Slavery to Freedom Series

February 1
5:00 p.m.
Big Ten A
Kellogg Center

Civil Rights and The Law”  From Behind and in Front of the Bench

The Honorable Dennis W. Archer

Former Supreme Court Justice and Detroit Mayor

Dennis W. Archer, a nationally recognized jurist and public servant, served two terms as mayor of the city of Detroit from 1994-2001, and as a Michigan Supreme Court justice from 1985 to 1990. Presently chairman of Dickinson Wright, PLLC, a Detroit-based law firm with more than 200 attorneys, Mr. Archer sits on the boards of several major corporations. Named Public Official of the Year by Governing magazine, Mr. Archer was president of the National League of Cities and a member of the Board of Trustees of the U.S. Conference of Mayors.  Noted internationally for his success in changing Detroit’s image and direction, he was named one of the 25 most dynamic mayors by Newsweek, and one of the 100 most influential Black Americans by Ebony. He was the first person of color elected president of the American Bar Association and also of the State Bar of Michigan. 

 

The Earl Nelson Singers, performing prior to the presentation, is an integrated ensemble from the Lansing, Michigan area. They are dedicated to collecting and performing only those arrangement that tend to capture the original mood, style, and character of the sacred song of the slave. The group’s repertoire also includes some songs representative of the early “gospel” style which typified the urbanized church songs of descendants of ex-slaves after the Civil War in America.

 

February 8
5:00 p.m.
Big Ten A
Kellogg Center

“ Weapons of Mass Deception”  It Is Not Over Yet

The Rev. Dr. Joseph Lowery

Co-founder and president emeritus, Southern Christian Leadership Conference

An historic icon of the Civil Rights Movement, Dr. Lowery co-founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference with its first president, Dr. Martin Luther King.  Internationally acclaimed for “speaking truth to power,” he delivered eulogies at the funerals of both Rosa Parks and Coretta Scott King.  The pastor of United Methodist Churches in Mobile, Birmingham and Atlanta for nearly a half-century, Dr. Lowery served as vice president and board chairman of the SCLC until 1977, when he was elected its third president, a post he held for 21 years.  For many years he was listed among Ebony’s 100 most influential African Americans, and was twice named as one of the 15 greatest Black preachers.  The first recipient of Boston University’s Martin Luther King Award, he also was named the first recipient of the Walter Reuther Labor/ Civil Rights Award by Wayne State University.  In 2001, Clark-Atlanta University established the Joseph E. Lowery Institute for Justice and Human Rights. He is co-founder of the Black Leadership Forum.

 

February 15
5:00 p.m.
Auditorium
Kellogg Center

“Contemporary Slavery”   In and Out of the Church

The Rev. Dr. Charles G. Adams

Pastor, Hartford Memorial Baptist Church, Detroit, Michigan

Dr. Adams, a graduate of the University of Michigan and Harvard University, has been invited as a guest preacher at many churches and synagogues, including the historic Riverside Church in New York City.  He has addressed the United Nations, the General Assembly for the World Council of Churches, and the National Council of Churches.  He is past president of the Progressive National Baptist Convention and has served as president of the Detroit chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.  He is well known as a dynamic preacher and an innovative leader in faith-based economic development, providing resources to serve the poor. A prolific writer, Dr. Adams has been published in scholarly journals and newspapers.

 

February 22
5:00 p.m.
Big Ten A
Kellogg Center

“A Chronicle of the King Years”  A Trilogy of Struggle

Mr. Taylor Branch

Author and Historian

Taylor Branch, a celebrated author and chronicler, has recently completed an heroic project, spending 24 years writing America in the King Years, a three-volume narrative history of the United States during 1954-1968, a focal point in the struggle for civil rights. The first volume, Parting the Waters, published in 1988, won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Non-Fiction and the Pulitzer Prize for History.  The second volume, Pillar of Fire, made its debut in 1998 and won the American Bar Association Silver Gavel Award and the English-Speaking Union Book Award, among others.  Simon and Schuster published the third volume, At Canaan’s Edge, in early 2006 to widespread critical acclaim.  Mr. Branch’s previous books include a novel, The Empire Blues (1981) and Second Wind (1979) about the life of Boston Celtics star Bill Russell.  Born in Atlanta, he lives in Baltimore.  The recipient of a five-year MacArthur Foundation Fellowship in 1991 and the National Humanities Medal in 1999, he is at work on a memoir of the Clinton presidency.