How Did It Do It? In the past five years alone, the University of North Carolina Greensboro (UNCG) has experienced a notable jump in faculty diversity for each ethnicity category, excluding White.
- UNC Greensboro Builds A Visual History Of Unsung Heroes
UNC Greensboro Builds A Visual History Of Unsung Heroes. Professor Matt Barr, Dr. Torren Gatson, and recent UNCG graduate Atigre’ Farmer discuss “The Unsung Heroes of the Civil Rights Movement Visual History Project” on WUNC’s The State of Things.
- Yes, and Cafe – Episode 10: A Step in this Grand March Towards Freedom
Yes, and Cafe – Episode 10: A Step in this Grand March Towards Freedom. The Yes, and Cafe podcast speaks with Chancellor Franklin D. Gilliam, Jr., as he begins his sixth academic year as chancellor of UNC Greensboro. UNCG student Luis Mejia Cruz also joins the conversation.
- For basketball coaches at A&T and UNCG, outcry for justice a teachable moment
For basketball coaches at A&T and UNCG, outcry for justice a teachable moment. UNCG Head Coach Wes Miller talks to the News & Record about how he, his staff, and his players have responded to racial injustice this summer.
- Ethan Joyce: Continuing the conversation on Bubba Wallace, NASCAR, and sensitivity to symbols
Ethan Joyce: Continuing the conversation on Bubba Wallace, NASCAR, and sensitivity to symbols. Dr. Omar Ali is quoted in a Winston-Salem Journal article about NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace, racism, and collective understanding.
- Black Women Had to Overcome Voter Suppression 100 Years Ago and Today
Black Women Had to Overcome Voter Suppression 100 Years Ago and Today. Dr. Omar Ali is quoted in a Washington Informer article about the Women’s Suffrage Movement and voter suppression.
From Around Campus
- It was as if no one had ever asked him to tell his story. Jocelyn R. Smith Lee, now an assistant […]
- In a COVID-19 world, mental health care is perhaps more important than it ever was before. But like the rest of […]
- Next week, the UNCG School of Theatre releases its second production for the season, “Skeleton Crew,” available for streaming Nov. 5-7, […]
- We all know of the Greensboro Four, Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr., and John Lewis. But what about the civil […]
- Dr. Edna Tan (Teacher Education and Higher Education) received new funding from the Trustees of Boston University for the project “Developing […]
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