| Dr.
Charles L. Blockson
Historian and Curator
 Black
studies scholar and author Charles L. Blockson was born on December
16, 1933 in Norristown, Pennsylvania. A book lover as a young boy,
the son of Annie Parker and Charles E. Blockson, has amassed one of
the world's largest private collections of African American history.
Blockson graduated from Pennsylvania State University in 1956, where
he played fullback with the football team. He turned down an offer
to play professional football for the New York Giants. A natural
historian, Blockson taught local and multicultural history while
serving as a human relations advisor for the Norristown Area School
District. He led seminars and workshops for teachers and other
school district employees. Blockson traveled extensively around the
world, acquiring rare African, African American and African
Caribbean publications dating back to the sixteenth century. In
1984, Blockson donated these amazing items to Temple University,
where he serves as curator of the Charles L. Blockson Afro-American
Collection. It includes prints, photographs, slave narratives,
manuscripts, letters and sheet music as well as other objects.
Within the collection are first-edition works by Phyllis Wheatly and
W. E. B. DuBois; African Bibles; correspondence of Haitian
Revolutionaries; Paul Robeson’s sheet music; narratives by
Sojourner Truth and Frederick Douglass; thousands of taped
interviews and radio programs on African and African American
history and culture; and more than 500,000 photographs.
Blockson lectures internationally and organizes exhibitions and
black studies programs throughout the country. He has served as
director of the Pennsylvania Black History Committee, director of
the Pennsylvania Afro-American History Board and governor's
commissioner of the Governor's Heritage Program. Blockson has been a
member of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, the NAACP, the
Pennsylvania State University Alumni Council, the Urban League and
the American Antiquarian Society. For his football exploits, the
Pennsylvania State Quarterback Club honored him in 1984. Blockson is
the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Before
Columbus Foundation and holds multiple honorary doctorate degree. He
is considered one of the country's leading experts on the
Underground Railroad.
http://www.library.temple.edu/blockson/speccol.htm
|
Lyceum Series
Fall 2004 - Spring 2005
click on speaker name for more information on speakers
Sept.
15 — Cory Booker
"How To Change The World With Your Bare Hands
"
7:30 pm
The Jane M. Smith Memorial Church
Oct.
6 — Ida Hakim,
C.U.R.E. Founder and Curator
"Caucasians United for Reparations and Emancipation
"
7:30 pm
The Jane M. Smith Memorial Church
Nov.
2 — Francis Bok
7:30 pm
The Jane M. Smith Memorial Church
Nov.
9 — Joyce Appleby, Ph.D.
Professor Emerita, University of California in Los Angeles
Phi Beta Kappa Lecture
“Coming to Terms with Thomas Jefferson”
7:30 pm
The Jane M. Smith Memorial Church
Feb.
2 — Awadagin Pratt, Piano Virtuoso
Piano Recital
7:30 pm
The Jane M. Smith Memorial Church
Feb.
16 — JCSU Faculty Showcase: John Fitch, III
“Maxyme” Film Screening
4:00 pm & 7:00 pm
Newsom Humanities Building Room
March
9 — Dr. Charles L. Blockson
Historian and Curator
A Historian’s Quest: Research Above Ground and Underground
7:30 pm
TBA
March 29 —April 1: 9th Annual World
of Words Poetry Festival
March
29 —Terrence Hayes, Poet and Educator
Workshop
4:00 pm
Humanities 108
Poetry Reading
7:30 pm
Grimes Lounge
March
30 — JCSU Favorite Poems Night
Poetry Reading
7:00 pm
Grimes Lounge
March
31 — Ursula Rucker, Performance Poet and Recording Artist
Workshop
4:00 pm
Humanities 108
Poetry Performance
7:30 pm
Grimes Lounge
April
1 — Black Ink Monks, Inc. of Johnson C. Smith University
Fourth Annual Performance by the Black Ink Monks, Inc.
7:30 pm
Grimes Lounge
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