University of Florida News – UF hosts event celebrating civil rights movement leaders
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — In 1960, one Florida A&M University student changed civil rights history forever. After fighting for the integration of a lunch counter, Patricia Stephens Due was arrested along with six other civil rights advocates. They were the first protesters who chose to serve jail time instead of paying a fine, and their actions received national attention. Stephens Due and her husband, civil rights attorney John Due, will speak about their role in the civil rights movement in “An Evening with the Dues: Pioneers in the U.S. Civil Rights Movement,” at 5:30 p.m. Feb. 16 in the Buddy & Anne MacKay Auditorium in Pugh Hall. There will be free parking next to Pugh Hall the evening of the event. “An Evening with the Dues” is being organized by the UF Center for the Study of Race and Race Relations and the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program. The event will be moderated by noted civil rights activists Zoharah Simmons and Dan Harmeling. There will be a book signing with copies of “Freedom in the Family: A Mother-Daughter Memoir of the Fight for Civil Rights,” by Patricia Stephens Due and Tananarive Due available for purchase. “The emphasis of ‘An Evening with the Dues,’ is to learn about the history of the struggle for civil rights in Florida and to ask the question: How do we build on the achievements of the past?” said Paul Ortiz, the director of the oral history program. “Who better than Patricia Stephens Due and John Due, who are considered to be among the most important civil rights activists in the nation, to help us address this question?” Katheryn Russell-Brown, professor of law and director of the UF Race Center, said, “It’s rare to have an opportunity to hear directly from people who’ve participated in the civil rights movement. The Dues are living testimony to the national impact of local political struggles. We are pleased that they will join us and that their visit has brought more than 12 university and community groups together to present the event.” The Civic Media Center at 433 S. Main St.will host a live video stream of “An Evening with the Dues.” Call 352-373-0010 for more details. For those who cannot attend the program, it will be recorded and streamed live on the Bob Graham Center for Public Service’s homepage at http://www.graham.centers.ufl.edu/home. Additionally, the video stream will be posted at the Graham Center’s events archive at http://www.graham.centers.ufl.edu/events/past. For more information call the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program at 352-392-7168 or the UF Center for the Study of Race and Race Relations at 352-273-0164. Co-sponsors include: The University of Florida African American Studies Program, Center for African Studies, Bob Graham Center for Public Service, Center for Women’s Studies and Gender Research, Department of History, Department of Anthropology, Office of the Provost, George A. Smathers Libraries, Gainesville Women’s Liberation, Civic Media Center, and 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East – Florida Region. -30- Credits WriterKatelyn McKeyContactPaul Ortiz, [email protected], 352-392-7168 -- http://news.ufl.edu/2011/02/09/civil-rights-talk/ Via InstaFetch -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Sixties-L" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/sixties-l?hl=en.
