The Anna Julia Cooper hosts and supports events that bring scholars and activists to Wake Forest University for lectures or engaging discussions on relevant issues that address political questions at the intersections of gender, race, and politics in the South.
The Center believes in events that move beyond the model of one expert delivering a lecture to an audience and move towards conversations that invite audiences to see the complexity and challenges of the issues we address from multiple perspectives.
The AJC Center offers grants for affiliated faculty and community members to support bringing a visiting scholar to campus.
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Upcoming Events:
Please check back for more information on upcoming events.
Past Events:
Midterms, President Obama, and the Performance of Politics
November 3, 2014, 11:00 am
ZSR Library Auditorium, Wake Forest University
Jeffrey C. Alexander is the Lillian Chavenson Saden Professor of Sociology at Yale University. With Ron Eyerman, Philip Smith, and Frederick Wherry, he is Co-Director of the Center for Cultural Sociology. Jeffrey Alexander works in the areas of theory, culture, and politics. An exponent of the “strong program” in cultural sociology, he has investigated the cultural codes and narratives that inform diverse areas of social life. He has written multiple books, including The Performance of Politics: Obama’s Victory and the Democratic Struggle for Power, Performance and Power, and Obama Power. Dr. Alexander is visiting Wake Forest as the Phi Beta Kappa Visiting Scholar.
Melissa Harris-Perry is Presidential Endowed Chair in Politics and International Affairs at Wake Forest University, an award winning author and the host of MSNBC’s “Melissa Harris-Perry.” Her academic research is inspired by a desire to investigate the challenges facing contemporary black Americans and to better understand the multiple, creative ways that African Americans respond to these challenges.
The Civil Rights Movement
April 17, 2013, 7:00pm
Diane Nash was one of the founding students of the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), the Chairperson of the Nashville student sit-in movement, and coordinator of the Freedom Ride from Birmingham to Jackson. She worked for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, where she helped strategize the Selma Right-To-Vote movement. She was also part of the national committee that promoted the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Melissa Harris-Perry is professor of political science at Tulane University, where she is founding director of the Anna Julia Cooper Project. She previously served on the faculties of the University of Chicago and Princeton University. Her academic research is inspired by a desire to investigate the challenges facing contemporary black Americans and to better understand the multiple, creative ways that African Americans respond to these challenges.
An Earth Day Conversation on Environmental Justice
April 22, 2013, 6:00pm
LaToria Whitehead is a political scientist and Adjunct Professor of Environmental Justice at Spelman College. She previously taught at Clark Atlanta University. She earned her doctorate degree from Clark Atlanta University, where she wrote the dissertation, “The influence of non-governmental organizations on public policy: a case study on childhood lead poisoning prevention in Savannah, Georgia.”
Beverly Wright is a professor of Sociology and founding director of the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice at Dillard University in New Orleans. She has been tackling issues of environmental racism and working to raise the profile of environmental issues in poor and minority communities nationwide. An author and grassroots activist, Dr. Wright has helped shape policy decisions about the environment.