Ethnic Studies Week kicks off with lecture on legacy of civil rights

(Editor’s note: This event was originally scheduled to take place today but has now been postponed until next Wednesday, Oct. 6.)

The University of Wisconsin–Madison will join educational institutions around the nation in celebrating Ethnic Studies Week with a kickoff event Wednesday, Oct. 6, from 5:30-7:30 p.m. in 4123 Helen C. White Library. 

A lecture by Dan Duster on “Anti-lynching and Civil Rights Activist Ida B. Wells” will kick off a full week of activities planned on campus to coordinate with the national Ethnic Studies Week from Oct. 1-7, which is sponsored by the Department of Afro-American Studies.

Duster is an activist, motivational speaker and successful business consultant. He’s also Wells’ great-grandson and will speak about the effect of her legacy on his life, her contemporary implications and his experiences as person of color at a predominantly white university.

Termed by grassroots organizers as the “fight against ignorance,” this year’s first national Ethnic Studies Week was inspired by opposition to Arizona legislation banning ethnic studies, new social studies standards passed censoring ethnic studies by the Texas State Board of Education and other attacks on multicultural education.

 Initiated by 185 educators and endorsed by educational and activist organizations around the country, the week of educational activities celebrating America’s multiethnic and multicultural composition is designed to promote the relevancy and importance of ethnic studies and academic freedom nationwide.            

For more information on the National Ethnic Studies Week movement, go to http://ethnicstudiesweekoctober1-7.org/