NEWS RELEASE

Office of External Communications

Houston, TX 77204-5017 Fax: 713.743.8199

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 13, 2006

Contact: Marisa Ramirez
713.743.8152 (office)
713.204.9798 (cell)
mrcannon@uh.edu

BLACK SCHOLARS GATHER WITH UH’S AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDIES PROGRAM TO CELEBRATE THREE DECADES OF PROGRESS

Scholars from around the country are gathering in Houston this week for the annual National Council for Black Studies Conference. The event, titled “Celebrating Three Decades of Progress,” is sponsored by the University of Houston African American Studies program and begins Wednesday, March 15, at the Crowne Plaza Houston-Downtown.

The conference features panel discussions and presentations on a variety topics including: African culture and hip hop, spirituality, Black Panther activism in Houston, and African American Studies as an academic program.

“This is the first time that UH has hosted this prestigious conference,” James Conyers, director of the UH African American Studies program, said. “Our hope is to showcase the talent and passion of our faculty and students and encourage this conference to return to Houston.”

Included in the schedule is Sister Soulja, political activist, writer and singer, who will chair a roundtable discussion on Understanding the Influence of Activism on Black Women’s Psychological Wellbeing. Soulja is the author of “The Coldest Winter Ever” about drugs and violence among African American youth.

Among the UH faculty presenting papers at the conference are Ahati N. N. Toure, who will discuss John Henrik Clarke, one of the first educators to create an African American Studies program; Aswad Walker, who will discuss Marcus Garvey, the advocate of the Back to Africa movement of early 1900s, as a theologian; and Asa Imhotep, who will discuss African spirituality through art.

For a complete schedule of workshops and speakers, please visit www.ncbsonline.org/

For more information on the UH African American Studies Program, please visit www.class.uh.edu/aas/

WHAT: The National Council for Black Studies Conference
30th Annual Conference
Hosted by UH African American Studies Program
WHEN: March 15 – 18
Workshops begin at 2 p.m.
WHERE: Crowne Plaza Houston – Downtown
1700 Smith, 77002

For more information about UH visit the university’s ‘Newsroom’ at www.uh.edu/admin/media/newsroom.