Tuesday, January 13, 2004

This spring semester, the University of North Carolina at Wilmington will commemorate the 50th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education, the Supreme Court decision that ended the doctrine of “separate but equal” as a constitutional principle. The university will engage in a Learning Community Dialogue to explore the judicial, social and moral significance of the May 1954 landmark decision both in historical perspective as well as in its multi-dimensional aftermath. For more information about UNCW and the spring semester plans, visit the Brown v. Board of Education Web site at www.uncw.edu/brownlc.

The Learning Community program will include parts or all of thirty-five courses, which may be found at www.uncw.edu/brownlc/courses.htm.There is also a resource page at www.uncw.edu/brownlc/resources.htm, and an unusually rich series of public events, listed at www.uncw.edu/brownlc/Events.htm.

The events will begin with a kickoff reception at Randall Library and the Martin Luther King presentation, "Eyes on the Prize: the Truths of American Race Relations" by national correspondent and author, Juan Williams, 7 p.m. at UNCW’s Kenan Auditorium. The lecture is free and open to the public. For tickets, contact Kenan Auditorium box office at 910/962-3500.

Among the Brown Learning Community speakers this spring, UNCW will host Keith Weldon Medley on "Before Brown There was Plessy," Thursday, Feb. 12; James T. Patterson on "Brown and its Troubled Legacy," Thursday, Feb. 26; Melton McLaurin on "The First Black Marines," Thursday, March 18; Minnijean Brown-Trickey, "The Little Rock Nine," Wednesday, March 24; Ruby Bridges, "I have a dream . . . for Wilmington," Tuesday, April 13; and Clarence Willie, "Brown and Its Legacy in the Carolinas," Thursday, April 22.

UNCW will present a film series; a panel on "The Afro-Brazilian Condition;" "Def Poetry Flow," an arts presentation; two displays in Randall Library; and other related events.

Media Contacts: Dr. Raymond Burt 910/962-4095, Dr. Denis Carter 910/962-3540, or Dr. Thomas Schmid 910/962-3409.