Dr. Cheryl A. Wall Agrees to Deliver Hurston Conference Keynote Lecture
Dr. Cheryl A. Wall
Dr. Cheryl A. Wall, Board of Governors Zora Neale Hurston Professor of English at Rutgers University, has agreed to deliver the keynote lecture for RASHAD’s September 2012 “Watching God and Reading Hurston” conference. The complete conference program will be available online after July 1st on the official conference website, http://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/hurston/ .
For more information on Professor Wall, please visit her faculty webpage at http://english.rutgers.edu/faculty/facultyprofiles/386-cwall.html .
Ellington’s Jazz Is Focus of Conference Paper
Dr. Regennia N. Williams will deliver an invited paper on “The Wartime Reception of Duke Ellington’s ‘Black, Brown, and Beige’ (1943), on Wednesday, March 14, 2012, at the University of Rouen (France). The ‘Black, Brown, and Beige’ suite includes “Come Sunday,” one of Ellington’s earliest works of sacred jazz.
The paper is part of a three-hour conference session devoted to Ellington. The session will begin at 9 a.m., and musicians from the University of Rouen’s Conservatory will also perform Ellington compositions.
The conference is part of “World War II / Seconde Guerre Mondiale,” a short-term study abroad program scheduled durig spring break 2012. For more information, contact Dr. Williams at r.williams@csuohio.edu.
Book Discussions and Author’s Talk Focus on “The Warmth of Other Suns”
Isabel Wilkerson, Author
Book lovers in Greater Cleveland will have lots of exciting events to choose from during African American History Month. RASHAD will host discussions of The Warmth of Other Suns on Thursday, February 16 and Tuesday, February 28, at noon, in CSU’s Michael Schwartz Library, author Isabel Wilkerson will give two talks on Tuesday, February 21, 2012: one from noon – 1 p.m. in Tri-C’s Western Campus Theatre and one from 6 -7 p.m. in Tri-C’s Metropolitan Campus Theatre. Admission is free to all of the the above campus events.
There will also be a third book discussion at the East View United Church of Christ on Saturday, February 25, at 7 p.m. The church is located at East 156th and Chagrin in Shaker Heights, Ohio.
For more information on the Tri-C programs, please visit: http://www.tri-c.edu/events/Documents/11-2075%20Wilkerson%20Flyer.pdf
For more information on the book discussions, please contact Dr. Regennia N. Williams, discussion leader, at (216) 523-7182.
African American History Month Book Discussions
You are cordially invited to participate in our African American History Month discussions of Isabel Wilkerson’s The Warmth of Other Suns.
Regennia N. Williams, Discussion Leader
Thursday, February 16, 2012, Noon
Cleveland State University
2121 Euclid Avenue
Michael Schwartz Library, RT 304
Saturday, February 25, 2012, 7 p.m.
Eastview United Church of Christ
15615 Chagrin Boulevard
Shaker Heights, Ohio 44120
Both discussions are free and open to the public. For more information, call (216) 523-7182.
Spiritual Gifts Gospel Choir at Severance Hall
The Spiritual Gifts Gospel Choir will perform on the Cleveland Orchestra’s “Colors of Christmas” concerts at 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday and Wednesday, December 20 and 21, at Severance Hall. The other special guests for these concerts are Peabo Bryson, Jennifer Holliday, Lea Salonga, and Ben Vereen
The Spiritual Gift s Gospel Choir performs and teaches others about the music of the historic African American church. Beverly J. Brown, program director at Rainey Institute and a graduate of Cleveland State University with degrees in music and religious studies, is serving as choirmaster for the “Colors of Christmas” performances.
In addition to their work with church choirs, individual singers have performed in concert settings and/or recorded with numerous school, community-based, and professional groups. The Spiritual Gifts Gospel Choir works in collaboration with CSU’s Initiative for the Study of Religion and Spirituality in the History of Africa and the Diaspora (RASHAD) and Praying Grounds. Dr. Regennia N. Williams, CSU associate professor of history, is founder and director of RASHAD and Praying Grounds, and serves as the administrative coordinator for Spiritual Gifts.
Discounted tickets are available for members of the CSU community and their relatives and friends. For more information, please see the flyer on this link: TCO Colors of Christmas_CSU
“Engaged Learning in Times of War and Peace” Library Exhibit on View Through End of October
Nathaniel Williams, U.S. Army Veteran, and Family, c. 1960
What was it like to be a poor child in Depression-era America? What kind of musical or other radio programming would teens have listened to in the era of World War II? How important were radio broadcasts to the dissemination of news before, during, and after the bombing of Pearl Harbor? How were draftees treated while serving in a desegregating U.S. army during the Korean War? Why did so many veterans and other African Americans leave the American South as part of the Great Migration?
During the month of October, an exhibit on the first floor of the Michael Schwartz Library, “Engaged Learning in Times of War and Peace,” invites viewers to consider these and other questions while gaining a better understanding of the life experiences of American veterans of World War II and the Korean War. Beginning with the story of one soldier, Nathaniel Williams (1930-1978), the three-part exhibit includes books, films, audio recordings, and other items from library and private collections.
For more information on related campus and community programs, please visit The Cleveland Chautauqua Blog site at http://rwilliams.csuelearning.org/.
To learn more about the experiences of other veterans, visit “African Americans, Fighting Two Battles” at http://www.loc.gov/vets/stories/ex-war-afam.html. This online collection is part of the Veterans History Project of the Library of Congress.
Coming Soon: “Speak, So You Can Speak Again!”
On Tuesday, September 27, 2011, Dr. Gillian Johns visited Cleveland State University and led two excellent discussions on “African American Autobiography as Humor,” with an emphasis on Zora Neale Hurston’s Dust Tracks on a Road. We are especially grateful to Dr. Charlie Pratt and the Title III Learning Communities office for making this program possible.
Please know that we are planning to host several follow-up book discussions for this title and other Anisfield-Wolf Book Award winners this year. Details for the series, “Speak, So You Can Speak Again,” will be announced in October. The title for the series is taken from a book by Lucy Anne Hurston, the niece of Zora Neale Hurston.
Regennia N. Williams
Writing Workshop for Teens
Saturday, September 17, 2011
10 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Cleveland Public Library
325 Superior Avenue, N.E.
Cleveland, Ohio 44114
Free Admission — Advance Registration Required
Performance and Publication Opportunities Available!
To register, call (216) 523-7182, or email r.williams@csuohio.edu.
*Name, age, school, telephone number and/or email address required at time of registration.
* This workshop is part of Cleveland Chautauqua’s 2011-2012 celebration of the life, art, and legacy of Zora Neale Hurston.
WORLD PREMIERE OF “1943,” A NEW WORK FOR MUSICAL THEATRE, SET FOR AUGUST 13TH AT CSU
- “1943: A Requiem”
Duke Ellington leading his big band, Lena Horne on the silver screen, Billy Strayhorn composing “America’s classical music,” Zora Neale Hurston taking the literary scene by storm, World War II, the Great Migration, and the social and economic transformation of the nation. These and other topics are explored in “1943,” a new work for musical theatre that will have its world premiere on the evening of Saturday, August 13, 2011, in the ballroom of Cleveland State University’s Student Center Building, 2121 Euclid Avenue. Proceeds will benefit student and community outreach programs. Reservations are required.
Activities for the evening include the following:
5:30 p.m. Cocktail Hour (cash bar)
6:30 p.m. Elegant Buffet Dinner ($25)
7:30 p.m. Seating Begins for FREE Performance
* Art Exhibit throughout Evening!
For reservations and other information, please visit http://stagingafricanamericanhistoryandculture.ticketleap.com/ or contact Dr. Regennia N. Williams (CSU, Department of History) at (216) 523-7182 or r.williams@csuohio.edu.
Written and directed by Nathaniel Rhodes, this work is inspired, in part, by the life and times of Lena Horne (1917 – 2010). The cast for this staged reading with live vocal and instrumental music includes: Christopher B. Baptiste Jr., Robin Bradley, Wilhelmenia Glenn (Me’Na), Shenee King, Nathaniel Rhodes, Theresa Ann Scott (Mama T), and Jessie Champion Sims.
This event is made possible with support from the Office of the Vice President for Institutional Diversity, the STARS Program, the Department of History, the Cleveland Chautauqua Planning Committee, and RASHAD’s “Staging African American History and Culture” Project.