Civil Rights in the USA. A Fulbright Lecture












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            * Civil Rights in the USA. A Fulbright Lecture
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            The month of February has for many years in the USA been dedicated to the celebration of A

            history. Known sometimes as ‘Black-history month’ it can trace its origins back to the 192
            felt that more should be done to draw attention to the then under-appreciated history of A
            Today the event serves to commemorate the struggle of African American slaves in the US, t

            rights movement in the 20th century as well as the achievements and contributions of the A
            American community to cultural, social, economic and political life in the USA. The event 
            uncontroversial, and has drawn criticism from figures such as Morgan Freeman who question 

            celebration dedicated to people of a specific skin colour.
            This year, to mark the occasion the US Embassy in Prague’s Fulbright Lecture series dedica

            February lecture to the topic of Civil Rights in the USA. The two speakers were civil righ
            African American Studies lecturer, Professor Paul Von Blum of the University of California
            and Dr Jessica Wilson [ URL "http://ualk.ff.cuni.cz/american-literature-studies-section/ne

            lecturer-summer-2014.html?pracoviste=2"] of John Brown University, a Fulbright lecturer at
            of Anglophone Literatures and Cultures of the Faculty of Arts at Charles University Prague
            The American Culture Center was packed to hear the discussion, testament to the emotive po

            subject matter, and to its continuing relevance. Professor von Blum opened the lecture by 
            rights movement of the 50s, 60s and 70s, made famous by the likes of Martin Luther King Ju
            and Malcolm X, in its wider context; that of resistance stretching back to the days of sla

            Tubman and her contemporaries; of early campaigners like W.E.B. Du Bois and B.T. Washingto
            of the labour movement in mobilising the people; the role of women; and most importantly, 
            played over the centuries by the unacknowledged, anonymous masses. His talk was illustrate

            his own experiences as a civil rights activist, and he finished by stressing that the batt
            rights and equality in the US is far from over: racism still exists and not enough African
            filling lecture halls with too many filling prison cells instead, and young African Americ

            disproportionately targeted for stop and searches by the police, to name only a few issues
            Following Professor von Blum came Dr Jessica Wilson, slightly too young to have been an ac
            60s and 70s, but just as passionate about the subject. In her talk, entitled “Inside vs Ou

            False Paradigm” Dr Wilson explored the root of racism through literature. Through the word
            of writers such as Flannery O’Connor, Zora Neale Hurston, Lillian Smith, Robert Penn Warre
            Luther King Junior amongst others she examined how people view each other as either inside

            and how through this we alienate ourselves from our shared humanity. Drawing especially fr
            story “Everything That Rises Must Converge” by Flannery O’Connor she demonstrated how the 
            and contrast each other, be that according to race, class, education or anything else can 

            the story, by making the reader sympathise with the fate of the racist character O’Connor 
            equality means respecting those with whom we disagree as well as those with whom we agree:
            (rightly) disagree with someone’s beliefs does not mean we should devalue their humanity a

            should do so based upon someone’s race. An interesting and thought-provoking talk.
            At the end of the lecture the floor was opened for questions, and the evening closed with 
            that yes, in case you were wondering, President Barack Obama does write poetry. A good top

            lecture maybe? 
                                                                                                      
                                               Elan Grug Muse is in her second year studying for a BA 
                                               Prague. She is interested in international politics, mu
                                               skills.