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One of the more underdiscussed topics in the dialogue on race issues, says Hopkins senior Kasandrah Baynes, is the experience of black immigrants in America. Baynes, chairwoman of the Hopkins Black Student Union's Black History Month, wants to change that. "Bound by Our Roots: African Diaspora in America," the program she has devised for February's monthlong celebration on the Homewood campus, is a series of talks, discussions, films and events that address the universal black experience, not just that of black Americans. "I wanted to explore the idea of African diaspora because at Hopkins, although I doubt if there are any statistics on this, most of the blacks on campus are first- or second-generation immigrants, or immigrants themselves. For example, there are very large populations of Nigerian-American students, Caribbean-American students, students whose parents come from all sorts of countries," says Baynes, whose mother is Jamaican and father Guyanese. "You may not know it just by looking at us, because we all just look black, but we have different histories, different cultures, different perspectives. There seems to be a hunger for that to be addressed on this campus, to knock down the assumption that just because you're black you have identical experiences."
Throughout the month, students, faculty and guest speakers will sink their teeth into topics such as ethnic strife in Rwanda, placebo testing in Africa and tensions between blacks and Asians in America. One of the highlights will be a talk on Wednesday, Feb. 18, by Cornel West, the Harvard University professor whose studies on race issues are considered some of the most important of our time. West has written 12 books, including Jews and Blacks, Restoring Hope and Race Matters, and has an upcoming book, The War Against Parents, co-authored with Sylvia Ann Hewlett. Another event already generating excitement is a poetry/jazz reading by Amiri Baraka, on Friday evening, Feb. 13. "Earlier this year, during CultureFest, we had a similar poetry/jazz reading by an artist not nearly as well-known as Amiri Baraka, and the turnout was amazing. The Great Hall was packed," says Baynes. "There seems to be a renewed interest in that style of jazzy poetry with political undertones. It's pretty popular." Baraka, formerly known as LeRoi Jones, was an original member of the Black Panther Party and has been a figure on the American political and literary landscape for over 30 years. He has produced over 20 plays, written three jazz operas, seven non-fiction books, two novels and 13 volumes of poetry. Among the many awards and honors he has won are an Obie, a Pen-Faulkner and a Langston Hughes. Following is the schedule of events for Black History Month. Free lunches are provided for the first 20 people to all lunch discussions. All events take place on the Homewood campus and are free unless otherwise noted. For more information about any of these programs, call 410-516-5435.
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Schedule of Events |
Friday, Jan. 30,
noon, Glass Pavilion Opening ceremony, with performances by Hopkins student performance groups. Refreshments.
Monday, Feb.2, noon,
Garrett Room, MSE Library
Tuesday, Feb. 3,
8:30 p.m., AMR TV Room
Thursday, Feb. 5,
noon, Garrett Room, MSEL
Thursday, Feb. 5, 8
p.m., Garrett Room, MSEL
Monday, Feb. 9, 6
p.m., Great Hall, Levering Hall
Tuesday, Feb. 10,
noon, Garrett Room, MSEL
Tuesday, Feb. 10, 7
p.m., Glass Pavilion
Thursday, Feb.12,
noon, Garrett Room, MSEL
Thursday, Feb. 12,
7:30 p.m., Garrett Room, MSEL
Friday, Feb. 13, 8
p.m., Shriver Auditorium
Friday, Feb. 13,
after the poetry reading, Great Hall, Levering Hall
Tuesday, Feb. 17,
noon, Garrett Room, MSEL
Wednesday, Feb. 18,
7 p.m., Shriver Auditorium
Thursday, Feb. 19,
noon, Garrett Room, MSEL
Saturday, Feb. 21, 8
p.m., Shriver Auditorium
Monday, Feb. 23, 8
p.m., Garrett Room, MSEL
Tuesday, Feb. 24,
noon, Garrett Room, MSEL
Wednesday, Feb. 25,
4 p.m., Garrett Room, MSEL
Friday, Feb. 27, 8
p.m., Arellano Theater, Levering Hall
Saturday, Feb. 28, 6
p.m., Glass Pavilion
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