WMU HOME > ABOUT WMU > WMU NEWS Race and ethnic relations institute announces fall events Oct. 1, 2004 KALAMAZOO--The beginnings and implications of legalized segregation will be the focus of numerous free public events being sponsored at Western Michigan University this fall by the Lewis Walker Institute for Race and Ethnic Relations. The Walker Institute's fall program features a special exhibit, film festival and lecture series that will examine the period from 1880 to 1950 from a variety of perspectives. Known as the Jim Crow era, this was the period in American history when statutes around the country legalized segregation between blacks and whites on the basis that "separate but equal" facilities were constitutional. The institute's fall program will officially kick off with a reception at 5 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 7, at the institute's offices in Welborn Hall. The reception will include the 5:30 p.m. opening of an exhibit titled "Vigilantes, Terrorists and Evil-doers: Desperate Days in America 1880-1950." Exhibit curator Jim Petty will be on hand to talk about some of the dozens of artifacts, photos and documents related to lynching, riots and racial violence that will be on display. The exhibit, located in Room 1122 of Welborn, will run from Friday Oct. 8 through Friday, Nov. 19. The doors will be open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays and on Saturdays and Sundays by appointment. Petty will lead tours of the exhibit at 10 a.m., noon, 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. Friday, Oct. 8, through Friday, Oct. 15. The Walker Institute's film series has been set for Oct. 5 to Nov. 16. All films will be shown at 7 p.m. on Tuesdays in Room 3512 of Knauss Hall. Faculty members will present a brief scholarly introduction to each work. The final component of the Walker Institute's fall semester programming is a lecture series that will run from Oct. 4 to Nov. 8. All of the lectures will take place on Mondays. Films and lectures are listed separately below. Films "Ethnic Notions," introduced by Dr. Lawrence T. Potter, associate professor of Africana studies at WMU and director of the Africana Studies Program, on Oct. 5. "Native Son," introduced by Dr. Carla R. Bradley, associate professor of counselor education and counseling psychology at WMU, on Oct. 12. "A Raisin in the Sun," introduced by Dr. Von H. Washington, professor of theatre at WMU, on Oct. 19. "A Soldier's Story," introduced by Dr. Douglas V. Davidson, associate professor of sociology at WMU, on Oct. 26. "Bingo Long and the Traveling All-Star Motor Kings," introduced by Dr. William F. Santiago-Valles, associate professor of Africana studies at WMU, on Nov. 2. "Paris Trout," introduced by Dr. Deborah H. Barnes, associate professor of Africana studies at WMU and director of the Walker institute, on Nov. 9. "Rosewood," introduced by Dr. Julia R. Robinson, assistant professor of comparative religion at WMU, on Nov. 16. Lectures "Imaging Black Culture" by Dr. Deborah Willis, professor of photography and imaging at New York University, 7 p.m. in Room 209 of the Bernhard Center on Oct. 4. "Invisible Things Envisioned: Whiteness as Witness" by Dr. Gail Griffin, professor of English at Kalamazoo College, 4 p.m. in Room 1121 of Welborn Hall on Oct. 7. "Living Jim Crow: The view from the West" by Dr. Quintard Taylor, the Scott and Dorothy Bullitt Professor of American History at the University of Washington in Seattle, 7 p.m. in Room 1121 of Welborn Hall on Oct. 11. "Understanding the Great Migration" by Dr. James Grossman, vice president for research and education at the Newberry Library and visiting professor of history at the University of Chicago, 7 p.m. in Room 1121 of Welborn Hall on Oct. 18. "Reconstruction, Jim Crow, and Racism: Harlem's (re)Construction of Black Art" by Dr. Lawrence T. Potter, associate professor of Africana studies at WMU and director of the Africana Studies Program, 7 p.m. in Room 1121 of Welborn Hall on Oct. 25. "An Embattled Freedom: Celebrating Emancipation in the Jim Crow Era" by Dr. Mitch Kachun, assistant professor of history at WMU, 7 p.m. in Room 1121 of Welborn Hall on Nov. 1. "Emmett Till: The Lynching that Changed Everything" by Dr. Deborah H. Barnes, associate professor of Africana studies at WMU and director of the Walker institute, 7 p.m. in Room 1121 of Welborn Hall on Nov. 8. For more information about the Walker institute's 2004 Fall Program or to schedule a weekend viewing of the "Vigilantes, Terrorists and Evil-doers" exhibit, call the institute at (269) 387-2141. Media contact: Jeanne Baron, 269 387-8400, jeanne.baron@wmich.edu WMU News Office of University Relations Western Michigan University 1903 W Michigan Ave Kalamazoo MI 49008-5433 USA 269 387-8400 www.wmich.edu/wmu/news