Historian John Hope Franklin to Be Honored with Memorial Conference at Brooklyn College
The late historian John Hope Franklin, a major figure in the writing of American and African-American history, and 1995 winner of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, will be honored by former colleagues and fellow historians during a daylong John Hope Franklin Memorial Conference at Brooklyn College to be held Tuesday, Nov. 17, from 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. in the library.
Franklin, who died earlier this year at the age of 94, was an Oklahoma native who earned a bachelor's degree from Fisk University, a historically black institution, in 1935. He earned an M.A. in 1936 and a Ph.D. in History in 1941 from Harvard University. Over the course of his lifetime, he was the recipient of more than 130 honorary degrees.
He chaired the Brooklyn College History Department from 1956 to 1964, becoming the first African-American scholar to lead the history department at a predominantly white U.S. college. In addition to Brooklyn College, he also taught at such leading institutions as Howard University, Harvard, the University of Chicago and Duke University. In 1997, he was appointed head of President Clinton's Initiative on Race. At the time of his death, he was the James B. Duke Professor of History Emeritus at Duke.
A number of Brooklyn College departments and offices are cosponsoring the event in honor of Franklin, including his own History Department; the departments of Africana Studies, Anthropology, Political Science and Sociology; the School of Education; the Programs in Children's Studies and Women's Studies; the Shirley Chisholm Project of Brooklyn Women's Activism; the Offices of the President and of the Provost; the Brooklyn College Library; and the Office of Affirmative Action, Compliance and Diversity.
The theme of the conference is "Current Trends in African-American History" in recognition of Franklin's many contributions and pioneering efforts to chronicle the central role that African-Americans have played in American history. His "From Slavery to Freedom: A History of African Americans," first published in 1947, has sold more than three million copies and is still considered one of the definitive historical surveys of America's black experience.
The noted Harvard historian Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham will deliver the Franklin Memorial Lecture at a 12:30 p.m. luncheon session in the library's Christoph M. Kimmich Reading Room. Professor Higginbotham is the author of the prize-winning "Righteous Discontent: The Women's Movement in the Black Baptist Church: 1880-1920"(Harvard University Press, 1993), co-editor of "African American Lives"(Oxford University Press, 2004) and "The African American National Biography" (2008), and editor in chief of "The Harvard Guide to African-American History"(Harvard University Press, 2001). In addition, the conference will feature three scholarly panels exploring current historical research, a panel on teaching, a presentation by Africana Studies Chair George Cunningham of books by African-American historians, and a reception. The panels will take place in the Woody Tanger Auditorium.
Current chairperson of the Department of History David Troyansky notes, "We see the event as both commemorative and forward-looking. Professor Higginbotham's talk will explore the latest version of Franklin's 'From Slavery to Freedom' as well as his legacy. We will hear from individuals who have taught the book in its various editions and we will have a taste of just-published or forthcoming scholarship from a new generation of historians."
The first panel, starting at 11 a.m. and titled "African American Women, Urban Reform and Uplift," will feature Cheryl Hicks and Sonya Ramsey, both of the University of North Carolina, Charlotte.
The luncheon and the presentation by Professor Cunningham will be followed by a second panel, "Material Culture and African-American History in New York City," beginning at 2:30 p.m. and featuring Jennifer Scott, of the Weeksville Heritage Center; Arthur Bankoff, of Brooklyn College; and Fred Winter, of the Association of American Colleges and Universities.
The third panel, scheduled to begin at 3:40 p.m., will examine "Civil Rights and Black Power in New York City: Northern Struggles for Racial and Economic Justice," featuring Stefan Bradley, of St. Louis University, and Brian Purnell, of Fordham University.
The final panel, "Teaching John Hope Franklin's 'From Slavery to Freedom,'" will start at 5:05 p.m., featuring Purnell, and Michael Schoenfeld and Barbara Winslow, both of Brooklyn College.
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Franklin, who died earlier this year at the age of 94, was an Oklahoma native who earned a bachelor's degree from Fisk University, a historically black institution, in 1935. He earned an M.A. in 1936 and a Ph.D. in History in 1941 from Harvard University. Over the course of his lifetime, he was the recipient of more than 130 honorary degrees.
He chaired the Brooklyn College History Department from 1956 to 1964, becoming the first African-American scholar to lead the history department at a predominantly white U.S. college. In addition to Brooklyn College, he also taught at such leading institutions as Howard University, Harvard, the University of Chicago and Duke University. In 1997, he was appointed head of President Clinton's Initiative on Race. At the time of his death, he was the James B. Duke Professor of History Emeritus at Duke.
A number of Brooklyn College departments and offices are cosponsoring the event in honor of Franklin, including his own History Department; the departments of Africana Studies, Anthropology, Political Science and Sociology; the School of Education; the Programs in Children's Studies and Women's Studies; the Shirley Chisholm Project of Brooklyn Women's Activism; the Offices of the President and of the Provost; the Brooklyn College Library; and the Office of Affirmative Action, Compliance and Diversity.
The theme of the conference is "Current Trends in African-American History" in recognition of Franklin's many contributions and pioneering efforts to chronicle the central role that African-Americans have played in American history. His "From Slavery to Freedom: A History of African Americans," first published in 1947, has sold more than three million copies and is still considered one of the definitive historical surveys of America's black experience.
The noted Harvard historian Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham will deliver the Franklin Memorial Lecture at a 12:30 p.m. luncheon session in the library's Christoph M. Kimmich Reading Room. Professor Higginbotham is the author of the prize-winning "Righteous Discontent: The Women's Movement in the Black Baptist Church: 1880-1920"(Harvard University Press, 1993), co-editor of "African American Lives"(Oxford University Press, 2004) and "The African American National Biography" (2008), and editor in chief of "The Harvard Guide to African-American History"(Harvard University Press, 2001). In addition, the conference will feature three scholarly panels exploring current historical research, a panel on teaching, a presentation by Africana Studies Chair George Cunningham of books by African-American historians, and a reception. The panels will take place in the Woody Tanger Auditorium.
Current chairperson of the Department of History David Troyansky notes, "We see the event as both commemorative and forward-looking. Professor Higginbotham's talk will explore the latest version of Franklin's 'From Slavery to Freedom' as well as his legacy. We will hear from individuals who have taught the book in its various editions and we will have a taste of just-published or forthcoming scholarship from a new generation of historians."
The first panel, starting at 11 a.m. and titled "African American Women, Urban Reform and Uplift," will feature Cheryl Hicks and Sonya Ramsey, both of the University of North Carolina, Charlotte.
The luncheon and the presentation by Professor Cunningham will be followed by a second panel, "Material Culture and African-American History in New York City," beginning at 2:30 p.m. and featuring Jennifer Scott, of the Weeksville Heritage Center; Arthur Bankoff, of Brooklyn College; and Fred Winter, of the Association of American Colleges and Universities.
The third panel, scheduled to begin at 3:40 p.m., will examine "Civil Rights and Black Power in New York City: Northern Struggles for Racial and Economic Justice," featuring Stefan Bradley, of St. Louis University, and Brian Purnell, of Fordham University.
The final panel, "Teaching John Hope Franklin's 'From Slavery to Freedom,'" will start at 5:05 p.m., featuring Purnell, and Michael Schoenfeld and Barbara Winslow, both of Brooklyn College.