Herman Beavers, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of English, University of Pennsylvania
Artistry and Identity Politics: The African-American Short Story
The African-American short story has served as an important form of literary expression for African-American writers to challenge the negative constructions of African-American identity in the United States. This discussion explores how the short story’s history parallels the dialogue about racial identity taking place from Reconstruction onward.
Herman Beavers, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of English, University of Pennsylvania
Form and Politics: African-American Poetry in the 20th Century
African-American poetry is the least visible of the literary arts. Though numerous black poets have distinguished themselves in American letters, poetry often mystifies readers. This discussion provides strategies for reading and understanding African-American poetry.
Herman Beavers, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of English, University of Pennsylvania
The Politics of African-American Masculinity
African-American masculinity has been a highly contested issue for centuries. Tracing masculinity’s development from the 18th century to the present, using cinematic, artistic and literary examples, the lecture suggests that masculinity itself is in crisis and that debate over black male status has much more to do with gender than race.
American Historical Theatre
A nonprofit organization specializing in first-person living history presentations.
Sojourner Truth: Ain't I a Woman?
This program tells the story of Isabella Baumfree, who changed her name to Sojourner Truth and walked through Long Island and Connecticut, preaching “God’s truth and plan for salvation.” After months of travel, she arrived in Northampton, Massachusetts, and joined “The Northampton Association of Education and Industry," a utopian community where she met and worked with abolitionists such as William Lloyd Garrison and Frederick Douglass.
Lawrence Hogan, Ph.D.
Professor of History, Union County College
African-American History as Immigration History: The Anguillians of Perth Amboy
A discussion of African-American immigration from the Caribbean island of Anguilla to Perth Amboy, NJ, from the turn of the century through the 1930s, and the establishment of a black community where so many of America’s immigrants first settled. The speaker explores the adjustment and assimilation of immigrant African-Americans into the mainstream of New Jersey life in the 20th century. The presentation may include slides and guests of Anguillian descent.
Lawrence Hogan, Ph.D.
Professor of History, Union County College
Before You Can Say "Jackie Robinson": Black Baseball in American and New Jersey in the Era of the Color Line
This presentation includes exhibit materials, as well as selections from the acclaimed video documentary of the same name. The black part of our national game is explored, and the speaker examines in depth the rich relationships that comprised “Blackball” during America’s era of segregation.
Lawrence Hogan, Ph.D.
Professor of History, Union County College
Black National News Service - The Associated Negro Press:
The Best Kept secret of American Journalism History
Tuskegee Institute graduate Claude Barnett established the Associated Negro Press in 1919 in Chicago. From the year of its founding through 1964, ANP serviced what is arguably America’s greatest ethnic/group press with a national and international news coverage that was remarkable for its substance and scope. The story of ANP and Claude Barnett is one of persistence and creativity in the face of limited resources and numerous difficulties. This slide presentation tells the story of the news agency and the great newspapers it served during the golden age of America’s Black 4th Estate, an era when the ANP could be termed “the greatest single power in the Negro race.”
Lawrence Hogan, Ph.D.
Professor of History, Union County College
Recapturing a New Jersey Legacy: John Henry "Pop" Lloyd and the Communal Legacy of Negro League Baseball
A discussion, accompanied by video and exhibit materials, of the history of black professional baseball in Atlantic City and the social/communal/civic legacy of one of its greatest players, Baseball Hall of Fame shortstop John Henry “Pop” Lloyd. The presentation also covers the restoration of historic John Henry “Pop” Lloyd Stadium.
Lawrence Hogan, Ph.D.
Professor of History, Union County College
The Age of the New Negro: Harlem in the 1920s
This presentation focuses on the great literary, journalistic, political and sports figures (including Langston Hughes and Paul Robeson) and institutions that make up what historians refer to as the Harlem Renaissance. The 1920s, as the first decade to experience the effects of the Great Migration of Blacks from rural South to urban North, witnessed a literary, cultural, sports, entertainment, and political flowering among African-Americans who were plumbing their history for identity affirmation.
Lawrence Hogan, Ph.D.
Professor of History, Union County College
The House That Ruth Built, and Pop Opened! Negro League Baseball at Yankee Stadium
A discussion, accompanied by video and exhibit material of the history of Negro League baseball from 1930 through 1948 at America’s most historic ballpark, Yankee Stadium. Presentation will focus on the historic opening of the Stadium to Negro League play on July 5th, 1930, for a doubleheader that is arguably the most significant game ever played at the fabled Yankee Stadium.
Lawrence Hogan, Ph.D.
Professor of History, Union County College
The Shady Rest Country Club: A Black New Jersey Cultural Oasis in the Age of Segregation
Focuses on a black owned and operated country club in Scotch Plains, NJ, from the 1920s through the 1950s. The presentation examines the rich social, recreational, professional, athletic, business, educational and entertainment world behind the veil of segregation that separated white from black through much of 19th- and 20th- century America.
