Black History Month event to be held at UM Feb. 23

Published 11:09 am Friday, February 10, 2012

FROM STAFF REPORTS

MONTEVALLO – Members of the Montevallo Branch of AAUW have announced plans for a special Black History Month event to be held on Thursday, Feb. 23 at 4 p.m. in the Merchants and Planters Auditorium on the UM campus. At this time, the Montevallo Branch of AAUW will host a program on “The Quest for Equity and Racial Justice in Alabama.”

Professor Kathy Lowe, Director of Carmichael Library at the University of Montevallo, will present her research on the work of Professor John Steelman, an Alabama College faculty member who, under cover of secrecy, studied and reported on racial violence in Alabama in the 1930s. This is a little known story that provides a window on some of the heroic struggles, which took place long before the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s.

UM History Professor Wilson Fallin will discuss this research in the broader historical context of efforts to achieve equity and justice in Alabama. According to AAUW Co-presidents Sandra Lott and Mary Jo Buff, the presenters’ reflections on past history will also shed light on present day issues and point the way to a future when the goals of equality and justice may be fully realized.

The public is cordially invited to attend this event, scheduled for Feb. 23 at 4 p.m. in the Merchants and Planters Auditorium in Comer Hall on the UM campus. A reception will follow in the Sarah G. Palmer Commons, Comer 202.