Forum Network

Public stations. Community Partners. World-class speakers. Free lecture videos. See what you think.

a public media service of

Public Broadcasting Service National Public Radio

By Topic

By Region

By Period

African American Culture Series

Lectures curated around African American culture and heritage.

WGBH's Basic Black is Boston's longest-running weekly TV program devoted exclusively to African American themes. Since 1968, Basic Black (formerly Say Brother) has reflected on the concerns and culture of African Americans through conversations, performances, and short-form documentaries. Basic Black captures the stories and events that illuminate the African American experience in the Boston area and beyond.

Black History Month is a remembrance of important people and events in the history of the African diaspora. It is celebrated annually in the United States and Canada in the month of February. The remembrance originated in 1926 by historian Carter G. Woodson. Woodson chose the second week of February because it marked the birthdays of two Americans who greatly influenced the lives and social condition of African Americans: former President Abraham Lincoln and abolitionist and former slave Frederick Douglass.

ShopPBS.org

Culture & Identity | History

View All Series

Slavery and the Making of America Series

Slavery and the Making of America Series

Lectures curated around WNET's Slavery and the Making of America and WGBH's Africans in America.

Abolition and Garrison Bicentennial Series

Abolition and Garrison Bicentennial Series

Lectures curated around Abolition and the bicentennial of William Lloyd Garrison's birth.

Civil Rights Movement Series

Civil Rights Movement Series

Lectures examining the Civil Rights Movement from Brown v. Board of Education to the civil and human rights initiatives today.

Ken Burns: Jazz Series

Ken Burns: Jazz Series

Lectures curated around Ken Burns: Jazz documentary on the history of Jazz in America.

Ken Burns: Unforgivable Blackness Series

Ken Burns: Unforgivable Blackness Series

Lectures curated around Ken Burns: Unforgivable Blackness, a provocative biography of the rise and fall of Jack Johnson.

African Meeting House Bicentennial Series

African Meeting House Bicentennial Series

Lectures curated around the bicentennial of the African Meeting House and the Abiel Smith School on Beacon Hill in Boston.

Man Gone Down: Portrait of a Biracial Marriage

February 6, 2007

Boston native Michael Thomas reads from his debut novel Man Gone Down, a striking portrait of a 35-year-old African American man in a biracial marriage, trying to claim a piece of the American Dream he has bargained on since his youth.

The First 100 Days

Jonathan Alter, senior editor and columnist for Newsweek and author of The Defining Moment: FDR's Hundred Days and the Triumph of Hope, and Richard Parker, lecturer in public policy and senior fellow at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government, offer observations regarding

October 24, 2009

Harvard economist and business guru Michael E. Porter, pundit and advisor to presidents past David Gergen, Harvard Law professor Lani Guinier, and Atlantic Monthly senior editor Jack Beatty mix it up with a frank assessment of the President Obama's progress on his new agenda.

Gwen Ifill: The Historic 2008 Election Year

Gwen Ifill, moderator and managing editor for PBS' Washington Week, discusses the 2008 presidential campaign and election. Gwen Ifill is also a senior correspondent for The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer. She was moderator for the final 2008 vice presidential debate.

Civil Rights in the Age of Obama: Part I

January 19, 2009

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and civil rights leader Roger Wilkins reflects on the state of American race relations, the evolution of our electoral politics, and Barack Obama's historic election with journalist Callie Crossley.

Civil Rights in the Age of Obama: Part II

January 19, 2009

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and civil rights leader Roger Wilkins reflects on the state of American race relations, the evolution of our electoral politics, and Barack Obama's historic election with journalist Callie Crossley.

The Music of Dr. Martin Luther King

January 11, 2009

Ken Meltzer, ASO Insider and Program Annotator, leads a discussion, including musical interludes, with WDAV General Manager Benjamin Roe, Center for Civil and Human Rights Partnership Executive Director Doug Shipman and Voices of Atlanta Choral Ensembles Founder R. Wayne Woodson.

African Americans and the American Dream

Vincent Harding

October 1, 2008

Theologian Vincent Harding argues that, especially for African Americans, the American dream has never been realized.

Ethnic and Community Media: Dealing with Difference

Ragini Tharoor Srinivasan

Ragini Tharoor Srinivasan, Carolyn Ji Jong Goossen, and Shruti Swamy examine the history, purpose, and politics of ethnic and community media outlets.

Paul Goodnight: Memorial for the Middle Passage

October 30, 2008

African cultural artist Paul Goodnight talks about the power of art and its ability to fight inhumanity, change perceptions, and heal old wounds. This is what a Boston monument memorializing the slave trade's "Middle Passage" could do for the world.

Roxbury Discussion Series: Amiri Baraka

February 28, 2008

Amiri Baraka gives a talk as a part of the 2008 Roxbury Discussion Series.

In Her Own Words: Frances Ellen Watkins Harper

Dorothy Prince brings to life Ellen Watkins Harper, a leading African American poet and prolific novelist of the 19th century, in this dramatic reading.

Bringing Charles Hammond Gibson to Life

October 10, 2007

Charles Hammond Gibson, Jr. (1874-1954) was a Boston writer and bachelor bon vivant, best known for having preserved his family's Beacon Street home as a museum of Victorian style and taste.

Mr. Sebastian and the Negro Magician

Daniel Wallace discusses his new book Mr. Sebastian and the Negro Magician. The story is that of a circus family, set against the backdrop of the rural South in the middle of the 20th century. Daniel Wallace is the author of three other novels: Big Fish, Ray in Reverse, and The Watermelon King .

There Goes the Neighborhood

William Julius Wilson

November 2, 2006

William Julius Wilson, a professor of sociology at Harvard University and winner of the American Sociological Association's Sydney Spivack Award, talks about his book, There Goes the Neighborhood: Racial, Ethnic, and Class Tensions in Four Chicago Neighborhoods and Their Meaning for America

Georgia Review: Natasha Trethewey and Stephen Dunn

Natasha Trethewey

October 17, 2007

Natasha Trethewey and Stephen Dunn read and discuss their recent poetry. The poets are presented by The Margaret Mitchell House and The Georgia Review.

Stephen Carter: New England White

Stephen L. Carter

Stephen Carter discusses his new novel New England White. The Jimmy Carter Library and Georgia Center for the Book copresent this appearance by Carter, author of The Emperor of Ocean Park and one of America's most distinguished African American intellectuals.

Resisting History: Gender, Modernity, and Authorship

Barbara Ladd discusses the life and work of one of America's foremost African American writers, Zora Neale Hurston. Ladd is the author of a critically acclaimed new book, Resisting History: Gender, Modernity, and Authorship in William Faulkner, Zora Neale Hurston, and Eudora Welty.

2007 PEN Hemingway Awards: Edward P. Jones

Edward P. Jones

Edward P. Jones delivers the 2007 keynote address at the PEN/Hemingway Awards ceremony, hosted annually by the Kennedy Library.

Shifting Meaning: African Art in the World

February 22, 2007

New York University professor Susan Vogel, a renowned museum founder and specialist in African art shares her eight-minute film Fang: An Epic Journey, which covers the adventures of an African sculpture as it moves from Cameroon in 1910 to America in the 1970s.

Harlem Renaissance and Paris

Richard A. Long

February 17, 2007

Dr. Richard A. Long speaks about the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s, which has been the subject of much discussion and reflection over the past three decades.

Edmund Barry Gaither on Art History and Curation

Art historian and curator Edmund Barry Gaither discusses his work at the Museum of the National Center for Afro-American Artists. This lecture is part of the Arts in Education Program's John Landrum Bryant Lecture Performance Series.

Building the High Museum's African Art Collection

September 13, 2005

Carol Thompson, Richman Family curator of African art discusses the evolution of the growing African art collection at the High Museum and her vision for the future. Thompson's goal is to create the most significant African art collection in the southeastern United States.

Alice Walker: We Are the Ones We Have Been Waiting For

November 14, 2006

Speaking in the spirit of her latest book, We are the Ones We have been Waiting For, Alice Walker lectures at the Margaret Mitchell House in Atlanta, Georgia.

Twins and Ghosts: The Icarus Girl

Helen Oyeyemi and others present her breakthrough novel, The Icarus Girl. Jess Harrison is eight years old.

Mixed: My Life in Black and White

Angela Nissel recounts moving between black inner-city schools and white prep schools; college experiments with black activism; capitalizing on her "exotic" look at a strip club; and generally being a "mixed" girl in a mixed-up world.

Tour of Duty: How to Write About Africa

Michael Vazquez

February 28, 2006

Michael Vazquez of Transition Magazine hosts an evening with the next generation of African and African American writers. Cosponsored by Transition Magazine, Granta and the Virginia Quarterly Review.

Colossus of New York: City in 13 Parts

Colson Whitehead

October 14, 2004

Colson Whitehead re-creates the exuberance, the chaos, the promise, and heartbreak of New York. The Colossus of New York captures the city's inner and outer landscapes in a series of vignettes, meditations, and personal memories.

Black Writers: Andrea Lee and Jamaica Kincaid

February 5, 2003

Authors Andrea Lee, Interesting Women: Stories, Russian Journal; and Jamaica Kincaid, Annie John, At the Bottom of the River, Lucy, A Small Place, The Autobiography of My Mother, My Brother, read from their work.

Black Writers: Zadie Smith and Caryl Phillips

February 12, 2003

Authors Zadie Smith, White Teeth and The Autograph Man, and Caryl Phillips, The Final Passage, Crossing the River and Cambridge will read from their work.

Black Writers: Edwidge Danticat and Colson Whitehead

Edwidge Danticat

February 23, 2003

Authors Edwidge Danticat, Krik? Krak!, Breath, Eyes, Memory; and Colson Whitehead, John Henry Days, The Intuitionist, will read from their work.

Black Writers: Rita Dove and John Wideman

Authors Rita Dove, On the Bus with Rosa Parks (1999), Through the Ivory Gate (1992), and John Wideman, Sent for You Yesterday , Philadelphia Fire, read from their work.

Black Writers: Elizabeth Alexander and Suzan-Lori Parks

Elizabeth Alexander

Authors Elizabeth Alexander, Antebellum Dream Book, and Suzan-Lori Parks The Death of the Last Black Man in the Whole Entire World, read from their work.

Two Writers Read: Helen E. Lee and Randall Kenan

February 19, 2003

Helen E. Lee and Randall Kenan read from their books.

Black Writers: Darryl Pinckney and Patricia Powell

Darryl Pinckney

Authors Darryl Pinckney and Patricia Powell read from their books.

Black Writers: Derek Walcott

Poet Derek Walcott, author of Omeros (1990), Tiepolo's Hound (2000), and The Haitian Trilogy (2002), reads from his work.

Black Writers: Wole Soyinka

Wole Soyinka reads from his book Samarkand & Other Markets I Have Known. In 1986, Soyinka became the first African to be awarded the Nobel Prize in literature. In plays, novels, and poems, he has chronicled the political turmoil of his native Nigeria.

Nobel Laureates Honor Wole Soyinka

Toni Morrison and other Nobel Laureates read in honor of the 70th birthday of literary giant and human rights activist Wole Soyinka. Wole Soyinka, born near Ibadan, Nigeria, is world renowned for his numerous dramatic works, novels, essays, and poems.

Meet the Poet: Michael Harper

October 17, 2002

Poet Michael Harper reads from and discusses his writing.

Meet the Poet: Crystal Johnson

Crystal Johnson

Poet Crystal Johnson performs her poem "Millennium Blues" at a community forum sponsored by the ACLU on their recently released report on Disproportionate Minority Confinement.

Tribute to August Wilson

January 15, 2007

Charles Dutton and Dwight Andrews pay tribute to August Wilson, the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright who passed away in October 2005. Wilson's cycle of 10 prize-winning plays chronicles the lives of African Americans throughout the 20th century.

Communities of Color Moving Forward

Panelists discuss how they understand and define catastrophe in the context of communities of color. They ask whether catastrophe is a one-time, horrific event that changes a community's daily life or a long-range series of events that consistently undermine a community ability to pursue goals.

Juan Williams: Enough

October 2, 2006

Host of the book review show Between the Lines, Valerie Jackson and Juan Williams discuss his involvement with Eyes on the Prize and his new book Enough: The Phony Leaders, Dead End Movements, and Culture of Failure that are Undermining Black America and What We Can Do About it.

Black Philanthropy

February 27, 2003

The Museum of Afro-American History and Associated Grant Makers present this millennium conversation on black philanthropy, a stimulating forum that attempts to answer three thought-provoking questions: How have African Americans historically given, how do they presently give, and how have African A

Boston IDEAS 2005: Roland Fryer Jr.

Roland Fryer Jr.

October 7, 2005

Roland Fryer, economic and social theorist, discusses his rigorous analysis and consideration of the African American experience.

Bob Herbert: Promises Betrayed

Bob Herbert, the award-winning New York Times op-ed columnist, discusses his new book, Promises Betrayed, which probes the widening gap between American ideals and American realities. Dick Gordon, host of WBUR's The Connection, moderates.

Blacks in Boston: A Fifty Year Retrospective

February 20, 2003

For more than 40 years, Hubie Jones has played a key role in the formation, rebuilding, and leadership of at least 30 organizations within the black community and across Boston.

W.E.B. Du Bois: The Souls of Black Folk

Henry Louis Gates Jr.

The W. E. B. Du Bois Institute at Harvard University celebrates the centennial of a pivotal publication by inviting the public to hear writers, critics, and members of Harvard's faculty and administration read some of the many memorable passages from The Souls of Black Folk.

Encarta Africana: From Du Bois to John Coltrane

Henry Louis Gates Jr.

February 13, 2003

Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. discusses the comprehensive project, Encarta Africana.

Kwanzaa: A Season's Griot 2005

Madafo Lloyd Wilson

December 19, 2005

A Season's Griot in an annual program of African and African American folklore and song hosted by Madafo Lloyd Wilson.

Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History

Laurel Thatcher Ulrich

September 19, 2007

Laurel Thatcher Ulrich discusses her new book, Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History, which celebrates a renaissance in history inspired by amateurs, activists, and professional historians. Ulrich wrote, "They didn't ask to be remembered", in 1976 about the pious women of colonial New England.

Race Relations and Black History in Higher Education

Shirley Franklin

Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin gives the Holmes-Hunter Lecture at the University of Georgia.

Essential Conversation: Between Parents and Teachers

Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot

October 28, 2003

Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot, Emily Hargroves Fisher Professor of Education, MacArthur fellow, and author of eight books including Balm in Gilead, The Good High School, and I've Known Rivers, discusses her newest book, Essential Conversation: What Parents and Teachers Can Learn From Each

Centrality of Respect in Culture and Learning

Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot

October 24, 2002

Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot discusses her book Respect: An Exploration.

Closing the Nation's Racial Achievement Gaps I

Prudence Carter

Organized by the Achievement Gap Initiative (AGI) at Harvard University, this series kicks off a forum entitled Race, Culture, and K-12 Achievement Gaps.

Closing the Nation's Racial Achievement Gaps II

Christopher Avery

Organized by the Achievement Gap Initiative (AGI) at Harvard University, this is the second in a series of forums that address Racial Gaps in College Access and Success. Closing achievement gaps is not merely a matter for K-12 educators.

Closing the Nation's Racial Achievement Gaps III

Roland Fryer Jr.

Organized by the Achievement Gap Initiative (AGI) at Harvard University, this is the third in a series of forums addressing Racial Gaps in School Readiness: The Importance of Early Childhood. Public discourse about achievement gaps is typically focused on what happens in schools and classrooms.

No Excuses: Closing the Racial Gap in Learning

Abigail Thernstrom

Abigail Thernstrom, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, and Harvard historian Stephan Thernstrom, discuss their new book about the racial gap in academics.

Keeping Kids in the Achievement Game

November 1, 2007

John Merrow, renowned education reporter and president of Learning Matters, Inc., argues that the catch phrase "achievement gap" draws attention away from salient learning issues that merit serious consideration.

Does Parenting Contribute to Achievement Gaps?

Ronald Ferguson

November 21, 2006

Ronald Ferguson and Jelani Mandara address evidence concerning ways that parenting practices may contribute to black-white achievement gaps. The achievement gaps among children of college educated parents receives special emphasis.

Closing the Achievement Gap

Ronald Ferguson

December 13, 2004

Richard Rothstein, former education columnist for the New York Times discusses factors contributing to the race achievement gap.

PAR: Research in Youth Development

Julio Cammarota

This forum focuses on the method and theory of engaging in participatory action research (PAR) approaches in educational settings and on the strategies, values, questions, and processes of PAR in education and youth development.

Educating Black and Hispanic Youth

Callie Crossley

October 22, 2002

YWCA Boston and a panel of education administrators, teachers, and youth critically examine how Black and Hispanic students are faring in Boston's public schools, and asks what we can do as a community to strengthen our education system.

Carola and Marcelo Suarez-Orozco: Educational Pathways of Immigrant Youth

Carola Suarez-Orozco

October 23, 2006

Carola and Marcelo Suarez-Orozco describe and discuss determinants of success of among children in their longitudinal study of immigrant youth in this nation's educational system.

MCAS: What Does It Mean for Immigrant Youth?

January 9, 2004

A panel discusses the cultural differences that pervade views on the validity of MCAS. Some students wonder why the test is so hard and why there is so little support for ESL students to pass it. Others think the testing resembles that used in their country of origin.

Limited Access to Higher Education

January 9, 2004

Speakers discuss resource issues and the conflicting messages given to immigrant youth, who report they hope to go to college but cannot figure out how to pay for it.

Intercultural Communication and Media

Lynn Gregory, a researcher on intercultural communication and education at the University of Vermont, discusses how perceptions affect the media and how the media affect perceptions.

Looking For Mr. Gilbert: African-American Photographer

John Hanson Mitchell

John Hanson Mitchell lectures on the life of the unassuming photographer Robert Alexander Gilbert.

Clarence Page on Journalism Today

Media play a vital role in both covering and defining history. In today's era of Internet bloggers and 24-hour cable television news, the nature of media coverage has changed.

Impact of the Black Press on Social Movements

Callie Crossley

November 16, 2005

Producer Callie Crossley leads a panel of black journalists in a discussion on the power of the black press in social movements.

Paula Johnson: Improving Women's Healthcare

October 6, 2005

Nationally recognized for her leadership in women's health, Paula Johnson discusses policy, research and clinical care and how that tripartite mission can offer better access and quality of care for all women.

Mental Health Awareness in the Black Community I

Terrie Williams

Inform Your Mind, Fuel Your Spirit is a panel discussion about mental health awareness in the black community moderated by Terrie Williams author of A Plentiful Harvest: Creating Balance and Harmony Through the Seven Living Virtues.

Chasing the Crescent Moon: Sickle Cell Disease

Kwaku Ohene-Frempong

A genetic disease mostly affecting those of African descent, sickle cell produces debilitating pain and a life sometimes cut short, especially for the undiagnosed.

Age of Revolution: The Black American

November 8, 2004

Gary Nash discusses the black American.

Living Black History: Resurrecting Intellectual Tradition

Manning Marable

Manning Marable describes his theoretical approach to the writing of African history and the construction of black studies, which is directly connected with living history.

Living Black History: Preserving Malcolm X's Legacy

Manning Marable

Manning Marable asks what happens to a movement when its most celebrated heroes, like Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. are transformed into commercial brands.

Living Black History: The Revolution in Black Studies

Manning Marable

Manning Marable describes how African American studies must evolve by the midpoint in this century if it is to be a legitimate and relevant project.

Elizabeth Alexander: The Black Interior

Elizabeth Alexander

Poet Elizabeth Alexander explores a wide spectrum of contemporary African-American artistic life through literature, paintings, film and popular media, and discusses its place in current culture.

Freedom Dreams: The Black Radical Imagination

September 23, 2002

Robin D.G. Kelley discusses his latest book, Freedom Dreams: The Black Radical Imagination.

DNA and the Exit to Freedom

Calvin C. Johnson Jr.

November 7, 2007

Calvin C. Johnson, Jr. dicsusses wrongful murder conviction and imprisonment, and the events that led to his exoneration.

2008 First Amendment Award: Anita Hill

Anita Hill receives the Ford Hall Forum's 2008 First Amendment Award and shares her thoughts on her life and work.

Supreme Discomfort: Clarence Thomas' Divided Soul

Kevin Merida and Michael Fletcher discusses thier new book, Supreme Discomfort: The Divided Soul of Clarence Thomas. Georgia Center for the Book presents two Washington Post reporters who provide an account of the life of Savannah-born Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.

Morris Dees Jr.: Founding the Southern Poverty Law Center

Morris Dees Jr.

Morris Dees Jr. discusses the founding of the Southern Poverty Law Center and talks about his experience with this group.

Disproportionate Minority Confinement

A panel of members of law enforcement, advocacy, politics, youth activism, and community and faith-based organizations discusses the results of the Disproportionate Minority Confinement in Massachusetts report.

Truth vs. Style: Challenge of Valaida Snow

October 5, 2005

Candace Allen discusses her first novel, Valaida, based on the life of entertainer and jazz trumpeter Valaida Snow.

Forgotten 5th: African Americans in the Age of Revolution

Gary Nash, professor of history emeritus at UCLA, explains how revolutionary fervor spiraled into the largest slave rebellion in American history. When the United States gained independence, a full fifth of the country's population was African American.

Patriots of Color: Revolutionary Heroes

State Representative Byron Rushing and James Horton, an historian at George Washington University, salute Native American and African American war heroes. This event includes performances and authentic music from the Revolutionary War.

Rough Crossings: Blacks and the Revolutionary War

Simon Schama discusses his book Rough Crossings, which turns on a single huge question: if you were black in America at the start of the Revolutionary War, whom would you want to win? Tens of thousands gave their answer, voting with their feet for Britain and King George.

African-American Voices of the Civil War

A special evening program featuring Charles Fuller, 1982 Pulitzer Prize in drama winner for A Soldier's Play.

54th Regiment and the Color of War

Susannah Melone

September 30, 2003

Shakespeare & Company actress Susannah Melone portrays Annie Kneeland Haggerty Shaw in The Color of War, an original play adapted and directed by Shakespeare & Company artist Mary Guzzy.

Tuskegee Airmen of World War II

Enoch Woodhouse

February 26, 2004

Enoch Woodhouse, attorney and veteran Tuskegee Airman, explains how the heroic deeds of the Tuskegee Airmen in World War II were an important factor in ending racial segregation in the US military by 1948.

Electing a Black President

Michael Eric Dyson

November 8, 2007

Michael Eric Dyson and a panel of black elected officials discuss the possibility of electing a black president as we head into an historical election year.

Barack Obama: Audacity of Hope

October 20, 2006

US Senator Barack Obama, D-IL discusses his new book, The Audacity of Hope, and his views on American politics with New York Times columnist Bob Herbert.

Clark Howard: Next Stop City Mayor?

September 28, 2007

Clark Howard, a nationally syndicated radio host and consumer advocate, outlines his unofficial campaign to run for mayor of Atlanta in 2009.

Education for Liberation: Black Panther Party

Elaine Brown talks about her history as a leader of the Black Panthers, and about her current work with the Michael Lewis Legal Defense Committee. This lecture is presented by the The University of Georgia.

Tribute to Barbara Jordan and Shirley Chisholm

January 16, 2006

On Martin Luther King Day, California Congresswoman Barbara Lee, National Public Radio's senior news analyst Cokie Roberts, and former Texas Governor Ann Richards discuss the remarkable political careers of two African American women, Barbara Jordan and Shirley Chisholm.

Social Inclusion of Disenfranchised People

Benedita da Silva

Benedita da Silva talks about how she has fought to prioritize racial, class, and gender issues within both Brazil's political institutions and the Workers' Party, and how she has opposed discrimination against women and blacks.

Race, Class, and Cultural Participation

Jose Masso and others discuss the opportunities and challenges that Boston arts organizations face in engaging with our diverse communities. What does cultural participation look like in various ethnic communities in Boston?

Beverly Daniel Tatum: Can We Talk About Race?

Beverly Daniel Tatum

Beverly Daniel Tatum addresses the 2007 graduating class of Agnes Scott College as the commencement keynote speaker. Agnes Scott College presents Spelman College President Tatum, noted writer, scholar, administrator and race relations expert, as their 118th commencement speaker.

Managing Diversity Leadership Forum

Dr. R. Roosevelt Thomas

January 15, 2007

Dr. R. Roosevelt Thomas, discusses strategies for maximizing organizational and individual potential through diversity management. For more than 20 years, Dr.

Diversity Forum: Bradley Schmeling

Bradley Schmeling

Lutheran minister Bradley Schmeling discusses the political, social, and moral ramifications of being an openly gay pastor.

Speaking the Truth in a Culture Committed to Diversity

Sam Wells, dean of Duke University Chapel, talks about his book, Speaking the Truth: Preaching in a Pluralistic Culture for Agnes Scott College's James Ross McCain Faith and Learning Lecture.

Celebrating Difference: The Trouble With Diversity

Walter Benn Michaels

November 1, 2006

Author Walter Benn Michaels looks at how the concept of diversity raises obstacles to equality and full participation by African Americans, women, and other marginalized groups.

Color of Wealth: The US Racial Wealth Divide

November 9, 2006

In the panel discussion, leading experts on the wealth divide explore the economic histories of Native Americans, Latinos, African Americans, Asian Americans, and European Americans, and tackle the relationship between race and finances in the United States.

Two Towns of Jasper

January 15, 2003

A panel discusses Two Towns of Jasper, a documentary film that explores race relations in the town where James Byrd, Jr., an African American resident, was brutally dragged to death in 1998.

Nigger: Strange Career of a Troublesome Word

Randall Kennedy

In this lecture, Randall Kennedy discusses the profound history of this "troublesome" word in an attempt to further understand the racial dynamics that define American society. Using the major points of his research, both legal and sociological, Kennedy relates his lessons with sparkling clarity.

Nigga': It's Just a Word or is It?

February 8, 2006

This panel discussion, moderated by Davarian Baldwin, assistant professor in the Boston College history department, examines the implications of the word 'nigger' or 'nigga'' as it is used in the mass media.

The N Word: Who Can Say It, Who Shouldn't, and Why

Jabari Asim, deputy editor of the Washington Post Book World and an essayist on popular culture for national magazines, explains why he believes that there is a place in this world for the usage of the "N" word, but only in the mouths and pens of those who truly understand its twisted history, wheth

Can We Talk about Race?

Beverly Daniel Tatum

Spelman College President Beverly Daniel Tatum sounds a warning call about the increasing but underreported resegregation of America, on the 53rd anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education decision.

Beyond Black and White: Race in the Boston Public Schools

Charles J. Ogletree Jr.

Basic Black hosts an hour-long forum with panelists and an audience in the WGBH studio. The discussion explores how the Boston public school system can maintain a commitment to diversity and provide a quality education.

Theodore C. Landsmark

Ted Landsmark discusses how demographic and educational changes affect Boston's near-term future, and the unanticipated ways in which our cultural identities are evolving.

Lani Guinier: Race, Gender and Power

September 25, 2002

Civil rights expert Lani Guinier discusses the current distribution of power in the United States. Like the canaries that alerted miners to a poisonous atmosphere, issues of race point to underlying problems in society that ultimately affect everyone, not just minorities.

Race and Presidential Politics

Michael Dukakis

Former democratic presidential nominee Michael Dukakis and Jeremy Meyer, author of Running on Race, Racial Politics in Presidential Campaigns, 1960-2000, discuss the role of race in past and future presidential elections.

(Not) Talking About Race Talk

Mica Pollock discusses race talk dilemmas with local educators, as presented in her new book, Colormute: Race Talk Dilemmas in an American School.

Passing in Boston: The Story of the Healy Family

December 4, 2002

Boston College history professor, James O'Toole discusses his newest book Passing for White: Race, Religion, and the Healy Family, 1820-1920, which documents the extraordinary life of the Healy brothers of Boston.

Keeping the Faith: Race and Catholicism

Dominic Pulera analyzes the effect of race within American Catholicism as its evolving demographics, like those of the country at large, reflect an increasing contingent of Latinos, Filipinos, and other people of color. Pulera is introduced by Boston College Theology Professor Fr. Michael Himes.

Black Pentecostalism in Global Context I

This conference looks at the history and contemporary expansion of Pentecostalism among people of African descent. The first two panels offer an engaging, scholarly approach to this topic, while the final panel presents a lively discussion among leading clerics about the future of Pentecostalism.

Black Pentecostalism in Global Context II

Robert Michael Franklin Jr.

This conference looks at the history and contemporary expansion of Pentecostalism among people of African descent. The first two panels offer an engaging, scholarly approach to this topic, while the final panel presents a lively discussion among leading clerics about the future of Pentecostalism.

Black Pentecostalism in Global Context III

David D. Daniels III

This conference looks at the history and contemporary expansion of Pentecostalism among people of African descent. The first two panels offer an engaging, scholarly approach to this topic, while the final panel presents a lively discussion among leading clerics about the future of Pentecostalism.

Black Pentecostalism in Global Context IV

Frank Madison Reid III

This conference looks at the history and contemporary expansion of Pentecostalism among people of African descent. The first two panels offer an engaging, scholarly approach to this topic, while the final panel presents a lively discussion among leading clerics about the future of Pentecostalism.

Brief History of Time Travel

Ronald L. Mallett

Time travel may sound like the stuff of science fiction, but theoretical physicist Ronald Mallett believes he may have found a practical way of getting from here to, well... yesterday.

African Americans and the Environment

Valerie Jackson

WABE-Atlanta radio talk show host Valerie Jackson moderates a town hall-style panel discussion on Global Warming and other environmental challenges, featuring national environmental leaders.

John Francis: Planetwalker

John Francis, who gave up motorized transportation for 22 years, argues that the environmental crisis is a reflection of world-wide social and economic inequity.

Space Exploration: JFK to Dr. Mae

December 2, 2003

Dr. Mae Jemison describes the United States' efforts at space exploration from the Kennedy years through the present. Mae C. Jemison blasted into orbit aboard the space shuttle Endeavour on September 12, 1992 as the first woman of color to go into space. Dr.

Charlayne Hunter Gault on African American Journalists

Charlayne Hunter Gault

September 4, 2007

Charlayne Hunter Gault discusses her trailblazing career, the challenges facing African American journalists, and her life in South Africa. Gwen Ifill, host of the PBS program Week in Review, moderates.

IDEAS Boston Youth Summit: Scherazade Daruvalla King

Scherazade Daruvalla King

Scherazade Daruvalla King discusses how she uses the media arts to bridge divides and cultivate understanding of each person's important role in creating a healthier, more equitable world.

Media Minds: Media, Race, and Urban Teens

Jacqueline Walker

October 23, 2003

A panel discusses how media can drive perceptions and expectations. According to the Communications Industry Forecast, the average American spends more than 8 hours a day using media, including, TV, music, and print media.

Media Makers: Media, Race and Urban Teens

October 23, 2003

A panel discusses the impact of the media consumption by today's youth. According to the Communications Industry Forecast, the average American spends more than 8 hours a day using media, including, TV, music, and print media.

Marian Wright Edelman: Speaking for Atlanta's Children

Marian Wright Edelman

September 28, 2005

At this annual breakfast, Atlanta's interfaith children's movement calls together ministers and lay people of many faiths to pray for children, and to reflect on the children among us whose childhood needs are not being met.

African American Perspective on Israel

September 10, 2009

Rev. Arthur C. Mosley, pastor of the Cathedral of Faith in southwest Atlanta, speaks about his 10-day trip to Israel through the American Jewish Committee's Project Interchange. He was one of 10 African American pastors on the trip from around the US.

John Callahan and Adam Bradley on Ralph Ellison

February 8, 2010

Editors John Callahan and Adam Bradley discuss Ralph Ellison's posthumously-published second novel Three Days Before the Shooting. At his death in 1994, Ralph Ellison left behind roughly two thousand pages of his unfinished second novel, which he had spent nearly four decades writing.