UMass Magazine Online

Fall 2004

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Around the Pond

United We Stand
Are we any closer to racial equality 50 years after Brown v. Board of Education?

Katy LoConte '04




	“Been in the Storm So Long: Photographs of the Black South” by Professor Julius Lester is one of many arts events connected to the 50th anniversary commemoration of the Brown decision. Lester’s photos will be on display in the Student Union Art Gallery from Oct. 11 through Oct. 29.

IN MAY OF 1954 THE U.S. Supreme Court handed down a decision ending federally sanctioned racial segregation in public schools. Brown v. Board of Education proved a pivotal moment in the civil rights movement. No longer would the practice “separate but equal” be allowed. Segregation, deemed inherently unequal, was made unconstitutional by the unanimous decision.

The UMass Amherst community commemorates this watershed ruling this fall with a series of events to honor the 50th anniversary of that historic Supreme Court case.
“This will be a real chance for the community to talk about the issue of race in America,” says history professor Carl Nightingale, “and about where we’ve come since the World War II era.”

Events include a lecture series and panel discussions. An art series features a music concert, a photography exhibit, a play, and a theatrical reading. Nightingale, who is coordinating the events, is also teaching a course, Race in Postwar America, which he feels will “provide a forum for deeper discussion of the ideas presented in this lectureship and art series.”

The goal is for the commemorative events to benefit students and the community at large. “It gives us a chance to really think about the broad topic of race,” says Nightingale. “We want to get the community to come out and get engaged.”
For a full schedule of events, visit:
http://www.umass.edu/history/feinberg.html

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