Vol. 38, No. 18

1-31-2007
By: Jill Corbett

Founder of Black Panther Party to speak at United Black World Month

Bobby Seale, co-founder of the Black Panther Party, is the guest speaker for the 37th annual celebration of United Black World Month.

Seale will speak at 8 p.m. Feb. 1 in Hitchcock Hall Auditorium. The event is free and open to the public, but seating is limited.

The theme for UBWM is “From Slavery to Freedom — Africans in the Americas.” Various educational programs and events that highlight the accomplishments of African Americans will take place throughout February.

While a student at Merrill College, Seale was inspired by the teachings of Malcolm X, Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King Jr. With Huey Newton, he founded the Black Panther Party in October 1966 as an alternative to the nonviolent civil rights movement.

Seale was one of the “Chicago Eight” convicted of conspiracy to disrupt the Democratic National Convention in 1968 and sentenced to four years in jail. He was also a codefendant in a murder case connected with the Black Panther Party, but was acquitted in 1997. He has since turned to nonviolent methods of helping the African American community.

Seale works with community projects and organizations to help fight social and political injustice. He also has published three books about his life and civil rights experiences.

Highlights of UBWM events:

Soul Food Luncheons
Feb. 2 and 16, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m., Hale Black Cultural Center.
Local caterers will provide soul food meals for faculty, staff and students. Call 292-0074 to RSVP.

Voter Disenfranchisement and the Prospects for Democracy
Feb. 8, 6:30 p.m., Hale Black Cultural Center.
Khaliah Dean Brown, professor of political science at Yale University, will lead a discussion on voter disenfranchisement, its effects and the role it plays in curbing democracy for African American people.

4th annual African American Male Retreat
Feb. 9 and 10
Register in advance at the Todd A. Bell National Resource Center for the African American Male. Contact Todd Suddeth at 247-7465.

Freedom Ball
Feb. 10, 7-9 p.m., Haimerl Center, 1421 Morse Road.
A celebration of Africa’s liberation from colonization.

Black Boy: The One-Man Play
Feb. 22, 8-10:30 p.m., Hale Black Cultural Center.
Charles Holt performs a play based on autobiographical information on Richard Wright and themes from the book “Black Boy.”

Get on the Train: Visit the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center
Feb. 24, 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m.
Take a bus to Cincinnati to the nation’s newest monument to freedom that chronicles the struggles for freedom in American and world history. Free continental breakfast included. Cost is $10 for students.

For more information, visit osu.edu/features/2007/ubwm.

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