Events
Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemorations
On January 9 & 10, 2001, GSFC hosted the Honorable Walter E. Fauntroy. Rev. Fauntroy, retired member of the U.S. Congress, was the Director of the Washington Bureau of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and former DC Coordinator of the 1963 March on Washington.
On January 10 & 11, 2002, the legendary human rights activist, Rev. Fred L. Shuttlesworth visited GSFC. Rev. Shuttlesworth was one of the five organizers of the SCLC with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1957; he still serves on its National Board. He was also a member of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE).
Space: HOPE 2002 - A GSFC Initiative
Space Hope is a pilot Information Technology training program focused on developing and retaining skilled IT personnel for NASA. It offers core IT curricula instruction combined with on-the-job training in specific workforce skills. The program is based at Coppin State University, Baltimore, MD.
African-American History Month
The 2002 theme was "The Color Line Revisited: Is Racism Dead?" And If Not, Why Not?
For this year, we combined several interesting and thought-provoking venues: we combined several films, an insightful seminar on racial dynamics and sought after speakers to come to the Center and present before our audiences.
The presentations were the following:
Thursday, February 7, 2002
Film: "Mississippi Burning"
The 1964 disappearance and suspected murders of three civil rights workers brings the forces of the FBI and the Ku Klux Klan face- to- face in a war of wills for justice.
Tuesday, February 12, 2002
Astronaut Robert Curbeam
Cmdr. Robert Curbeam, USN as a NASA Astronaut, and a Baltimore native, he has logged 600 hours in space, including 19 EVA hours during three spacewalks.
Thursday, February 14, 2002
Film: "Ralph Bunche: An American Odyssey"
The story of Ralph Bunche is the story of unprecedented intellectual and political influence, power and savvy. Before Kissinger, and before Powell today, Ralph Bunche ... Ambassador, Statesman, Diplomat and Scholar ... lead and modeled the excellence of African-Americans.
and
Film: "Freedom Never Dies: The Legacy of Harry T. Moore"
Harry T. Moore was the First Secretary of the NAACP in Florida amidst fierce KKK resistance and violence against minorities. Single-handedly, Harry T. Moore courageously confronted and contested for the enfranchisements of African-Americans.
Tuesday, February 19, 2002
Film: "Finding Forrester"
Jamal Wallace (Rob Brown) is a talented 16 yr. old basketball player in New York City whose secret passion is writing and William Forrester (Sean Connery) is a reclusive Pulitzer Prize - winning novelist. After an accidental meeting, the two become partners in developing and bringing out the best of each other. A great, multi-faceted, direct and subtle examination of many perceptions, stereotypes and expectations (or lack thereof) surrounding success amongst and against African-American men.
Thursday, February 21, 2002
Film: " A Family Thing"
Interesting examination of mixed families, in this case unknowingly. James Earl Jones and Robert Duval star as 'brothers', separated from birth, by circumstance and by "race". They handle the subject of the duality of United States interracial relationships with power, feeling and honesty.
Tuesday, February 26, 2002
The Color Line: Is Racism Dead?
Seminar on the Historic Dynamics of Race with Dr. Joseph Brent
The approach was to examine, first, the dynamics of dominance/ subordinance generally and, then, to apply it to a number of cases, including man/woman, parent/child and ending up with black/white racial issues. It is important to be able to distinguish racism from other patterns of dominance and oppression, so that the social landscape can be clearly understood for what it is and is not. It is also extremely important to understand the extent to which both the dominant and subordinate parties are partners to and complicit in the racial dynamic.
Dr. Joseph Brent has taught US History, Black History, Criminal Justice, Constitutional Law, History of Race Relations, US Intellectual History, and Problems in Drug Policy.
Wednesday, February 27, 2002
Journalist Courtland Milloy of the Washington Post Newspaper
Metro columnist Courtland Milloy, a native of Shreveport, La., came to The Post in 1975 after a brief stint at the Miami Herald, where he helped cover the 1972 Republican and Democratic National Conventions. His column began in 1983 and deals primarily with issues that affect the lives of African Americans. Courtland Milloy keeps our eyes on the prize - a better city for all its people."
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