Carter G. Woodson Institute

From the "Currents in Conversation" forum held at the Carter G. Woodson Institute.

From the range of voices that joined together Wednesday to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, it’s safe to say the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s celebrated “dream” of racial justice and equality from his famous speech that day remains vivid in the University of Virginia community. At the same time, those voices concurred that the dream is far from fulfilled 50 years later. To mark the occasion of the 1963 March on Washington, the University held two events: U.Va.’s Office of the Vice President and Chief Officer for Diversity and Equity hosted “Let Freedom Ring at U.Va.,” in the Rotunda Dome Room; and later, the Carter G. Woodson Institute of African-American and African Studies held an event with more than 30 participants expressing ways to revitalize the purpose of King’s speech, which emphasized the need for jobs and justice.

Bells pealed around the world on Aug. 28, 2013 at 3 p.m. – including those at the University of Virginia’s Chapel – to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, part of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The Carter G. Woodson Institute of African-American and African Studies hosted the event, "The March@50," focusing on ways to revitalize the purpose of King’s speech, which emphasized the need for jobs and justice. That gathering was held in the auditorium of the Mary and David Harrison Institute for American History, Literature and Culture/Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library. Participants in the discussion included Frank Dukes, director of the Institute for Environmental Negotiation, based in the School of Architecture, and executive director of University and Community Action for Racial Equity; U.Va. students from the Black Student Alliance; Kristin Szakos, vice mayor of Charlottesville; Andrea Douglass of the Jefferson Heritage Center; Jim Bundy of Sojourners United Church of Christ; and representatives from the Living Wage Campaign. The participants offered their interpretations in any format they chose – in spoken words, song, dance, instrumental performance, etc., said Deborah McDowell, director of the Woodson Institute and Alice Griffin Professor of English. “My colleagues and I are envisioning this as an occasion to do more than memorialize the speech and reiterate its famous references to the ‘color of their skin’ and ‘the content of their character,’” McDowell said. “Rather, I thought we’d want to see this event as an opportunity – dare I say, an obligation? – to rethink the speech and attempt to re-invigorate its meanings and its promises, as well as the original purpose behind the march. “Let’s not forget that this was the ‘March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.’ The rhetoric of dreaming sometimes eclipses the call for jobs and freedom,” she said.

Bells pealed around the world on Aug. 28, 2013 at 3 p.m. – including those at the University of Virginia’s Chapel – to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, part of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The Carter G. Woodson Institute of African-American and African Studies hosted the event, "The March@50," focusing on ways to revitalize the purpose of King’s speech, which emphasized the need for jobs and justice. That gathering was held in the auditorium of the Mary and David Harrison Institute for American History, Literature and Culture/Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library. Participants in the discussion included Frank Dukes, director of the Institute for Environmental Negotiation, based in the School of Architecture, and executive director of University and Community Action for Racial Equity; U.Va. students from the Black Student Alliance; Kristin Szakos, vice mayor of Charlottesville; Andrea Douglass of the Jefferson Heritage Center; Jim Bundy of Sojourners United Church of Christ; and representatives from the Living Wage Campaign. The participants offered their interpretations in any format they chose – in spoken words, song, dance, instrumental performance, etc., said Deborah McDowell, director of the Woodson Institute and Alice Griffin Professor of English. “My colleagues and I are envisioning this as an occasion to do more than memorialize the speech and reiterate its famous references to the ‘color of their skin’ and ‘the content of their character,’” McDowell said. “Rather, I thought we’d want to see this event as an opportunity – dare I say, an obligation? – to rethink the speech and attempt to re-invigorate its meanings and its promises, as well as the original purpose behind the march. “Let’s not forget that this was the ‘March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.’ The rhetoric of dreaming sometimes eclipses the call for jobs and freedom,” she said.

Bells pealed around the world on Aug. 28, 2013 at 3 p.m. – including those at the University of Virginia’s Chapel – to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, part of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The Carter G. Woodson Institute of African-American and African Studies hosted the event, "The March@50," focusing on ways to revitalize the purpose of King’s speech, which emphasized the need for jobs and justice. That gathering was held in the auditorium of the Mary and David Harrison Institute for American History, Literature and Culture/Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library. Participants in the discussion included Frank Dukes, director of the Institute for Environmental Negotiation, based in the School of Architecture, and executive director of University and Community Action for Racial Equity; U.Va. students from the Black Student Alliance; Kristin Szakos, vice mayor of Charlottesville; Andrea Douglass of the Jefferson Heritage Center; Jim Bundy of Sojourners United Church of Christ; and representatives from the Living Wage Campaign. The participants offered their interpretations in any format they chose – in spoken words, song, dance, instrumental performance, etc., said Deborah McDowell, director of the Woodson Institute and Alice Griffin Professor of English. “My colleagues and I are envisioning this as an occasion to do more than memorialize the speech and reiterate its famous references to the ‘color of their skin’ and ‘the content of their character,’” McDowell said. “Rather, I thought we’d want to see this event as an opportunity – dare I say, an obligation? – to rethink the speech and attempt to re-invigorate its meanings and its promises, as well as the original purpose behind the march. “Let’s not forget that this was the ‘March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.’ The rhetoric of dreaming sometimes eclipses the call for jobs and freedom,” she said.

Bells pealed around the world on Aug. 28, 2013 at 3 p.m. – including those at the University of Virginia’s Chapel – to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, part of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The Carter G. Woodson Institute of African-American and African Studies hosted the event, "The March@50," focusing on ways to revitalize the purpose of King’s speech, which emphasized the need for jobs and justice. That gathering was held in the auditorium of the Mary and David Harrison Institute for American History, Literature and Culture/Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library. Participants in the discussion included Frank Dukes, director of the Institute for Environmental Negotiation, based in the School of Architecture, and executive director of University and Community Action for Racial Equity; U.Va. students from the Black Student Alliance; Kristin Szakos, vice mayor of Charlottesville; Andrea Douglass of the Jefferson Heritage Center; Jim Bundy of Sojourners United Church of Christ; and representatives from the Living Wage Campaign. The participants offered their interpretations in any format they chose – in spoken words, song, dance, instrumental performance, etc., said Deborah McDowell, director of the Woodson Institute and Alice Griffin Professor of English. “My colleagues and I are envisioning this as an occasion to do more than memorialize the speech and reiterate its famous references to the ‘color of their skin’ and ‘the content of their character,’” McDowell said. “Rather, I thought we’d want to see this event as an opportunity – dare I say, an obligation? – to rethink the speech and attempt to re-invigorate its meanings and its promises, as well as the original purpose behind the march. “Let’s not forget that this was the ‘March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.’ The rhetoric of dreaming sometimes eclipses the call for jobs and freedom,” she said.

Bells pealed around the world on Aug. 28, 2013 at 3 p.m. – including those at the University of Virginia’s Chapel – to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, part of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The Carter G. Woodson Institute of African-American and African Studies hosted the event, "The March@50," focusing on ways to revitalize the purpose of King’s speech, which emphasized the need for jobs and justice. That gathering was held in the auditorium of the Mary and David Harrison Institute for American History, Literature and Culture/Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library. Participants in the discussion included Frank Dukes, director of the Institute for Environmental Negotiation, based in the School of Architecture, and executive director of University and Community Action for Racial Equity; U.Va. students from the Black Student Alliance; Kristin Szakos, vice mayor of Charlottesville; Andrea Douglass of the Jefferson Heritage Center; Jim Bundy of Sojourners United Church of Christ; and representatives from the Living Wage Campaign. The participants offered their interpretations in any format they chose – in spoken words, song, dance, instrumental performance, etc., said Deborah McDowell, director of the Woodson Institute and Alice Griffin Professor of English. “My colleagues and I are envisioning this as an occasion to do more than memorialize the speech and reiterate its famous references to the ‘color of their skin’ and ‘the content of their character,’” McDowell said. “Rather, I thought we’d want to see this event as an opportunity – dare I say, an obligation? – to rethink the speech and attempt to re-invigorate its meanings and its promises, as well as the original purpose behind the march. “Let’s not forget that this was the ‘March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.’ The rhetoric of dreaming sometimes eclipses the call for jobs and freedom,” she said.

Bells pealed around the world on Aug. 28, 2013 at 3 p.m. – including those at the University of Virginia’s Chapel – to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, part of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The Carter G. Woodson Institute of African-American and African Studies hosted the event, "The March@50," focusing on ways to revitalize the purpose of King’s speech, which emphasized the need for jobs and justice. That gathering was held in the auditorium of the Mary and David Harrison Institute for American History, Literature and Culture/Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library. Participants in the discussion included Frank Dukes, director of the Institute for Environmental Negotiation, based in the School of Architecture, and executive director of University and Community Action for Racial Equity; U.Va. students from the Black Student Alliance; Kristin Szakos, vice mayor of Charlottesville; Andrea Douglass of the Jefferson Heritage Center; Jim Bundy of Sojourners United Church of Christ; and representatives from the Living Wage Campaign. The participants offered their interpretations in any format they chose – in spoken words, song, dance, instrumental performance, etc., said Deborah McDowell, director of the Woodson Institute and Alice Griffin Professor of English. “My colleagues and I are envisioning this as an occasion to do more than memorialize the speech and reiterate its famous references to the ‘color of their skin’ and ‘the content of their character,’” McDowell said. “Rather, I thought we’d want to see this event as an opportunity – dare I say, an obligation? – to rethink the speech and attempt to re-invigorate its meanings and its promises, as well as the original purpose behind the march. “Let’s not forget that this was the ‘March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.’ The rhetoric of dreaming sometimes eclipses the call for jobs and freedom,” she said.

Bells pealed around the world on Aug. 28, 2013 at 3 p.m. – including those at the University of Virginia’s Chapel – to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, part of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The Carter G. Woodson Institute of African-American and African Studies hosted the event, "The March@50," focusing on ways to revitalize the purpose of King’s speech, which emphasized the need for jobs and justice. That gathering was held in the auditorium of the Mary and David Harrison Institute for American History, Literature and Culture/Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library. Participants in the discussion included Frank Dukes, director of the Institute for Environmental Negotiation, based in the School of Architecture, and executive director of University and Community Action for Racial Equity; U.Va. students from the Black Student Alliance; Kristin Szakos, vice mayor of Charlottesville; Andrea Douglass of the Jefferson Heritage Center; Jim Bundy of Sojourners United Church of Christ; and representatives from the Living Wage Campaign. The participants offered their interpretations in any format they chose – in spoken words, song, dance, instrumental performance, etc., said Deborah McDowell, director of the Woodson Institute and Alice Griffin Professor of English. “My colleagues and I are envisioning this as an occasion to do more than memorialize the speech and reiterate its famous references to the ‘color of their skin’ and ‘the content of their character,’” McDowell said. “Rather, I thought we’d want to see this event as an opportunity – dare I say, an obligation? – to rethink the speech and attempt to re-invigorate its meanings and its promises, as well as the original purpose behind the march. “Let’s not forget that this was the ‘March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.’ The rhetoric of dreaming sometimes eclipses the call for jobs and freedom,” she said.

Bells pealed around the world on Aug. 28, 2013 at 3 p.m. – including those at the University of Virginia’s Chapel – to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, part of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The Carter G. Woodson Institute of African-American and African Studies hosted the event, "The March@50," focusing on ways to revitalize the purpose of King’s speech, which emphasized the need for jobs and justice. That gathering was held in the auditorium of the Mary and David Harrison Institute for American History, Literature and Culture/Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library. Participants in the discussion included Frank Dukes, director of the Institute for Environmental Negotiation, based in the School of Architecture, and executive director of University and Community Action for Racial Equity; U.Va. students from the Black Student Alliance; Kristin Szakos, vice mayor of Charlottesville; Andrea Douglass of the Jefferson Heritage Center; Jim Bundy of Sojourners United Church of Christ; and representatives from the Living Wage Campaign. The participants offered their interpretations in any format they chose – in spoken words, song, dance, instrumental performance, etc., said Deborah McDowell, director of the Woodson Institute and Alice Griffin Professor of English. “My colleagues and I are envisioning this as an occasion to do more than memorialize the speech and reiterate its famous references to the ‘color of their skin’ and ‘the content of their character,’” McDowell said. “Rather, I thought we’d want to see this event as an opportunity – dare I say, an obligation? – to rethink the speech and attempt to re-invigorate its meanings and its promises, as well as the original purpose behind the march. “Let’s not forget that this was the ‘March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.’ The rhetoric of dreaming sometimes eclipses the call for jobs and freedom,” she said.

Bells pealed around the world on Aug. 28, 2013 at 3 p.m. – including those at the University of Virginia’s Chapel – to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, part of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The Carter G. Woodson Institute of African-American and African Studies hosted the event, "The March@50," focusing on ways to revitalize the purpose of King’s speech, which emphasized the need for jobs and justice. That gathering was held in the auditorium of the Mary and David Harrison Institute for American History, Literature and Culture/Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library. Participants in the discussion included Frank Dukes, director of the Institute for Environmental Negotiation, based in the School of Architecture, and executive director of University and Community Action for Racial Equity; U.Va. students from the Black Student Alliance; Kristin Szakos, vice mayor of Charlottesville; Andrea Douglass of the Jefferson Heritage Center; Jim Bundy of Sojourners United Church of Christ; and representatives from the Living Wage Campaign. The participants offered their interpretations in any format they chose – in spoken words, song, dance, instrumental performance, etc., said Deborah McDowell, director of the Woodson Institute and Alice Griffin Professor of English. “My colleagues and I are envisioning this as an occasion to do more than memorialize the speech and reiterate its famous references to the ‘color of their skin’ and ‘the content of their character,’” McDowell said. “Rather, I thought we’d want to see this event as an opportunity – dare I say, an obligation? – to rethink the speech and attempt to re-invigorate its meanings and its promises, as well as the original purpose behind the march. “Let’s not forget that this was the ‘March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.’ The rhetoric of dreaming sometimes eclipses the call for jobs and freedom,” she said.

Bells pealed around the world on Aug. 28, 2013 at 3 p.m. – including those at the University of Virginia’s Chapel – to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, part of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The Carter G. Woodson Institute of African-American and African Studies hosted the event, "The March@50," focusing on ways to revitalize the purpose of King’s speech, which emphasized the need for jobs and justice. That gathering was held in the auditorium of the Mary and David Harrison Institute for American History, Literature and Culture/Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library. Participants in the discussion included Frank Dukes, director of the Institute for Environmental Negotiation, based in the School of Architecture, and executive director of University and Community Action for Racial Equity; U.Va. students from the Black Student Alliance; Kristin Szakos, vice mayor of Charlottesville; Andrea Douglass of the Jefferson Heritage Center; Jim Bundy of Sojourners United Church of Christ; and representatives from the Living Wage Campaign. The participants offered their interpretations in any format they chose – in spoken words, song, dance, instrumental performance, etc., said Deborah McDowell, director of the Woodson Institute and Alice Griffin Professor of English. “My colleagues and I are envisioning this as an occasion to do more than memorialize the speech and reiterate its famous references to the ‘color of their skin’ and ‘the content of their character,’” McDowell said. “Rather, I thought we’d want to see this event as an opportunity – dare I say, an obligation? – to rethink the speech and attempt to re-invigorate its meanings and its promises, as well as the original purpose behind the march. “Let’s not forget that this was the ‘March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.’ The rhetoric of dreaming sometimes eclipses the call for jobs and freedom,” she said.

Bells pealed around the world on Aug. 28, 2013 at 3 p.m. – including those at the University of Virginia’s Chapel – to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, part of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The Carter G. Woodson Institute of African-American and African Studies hosted the event, "The March@50," focusing on ways to revitalize the purpose of King’s speech, which emphasized the need for jobs and justice. That gathering was held in the auditorium of the Mary and David Harrison Institute for American History, Literature and Culture/Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library. Participants in the discussion included Frank Dukes, director of the Institute for Environmental Negotiation, based in the School of Architecture, and executive director of University and Community Action for Racial Equity; U.Va. students from the Black Student Alliance; Kristin Szakos, vice mayor of Charlottesville; Andrea Douglass of the Jefferson Heritage Center; Jim Bundy of Sojourners United Church of Christ; and representatives from the Living Wage Campaign. The participants offered their interpretations in any format they chose – in spoken words, song, dance, instrumental performance, etc., said Deborah McDowell, director of the Woodson Institute and Alice Griffin Professor of English. “My colleagues and I are envisioning this as an occasion to do more than memorialize the speech and reiterate its famous references to the ‘color of their skin’ and ‘the content of their character,’” McDowell said. “Rather, I thought we’d want to see this event as an opportunity – dare I say, an obligation? – to rethink the speech and attempt to re-invigorate its meanings and its promises, as well as the original purpose behind the march. “Let’s not forget that this was the ‘March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.’ The rhetoric of dreaming sometimes eclipses the call for jobs and freedom,” she said.

Bells pealed around the world on Aug. 28, 2013 at 3 p.m. – including those at the University of Virginia’s Chapel – to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, part of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The Carter G. Woodson Institute of African-American and African Studies hosted the event, "The March@50," focusing on ways to revitalize the purpose of King’s speech, which emphasized the need for jobs and justice. That gathering was held in the auditorium of the Mary and David Harrison Institute for American History, Literature and Culture/Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library. Participants in the discussion included Frank Dukes, director of the Institute for Environmental Negotiation, based in the School of Architecture, and executive director of University and Community Action for Racial Equity; U.Va. students from the Black Student Alliance; Kristin Szakos, vice mayor of Charlottesville; Andrea Douglass of the Jefferson Heritage Center; Jim Bundy of Sojourners United Church of Christ; and representatives from the Living Wage Campaign. The participants offered their interpretations in any format they chose – in spoken words, song, dance, instrumental performance, etc., said Deborah McDowell, director of the Woodson Institute and Alice Griffin Professor of English. “My colleagues and I are envisioning this as an occasion to do more than memorialize the speech and reiterate its famous references to the ‘color of their skin’ and ‘the content of their character,’” McDowell said. “Rather, I thought we’d want to see this event as an opportunity – dare I say, an obligation? – to rethink the speech and attempt to re-invigorate its meanings and its promises, as well as the original purpose behind the march. “Let’s not forget that this was the ‘March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.’ The rhetoric of dreaming sometimes eclipses the call for jobs and freedom,” she said.

Bells pealed around the world on Aug. 28, 2013 at 3 p.m. – including those at the University of Virginia’s Chapel – to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, part of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The Carter G. Woodson Institute of African-American and African Studies hosted the event, "The March@50," focusing on ways to revitalize the purpose of King’s speech, which emphasized the need for jobs and justice. That gathering was held in the auditorium of the Mary and David Harrison Institute for American History, Literature and Culture/Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library. Participants in the discussion included Frank Dukes, director of the Institute for Environmental Negotiation, based in the School of Architecture, and executive director of University and Community Action for Racial Equity; U.Va. students from the Black Student Alliance; Kristin Szakos, vice mayor of Charlottesville; Andrea Douglass of the Jefferson Heritage Center; Jim Bundy of Sojourners United Church of Christ; and representatives from the Living Wage Campaign. The participants offered their interpretations in any format they chose – in spoken words, song, dance, instrumental performance, etc., said Deborah McDowell, director of the Woodson Institute and Alice Griffin Professor of English. “My colleagues and I are envisioning this as an occasion to do more than memorialize the speech and reiterate its famous references to the ‘color of their skin’ and ‘the content of their character,’” McDowell said. “Rather, I thought we’d want to see this event as an opportunity – dare I say, an obligation? – to rethink the speech and attempt to re-invigorate its meanings and its promises, as well as the original purpose behind the march. “Let’s not forget that this was the ‘March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.’ The rhetoric of dreaming sometimes eclipses the call for jobs and freedom,” she said.

Bells pealed around the world on Aug. 28, 2013 at 3 p.m. – including those at the University of Virginia’s Chapel – to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, part of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The Carter G. Woodson Institute of African-American and African Studies hosted the event, "The March@50," focusing on ways to revitalize the purpose of King’s speech, which emphasized the need for jobs and justice. That gathering was held in the auditorium of the Mary and David Harrison Institute for American History, Literature and Culture/Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library. Participants in the discussion included Frank Dukes, director of the Institute for Environmental Negotiation, based in the School of Architecture, and executive director of University and Community Action for Racial Equity; U.Va. students from the Black Student Alliance; Kristin Szakos, vice mayor of Charlottesville; Andrea Douglass of the Jefferson Heritage Center; Jim Bundy of Sojourners United Church of Christ; and representatives from the Living Wage Campaign. The participants offered their interpretations in any format they chose – in spoken words, song, dance, instrumental performance, etc., said Deborah McDowell, director of the Woodson Institute and Alice Griffin Professor of English. “My colleagues and I are envisioning this as an occasion to do more than memorialize the speech and reiterate its famous references to the ‘color of their skin’ and ‘the content of their character,’” McDowell said. “Rather, I thought we’d want to see this event as an opportunity – dare I say, an obligation? – to rethink the speech and attempt to re-invigorate its meanings and its promises, as well as the original purpose behind the march. “Let’s not forget that this was the ‘March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.’ The rhetoric of dreaming sometimes eclipses the call for jobs and freedom,” she said.

Bells pealed around the world on Aug. 28, 2013 at 3 p.m. – including those at the University of Virginia’s Chapel – to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, part of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The Carter G. Woodson Institute of African-American and African Studies hosted the event, "The March@50," focusing on ways to revitalize the purpose of King’s speech, which emphasized the need for jobs and justice. That gathering was held in the auditorium of the Mary and David Harrison Institute for American History, Literature and Culture/Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library. Participants in the discussion included Frank Dukes, director of the Institute for Environmental Negotiation, based in the School of Architecture, and executive director of University and Community Action for Racial Equity; U.Va. students from the Black Student Alliance; Kristin Szakos, vice mayor of Charlottesville; Andrea Douglass of the Jefferson Heritage Center; Jim Bundy of Sojourners United Church of Christ; and representatives from the Living Wage Campaign. The participants offered their interpretations in any format they chose – in spoken words, song, dance, instrumental performance, etc., said Deborah McDowell, director of the Woodson Institute and Alice Griffin Professor of English. “My colleagues and I are envisioning this as an occasion to do more than memorialize the speech and reiterate its famous references to the ‘color of their skin’ and ‘the content of their character,’” McDowell said. “Rather, I thought we’d want to see this event as an opportunity – dare I say, an obligation? – to rethink the speech and attempt to re-invigorate its meanings and its promises, as well as the original purpose behind the march. “Let’s not forget that this was the ‘March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.’ The rhetoric of dreaming sometimes eclipses the call for jobs and freedom,” she said.

Bells pealed around the world on Aug. 28, 2013 at 3 p.m. – including those at the University of Virginia’s Chapel – to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, part of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The Carter G. Woodson Institute of African-American and African Studies hosted the event, "The March@50," focusing on ways to revitalize the purpose of King’s speech, which emphasized the need for jobs and justice. That gathering was held in the auditorium of the Mary and David Harrison Institute for American History, Literature and Culture/Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library. Participants in the discussion included Frank Dukes, director of the Institute for Environmental Negotiation, based in the School of Architecture, and executive director of University and Community Action for Racial Equity; U.Va. students from the Black Student Alliance; Kristin Szakos, vice mayor of Charlottesville; Andrea Douglass of the Jefferson Heritage Center; Jim Bundy of Sojourners United Church of Christ; and representatives from the Living Wage Campaign. The participants offered their interpretations in any format they chose – in spoken words, song, dance, instrumental performance, etc., said Deborah McDowell, director of the Woodson Institute and Alice Griffin Professor of English. “My colleagues and I are envisioning this as an occasion to do more than memorialize the speech and reiterate its famous references to the ‘color of their skin’ and ‘the content of their character,’” McDowell said. “Rather, I thought we’d want to see this event as an opportunity – dare I say, an obligation? – to rethink the speech and attempt to re-invigorate its meanings and its promises, as well as the original purpose behind the march. “Let’s not forget that this was the ‘March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.’ The rhetoric of dreaming sometimes eclipses the call for jobs and freedom,” she said.

Bells pealed around the world on Aug. 28, 2013 at 3 p.m. – including those at the University of Virginia’s Chapel – to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, part of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The Carter G. Woodson Institute of African-American and African Studies hosted the event, "The March@50," focusing on ways to revitalize the purpose of King’s speech, which emphasized the need for jobs and justice. That gathering was held in the auditorium of the Mary and David Harrison Institute for American History, Literature and Culture/Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library. Participants in the discussion included Frank Dukes, director of the Institute for Environmental Negotiation, based in the School of Architecture, and executive director of University and Community Action for Racial Equity; U.Va. students from the Black Student Alliance; Kristin Szakos, vice mayor of Charlottesville; Andrea Douglass of the Jefferson Heritage Center; Jim Bundy of Sojourners United Church of Christ; and representatives from the Living Wage Campaign. The participants offered their interpretations in any format they chose – in spoken words, song, dance, instrumental performance, etc., said Deborah McDowell, director of the Woodson Institute and Alice Griffin Professor of English. “My colleagues and I are envisioning this as an occasion to do more than memorialize the speech and reiterate its famous references to the ‘color of their skin’ and ‘the content of their character,’” McDowell said. “Rather, I thought we’d want to see this event as an opportunity – dare I say, an obligation? – to rethink the speech and attempt to re-invigorate its meanings and its promises, as well as the original purpose behind the march. “Let’s not forget that this was the ‘March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.’ The rhetoric of dreaming sometimes eclipses the call for jobs and freedom,” she said.

Bells pealed around the world on Aug. 28, 2013 at 3 p.m. – including those at the University of Virginia’s Chapel – to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, part of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The Carter G. Woodson Institute of African-American and African Studies hosted the event, "The March@50," focusing on ways to revitalize the purpose of King’s speech, which emphasized the need for jobs and justice. That gathering was held in the auditorium of the Mary and David Harrison Institute for American History, Literature and Culture/Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library. Participants in the discussion included Frank Dukes, director of the Institute for Environmental Negotiation, based in the School of Architecture, and executive director of University and Community Action for Racial Equity; U.Va. students from the Black Student Alliance; Kristin Szakos, vice mayor of Charlottesville; Andrea Douglass of the Jefferson Heritage Center; Jim Bundy of Sojourners United Church of Christ; and representatives from the Living Wage Campaign. The participants offered their interpretations in any format they chose – in spoken words, song, dance, instrumental performance, etc., said Deborah McDowell, director of the Woodson Institute and Alice Griffin Professor of English. “My colleagues and I are envisioning this as an occasion to do more than memorialize the speech and reiterate its famous references to the ‘color of their skin’ and ‘the content of their character,’” McDowell said. “Rather, I thought we’d want to see this event as an opportunity – dare I say, an obligation? – to rethink the speech and attempt to re-invigorate its meanings and its promises, as well as the original purpose behind the march. “Let’s not forget that this was the ‘March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.’ The rhetoric of dreaming sometimes eclipses the call for jobs and freedom,” she said.

Bells pealed around the world on Aug. 28, 2013 at 3 p.m. – including those at the University of Virginia’s Chapel – to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, part of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The Carter G. Woodson Institute of African-American and African Studies hosted the event, "The March@50," focusing on ways to revitalize the purpose of King’s speech, which emphasized the need for jobs and justice. That gathering was held in the auditorium of the Mary and David Harrison Institute for American History, Literature and Culture/Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library. Participants in the discussion included Frank Dukes, director of the Institute for Environmental Negotiation, based in the School of Architecture, and executive director of University and Community Action for Racial Equity; U.Va. students from the Black Student Alliance; Kristin Szakos, vice mayor of Charlottesville; Andrea Douglass of the Jefferson Heritage Center; Jim Bundy of Sojourners United Church of Christ; and representatives from the Living Wage Campaign. The participants offered their interpretations in any format they chose – in spoken words, song, dance, instrumental performance, etc., said Deborah McDowell, director of the Woodson Institute and Alice Griffin Professor of English. “My colleagues and I are envisioning this as an occasion to do more than memorialize the speech and reiterate its famous references to the ‘color of their skin’ and ‘the content of their character,’” McDowell said. “Rather, I thought we’d want to see this event as an opportunity – dare I say, an obligation? – to rethink the speech and attempt to re-invigorate its meanings and its promises, as well as the original purpose behind the march. “Let’s not forget that this was the ‘March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.’ The rhetoric of dreaming sometimes eclipses the call for jobs and freedom,” she said.

“Does Reparations Have a Future? Rethinking Racial Justice in a ‘Color-Blind’ Era,” was a multi-disciplinary symposium that took place on March 21-22, 2013. Organized by Deborah McDowell (Alice Griffin Professor of English and Director of the Carter G. Woodson Institute for African American and African Studies), Kim Forde-Mazrui (William S. Potter Professor of Law), and Lawrie Balfour (Professor of Politics), the symposium is organized around four sessions—“Reparations in Historical Frame,” “Reparations and the University,” “Reparations and the Nation,” “Reparations around the Globe.” Panelists will examine the range of meanings, questions, controversies, and aspirations the term “reparations” has elicited historically and will explore among other topics, the cultural, legal, economic, and political legacies of slavery and Jim Crow.

“Does Reparations Have a Future? Rethinking Racial Justice in a ‘Color-Blind’ Era,” was a multi-disciplinary symposium that took place on March 21-22, 2013. Organized by Deborah McDowell (Alice Griffin Professor of English and Director of the Carter G. Woodson Institute for African American and African Studies), Kim Forde-Mazrui (William S. Potter Professor of Law), and Lawrie Balfour (Professor of Politics), the symposium is organized around four sessions—“Reparations in Historical Frame,” “Reparations and the University,” “Reparations and the Nation,” “Reparations around the Globe.” Panelists will examine the range of meanings, questions, controversies, and aspirations the term “reparations” has elicited historically and will explore among other topics, the cultural, legal, economic, and political legacies of slavery and Jim Crow.

“Does Reparations Have a Future? Rethinking Racial Justice in a ‘Color-Blind’ Era,” was a multi-disciplinary symposium that took place on March 21-22, 2013. Organized by Deborah McDowell (Alice Griffin Professor of English and Director of the Carter G. Woodson Institute for African American and African Studies), Kim Forde-Mazrui (William S. Potter Professor of Law), and Lawrie Balfour (Professor of Politics), the symposium is organized around four sessions—“Reparations in Historical Frame,” “Reparations and the University,” “Reparations and the Nation,” “Reparations around the Globe.” Panelists will examine the range of meanings, questions, controversies, and aspirations the term “reparations” has elicited historically and will explore among other topics, the cultural, legal, economic, and political legacies of slavery and Jim Crow.

“Does Reparations Have a Future? Rethinking Racial Justice in a ‘Color-Blind’ Era,” was a multi-disciplinary symposium that took place on March 21-22, 2013. Organized by Deborah McDowell (Alice Griffin Professor of English and Director of the Carter G. Woodson Institute for African American and African Studies), Kim Forde-Mazrui (William S. Potter Professor of Law), and Lawrie Balfour (Professor of Politics), the symposium is organized around four sessions—“Reparations in Historical Frame,” “Reparations and the University,” “Reparations and the Nation,” “Reparations around the Globe.” Panelists will examine the range of meanings, questions, controversies, and aspirations the term “reparations” has elicited historically and will explore among other topics, the cultural, legal, economic, and political legacies of slavery and Jim Crow.

“Does Reparations Have a Future? Rethinking Racial Justice in a ‘Color-Blind’ Era,” was a multi-disciplinary symposium that took place on March 21-22, 2013. Organized by Deborah McDowell (Alice Griffin Professor of English and Director of the Carter G. Woodson Institute for African American and African Studies), Kim Forde-Mazrui (William S. Potter Professor of Law), and Lawrie Balfour (Professor of Politics), the symposium is organized around four sessions—“Reparations in Historical Frame,” “Reparations and the University,” “Reparations and the Nation,” “Reparations around the Globe.” Panelists will examine the range of meanings, questions, controversies, and aspirations the term “reparations” has elicited historically and will explore among other topics, the cultural, legal, economic, and political legacies of slavery and Jim Crow.

“Does Reparations Have a Future? Rethinking Racial Justice in a ‘Color-Blind’ Era,” was a multi-disciplinary symposium that took place on March 21-22, 2013. Organized by Deborah McDowell (Alice Griffin Professor of English and Director of the Carter G. Woodson Institute for African American and African Studies), Kim Forde-Mazrui (William S. Potter Professor of Law), and Lawrie Balfour (Professor of Politics), the symposium is organized around four sessions—“Reparations in Historical Frame,” “Reparations and the University,” “Reparations and the Nation,” “Reparations around the Globe.” Panelists will examine the range of meanings, questions, controversies, and aspirations the term “reparations” has elicited historically and will explore among other topics, the cultural, legal, economic, and political legacies of slavery and Jim Crow.

“Choice” has become the buzz word across the policy spectrum, especially in housing, schools, and health care. This talk questions the assumptions, ideology and philosophy undergirding public school choice, using data from two projects. The first focuses on how black community leaders work with whites to bring “choice” schools to a gentrifying black neighborhood in Chicago. The second interviews black parents navigating the landscape of public school “choice.” Findings highlight the complicated role black community leaders play in both facilitating and hampering access to high quality public education for low-income African Americans. Further findings suggest that socioeconomic differences influence, not only who “chooses,” but also what black parents hope to gain when they do choose. While there is no definitive answer as to whether public school choice is good or bad for the black community, this research presents important empirical data which contribute to better understanding of what is at stake in the educational policy of “choice.” Mary Pattillo is the Harold Washington Professor of Sociology and African American Studies at Northwestern University. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in 1997.

This panel discussion, "The Politics of the Debt Ceiling Crisis," held Sept. 22 at 7 p.m. in Minor Hall auditorium was free and open to the public. It wass organized by the University of Virginia's Carter G. Woodson Institute for African-American and African Studies, part of the College of Arts & Sciences. The panel discussion, which included leading scholars from U.Va. and elsewhere, was part of the Woodson Institute's occasional series, "Currents of Conversation." The series aims to bring together members of the University and broader community to offer perspectives on topics plucked from the headlines that stimulate sustained public debate.

America's Second Prison Crisis: Locating the Origins of Today's Race to Incarcerate, and the Key to its End, in the Long 20th Century