JACKSON, Tenn. — Aug. 31, 2015 — Union University’s next Town and Gown Lecture Series will focus on the legacy of the civil rights movement and address strategies for building community across racial lines on Thursday evenings from Sept. 3-Oct. 1.
The Town and Gown series is an opportunity for community members interested in various topics to attend lectures and participate in discussions in a classroom setting. The sessions are free and open to the public.
Jacqueline Taylor, Union’s assistant dean of students, will serve as the series convener and discussion leader, using Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?” Educational, church and community leaders will serve as guest lecturers.
All sessions will meet from 6-8 p.m. in Providence Hall room 160.
The schedule for the series is:
Sept. 3: “Theological Context: March from Selma to Montgomery,” with Lawrence Ragland, senior pastor of Watson Grove Missionary Baptist Church in New Albany, Mississippi.
Sept. 10: “Activist Context: Civil Disobedience – Then and Now,” with Harrell Carter, president of Jackson-Madison County NAACP.
Sept. 17: “Social Justice Context: Disparities in Social Justice in 1964-65 vs. Today for African American Communities,” with Mary Anne Poe, professor of social work at Union University.
Sept. 24: “Historical and Philosophical Context: Voting Rights Act of 1965 and Film Study of the Movie ‘Selma,’” with Taylor.
Oct. 1: “Ethical Context: Challenges in Birmingham and Selma vs. Challenges Today,” with Sephira Shuttlesworth, wife of the late civil rights activist and leader Fred Shuttlesworth.
For more information, contact Taylor at jtaylor@uu.edu.