Learn about Chicago's civil rights history during Black History Month at SXU

Professor Erik Gellman to discuss black power and economic justice in 1960s Chicago

Chicago (Feb. 2, 2011) Learn about Chicago’s civil rights history in honor of Black History Month with Roosevelt University Professor Erik Gellman from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Mon., Feb. 13 at the Bishop Quarter Room, located in the Warde Academic Center at Saint Xavier University's Chicago campus, 3700 W. 103rd St. This event is free and open to the public.

Gellman's lecture, titled "The Panthers and Beyond: The Wider Vision of Black Power and Economic Justice in 1960s Chicago," will discuss five myths concerning the history of late 1960s Chicago. These myths show how popular memory (and the lack of memory altogether) have prevented students and citizens of Illinois from better understanding contemporary urban problems, such as access to jobs, the pipeline from failing schools to prisons, and the use of urban space.

Gellman will use film and images in conjunction with his own extensive research on Chicago civil rights activities during this period to illustrate a more relevant urban history of the late 1960s. He will use the campaign of Martin Luther King, Jr., the 1968 Democratic National Convention and the assassination of Fred Hampton as points of departure to understand the context of social change and its repression during this tumultuous era.

Gellman holds a B.A. from Bates College and Ph.D. in history from Northwestern University. He is a professor in the history and sociology department at Roosevelt University, and his research focuses on African-Americans, social movements, and racial studies. He has written articles in "The Journal of Southern History" and is working on two books titled "Labor's New Deal Prophets" and "Death Blow, Jim Crow!"

This program is made possible in part by an award from the Illinois Humanities Council, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Illinois General Assembly. For more information, please contact the Library at (773) 298-3352 or visit www.sxu.edu, keyword: library.

-SXU-

Media Contact:
Karla Thomas, Executive Director of Media Relations
(773) 298-3937 or kthomas@sxu.edu