Upcoming Symposium at Georgetown

I'm going to be at Georgetown University in April as part of this great three day symposium -- Hope some of you can make it:

APRIL 15 - 17 Amiri Baraka & Nikki Giovanni"Let Freedom Ring": Art and Democracy in the King Years, 1954-1968Lannan Symposium & Festival 2008
On the 40th anniversary of Dr. King’s passing, Amiri Baraka and Nikki Giovanni join other distinguished poets, scholars and activists to celebrate role of the arts in the Civil Rights Movement. Symposium discussions, poetry readings, and lectures will take place over three days at Georgetown.

By sweeping away legal segregation in the public sphere, and especially bysecuring the right to participate in the democratic franchise for people ofcolor, the Civil Rights Movement fundamentally changed American life. Thisstruggle for social justice has been well documented and justly honored. Lesswell-documented is how the arts helped sustain the Movement and were essentialto its successes. On the fortieth anniversary of the death of Dr. Martin LutherKing, the Lannan Literary Symposium seeks to acknowledge this legacy whilepaying special attention to the contributions of poets, writers, and artists tothe public discourse of the Movement, especially during the period TaylorBranch has called "the King Years," 1954 -1968.Readings, performances, lectures, and discussions will take place on April 15,16, & 17 at Georgetown University, in Washington, DC.

__________Amiri Baraka Sonia Sanchez Haki Madhubuti Vincent HardingMichael Eric Dyson Lawrence Guyot E. Ethelbert Miller Charles CobbEugene Redmond Askia Touré Walter Fauntroy Jabari AsimValerie Smith Eleanor Traylor Barbara Teer Joanne GabbinThulani Davis Aldon Nielsen Dorie Ladner Sandra ShannonMaurice Jackson Ivanhoe Donaldson Ruth Harris Soyica DiggsRobert Patterson Randall Kenan Angelyn Mitchell Jayne Cortez__________

S p o n s o r sLannan Literary Programs African American Studies Program Department of English Office of the College Dean Diversity Action Council

____________________ S C H E D U L E TUESDAY, APRIL 15

5:00 – 6:00 p.m. WELCOME AND PLENARY LECTURE (Copley) Title of lecture to be announced. Vincent Harding.

6:00 – 7:00 p.m. OPENING RECEPTION (Copley)

8:00 – 9:30 p.m. POETRY READING (ICC Auditorium) Reading by Amiri Baraka, Eugene Redmond, and Haki Madhubuti

9:30 – 10:00 p.m. RECEPTION AND BOOK SIGNING (ICC Auditorium)

10:00 – 11:00 p.m. OPEN MIC (Bull Dog Alley)

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 16

9:30 – 11:45 a.m. SYMPOSIUM I: Art and Democracy in the King Years and Beyond: Scholarly Assessments (Copley) Joanne Gabbin, Aldon Nielson, Sandra Shannon, Valerie Smith, EleanorTraylor. Facilitator: Jabari Asim

1:00 - 3:15p.m. SYMPOSIUM II: Creativity, Resistance, Liberation: Forms of PoliticalEngagement in the Arts of the 1960s (Copley) Sonia Sanchez, E. Ethelbert Miller, Amiri Baraka, Barbara Teer, HakiMadhubuti. Facilitator: Soyica Diggs

3:45 – 5:00 p.m. PLENARY LECTURE (Gonda) "Art as a Form of Politics." Amiri Baraka. How artists are political, andhow politics is used in art.

5:15 – 6:00 p.m. RECEPTION (Old North 205)

8:00 – 10:00 p.m. POETRY READING (Old North 205) Reading by Sonia Sanchez, E. Ethelbert Miller, Askia Toure

10:00 – 10:30 p.m. RECEPTION & BOOKSIGNING (Old North 205)

10:00 – 11:00 p.m. OPEN MIC (Bulldog Alley)

THURSDAY, APRIL 17

9:30 a.m.– 12:00 p.m. SYMPOSIUM III: Living History: Activists on Art and Social Justice Lawrence Guyot, Ivanhoe Donaldson, Charles Cobb, Walter Fauntroy, DorieLadner, Ruth Harris. Facilitator: Maurice Jackson

12:30 – 2:00 p.m. LUNCHEON AND PLENARY LECTURE (Copley) "Music of Struggle." Ruth Harris. Turning crowds into community by getting people to sing.

2:15 – 4:30 p.m. SYMPOSIUM IV: Advancing American Ideals: Democracy as a Goal for the Arts(Copley) Randall Kenan, Askia Toure, Thulani Davis, Eugene Redmond, Jayne Cortez. Facilitator: Robert Patterson

5:00 – 6:15 p.m. PLENARY LECTURE (Copley)"'A Change is Gonna Come'?" Michael Eric Dyson. Art and the politics of the black possible.

8:00 – 10:00 p.m. READING (ICC Auditorium) Reading by Randall Kenan, Thulani Davis, Barbara Teer, Jayne Cortez

10:00 – 10:30 p.m. RECEPTION AND BOOKSIGNING (ICC Auditorium)

10:00 – 11:00 p.m. OPEN MIC (Bulldog Alley)--

Mark McMorrisAssociate Professor, EnglishDirector, Lannan Literary ProgramsGeorgetown University