The 25th annual University of Tennessee at Martin Civil Rights Conference continues with its second week, starting Sunday, Feb. 9.
The UTM Civil Rights Conference is a means of celebrating Black History Month by bringing notable guest speakers and performers and highlighting campus talent in a public forum. In all, 13 events were scheduled for this year’s month-long conference. The University of Tennessee at Martin in the only university in the United States to hold a month-long civil rights conference.
The movie “A Million Miles Away” describes the life of CRC guest speaker José Hernández from working with farmworkers as a child to becoming an engineer and an astronaut. The movie can be seen at 2 p.m., Feb. 9, in Watkins Auditorium in the Boling University Center
Hernández will speak at 6 p.m., Feb. 11, in Watkins Auditorium. He will be sharing his journey with the audience.
The “Strength, Courage and Wisdom” art exhibition – named for the theme of the Civil Rights Conference – starts on Feb. 10 and continues through Feb. 28. It will be on display in the Nunnelly Welcome Center hallway in the Boling University Center. This exhibition will feature the artwork of students in the Department of Visual and Theatre Arts.
A student-led session called “Behind the Scenes: Black Students Navigating a PWI Campus” will be held at 6 p.m., Feb. 13, in Room 206 in the Boling University Center. This session will highlight the benefits and challenges of attending a predominantly white institution.
All programs are free and open to the public. For more information about the Civil Rights Conference, visit www.utm.edu/visit-ut-martin/civil-rights.php.
PHOTO: Dr. Henri Giles, assistant professor of African American studies and the coordinator of the UT Martin Civil Rights Conference, is shown speaking Feb. 3 at this year’s kickoff event, “CRC: Then and Now,” a panel discussion about the 25-year history of the conference.
