Black History Month 2016

Black History Month at Johns Hopkins SAIS
February 2016

The Johns Hopkins SAIS community participated in a month-long series of events on the SAIS Washington, DC campus celebrating African American culture and history in the United States.

In addition to the public events below, students, staff, and faculty enjoyed:

• a Black History Month themed trivia night with other area graduate schools,
• hosted a delegation of sixth to eighth grade students from the Higher Achievement program for a foreign policy simulation and lecture,
• examined inequalities among minority groups through a discussion on "Blackonomics" (Black-economics), and,
• joined members of the U.S. Department of State for a roundtable discussion on diversity in diplomacy.

Celebrating Africa and Her Diaspora, February 5

Reception and live performance by Howard University African dance team, Temps d’Afrique.

Lani Guinier on Race, Class, & Community: Democratizing Higher Education in America, February 16

Lani Guinier, Bennett Boskey Professor of Law at Harvard Law School, was the first woman of color appointed to a tenured professorship at the Harvard Law School. To achieve lasting change, Guinier and Hair emphasized the need to create and sustain a large-scale social movement with the power to impact political decisions and make them more reflective of the will of the American people.

Hon. Clifton Wharton (Class of 1948) in Celebration of his New Book: Privilege and Prejudice: The Life of a Black Pioneer, February 23

Students met with Hon. Clifton Wharton, the first African American to graduate from Johns Hopkins SAIS, for a discussion of his life and recent book release.

Jacquelyn Serwer on A Place to Remember, Commemorate, and Celebrate, February 24

In anticipation of the Fall 2016 opening of the National Museum of African American History & Culture, Dr. Jacquelyn Serwer, Chief Curator at NMAAHC joined Johns Hopkins SAIS to offer a preview of the museum’s rich historical collection and its architectural components. 

Provost Robert Lieberman, Race Relations in the United States, February 29

Johns Hopkins University Provost Robert Lieberman discussed social and political science research that aims to explain why so many disparities persist and continue to widen in American life — especially after important reforms in the 1960s and 1970s sought to equalize opportunity for people of all races. Lieberman also examined race through the contemporary lenses of the Black Lives Matter movement and the 2016 presidential election.