FREE TICKETS for the National Symposium- Civil War to Civil Rights: The Well-Being of a Nation

One hundred and fifty years ago, the Civil War was fully engaged. The Battle of Gettysburg had just ended, and in January of 1863, President Lincoln had issued the Emancipation Proclamation. The Civil War was a war fought over rights -- human rights generally; the rights of slaves and the rights of slave-owners; and the rights  of the Federal and State governments. 

Fifty years ago, the Civil Rights movement was fully engaged. Hundreds of thousands of Americans peacefully demonstrated on the National Mall 50 years ago last week. Elsewhere in the country, black Americans were being bombed, shot, lynched and jailed for demanding their rights under the Constitution. 

This year, we learned that it is legal to hunt down and kill American children in Florida. 

 

This year, the most activist Supreme Court in the history of the United States and radical factions of gun owners, gun manufacturers, and marijuana users are challenging the very fabric of the nation by reopening questions of nullification, states' rights, personhood and more, long considered settled.

This year, unprecedented numbers of Americans who make the mistake of getting sick face bankruptcy, homelessness, personal and family ruin. We spend more on health care per capita than any country in the world, with poor outcomes for most.

Hosted by the Clarice Smith Center, in partnership with the UMD School of Public Policy and the UMD School of Public Health, the symposium "Civil War to Civil Rights: The Well-Being of a Nation" will kick off a yearlong series of events to commemorate these events and to examine these issues. Students in the Honors College have special access to the symposium -- 300 seats have been reserved especially for Honors College students. There are 100 seats available for Thursday evening, and 200 seats available for Friday. Because the event is otherwise sold out, please do not pick up tickets unless you are definitely planning to attend. We will distribute any leftover tickets after 4:30 on Thursday.

The symposium starts Thursday evening. After an opening reception, Julian Bond will deliver the first Keynote address at 7 PM in the Kay Theatre. His speech will explore the goals of both the 1963 march and the August 24, 2013 march, giving consideration to the civil rights movement then and now. Mr. Bond will recount his own history and experiences at both marches, making the connection to the significance of the recent Trayvon Martin case and the Voting Rights Amendment.

At 8:30, Maryland alum, MacArthur Fellow and renowned choreographer Liz Lerman and Professor Vincent Thomas ("Baltimore's Best Choreographer") will frame the issues of the symposium with dance and movement.

Then, starting at 10 AM and running through 5:30 PM Friday, there will be a number of sessions, presentations and discussions led by national figures, Maryland faculty (Honors and otherwise), and Maryland students (Honors and otherwise).

I hope you can join us for this Symposium. Free tickets are available at the service desk in Anne Arundel Hall through 4:30 PM Thursday. You may pick up at most four tickets, for yourself and three friends. If you wish to attend as part of a larger group, you'll simply need to have proportionally more people drop by Anne Arundel to get the tickets. Tickets will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis.

I am also looking for a few students to play special roles in the Symposium. We would like to "broadcast" the Symposium via social media, allowing members of the audience to describe what is going on and comment as they wish. We would also like some participants to answer a few questions from their own, personal perspectives, and also to report on how the events of the Symposium are playing out in the audience. If you are interested in playing one of these special roles, please email me directly, <bdorland@umd.edu> with the subject "Symposium volunteer". Please include in your email which parts of the Symposium you will attend, and whether you would like to provide feedback to the organizers or instead be a social media presence from the auditorium.

All the best,

Prof Dorland

Thursday, Sept. 5 - Friday, Sept. 6 in CSPAC

        Tickets will be available on Wednesday, Sept. 4 in the Honors Main Office located on the first floor of Anne Arundel Hall.  The Honors office is open Monday- Friday, 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.


National Symposium - Civil War to Civil Rights: The Well-Being of a Nation
Thursday, September 5 - Friday, September 6
Kay Theatre, Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center
Observing the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington and the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, the Civil War to Civil Rights: The Well-Being of a Nation symposium will be both commemorative and forward-looking. Hosted by the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, in partnership with the UMD School of Public Policy and the Center for Health Equity in the UMD School of Public Health, the symposium is the launch of The National Civil War Project. University Honors is proud to support and promote this event. The symposium is FREE, but registration is strongly encouraged. Please click here to register.

Thursday, September 5
Keynote: Why the March on Washington Still Resonates Today featuring Julian Bond
6:00pm – 6:45pm Opening Reception
7:00pm – 8:15pm Keynote

After an introduction by University of Maryland student Jazz Lewis, the opening keynote event of this symposium will feature Julian Bond, American social activist, Civil Rights Movement leader, politician, professor and writer.

Friday, September 6
Terptalks—Jobs and Freedom: How Far Have We Come?
10:00am – 12:30pm

Hear brief presentations on this topic by Perla Guerrero, Stephen Thomas, Kalima Young, Darius Graham, Cedric Harmon, Andy Shallal, and University Honors instructor Howard Smead.

And The March Continues: Student Activists Roundtable
12:30pm – 1:15pm

Join this roundtable discussion and conversation featuring University of Maryland student activists Raaheela Ahmed, Ola Ojewumi, Andrew Mulinge and Sarah Ferrell, facilitated and led by Truman Scholar and University Honors student Mohammad Zia.

Keynote: Still Marching—The Work That Lies Ahead featuring Marian Wright Edelman
3:30pm – 4:45pm

The final keynote event of the symposium will feature Marian Wright Edelman, American activist for the rights of children. The event will be preceded by creative framing by Liz Lerman and Vincent Thomas.

Marching Forward: A Call To Action
4:45pm – 5:30pm

Generations that have come after the March on Washington know only a transformed America, in which discrimination based on race is prohibited, and equal access for everyone is protected by the law. Writer, commentator and cultural critic Toure will discuss what the movement means to post-Civil Rights generations, and deliver a call to action to continue working toward the movement’s goals.