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A BIANNUAL JOURNAL

OF THE CENTER FOR

AFRICAN AMERICAN

STUDEIS

JAN-JUNE

Volume 2

Issue

2

Thursday, May 2nd, was focused on student enrichment models and

best practices for success. Friday, May 3rd, was focused on

community-based research conducted across the country. The

conference had several keynote speeches and panel presentations that

examined social and policy issues (e.g., education, health, social class,

criminal justice) that impact Blacks in America and concluded with a

community forum with local representatives discussing Dallas/Fort

Worth Metroplex race matters.

Don’t forget to Save the Date for the 2nd Annual Conference on

February 14-15, 2014!

The Center for African

American Studies (CAAS)

was thrilled to host so many

fantastic speakers at our

Inaugural Conference,

Critical Issues in Black

Studies: Race in Context!

The purpose of the CAAS

Conference was to profile

progressive research and

program development focused

on the diverse conditions of

African Americans.

Issue

2

Volume 2

JAN-JUNE

A BIANNUAL JOURNAL

OF THE CENTER FOR

AFRICAN AMERICAN

STUDEIS

Schnavia Hatcher, PhD, MSW Director Hadia Miller, BA Program Assistant Christopher Woolen (Exercise Science, Senior)Student Assistant Yvonne Williams (Criminology & Criminal Justice, Senior) Student Assistant Dorothea Ivey, BA (Pursuing MSW & MPA) Student Associate AFFILIATE FACULTY 2012-2013 Faculty Fellows Dr. Ifeoma Amah Educational Leadership & Policy Studies Dr. Robert Bing Criminology & Criminal Justice Dr. Eusebius Small Social Work Dr. Sonja Watson Modern Languages Faculty Associates Dr. Ben Agger Sociology & Anthropology Dr. Krystal Beamon Sociology & Anthropology Dr. Myrtle P. Bell Management Dr. Joan Blakey Social Work Dr. Elten Briggs Marketing Dr. Marvin Dulaney History Dr. Cedrick May English Dr. Jason Shelton Sociology & Anthropology

Contents:

3 Accomplishments

4 Faculty Spotlight

6 Student Engagement

8 Community Engagement: Inaugural CAAS Conference

9 Curriculum

10 Calendar of Events

11 Give to CAAS

ear CAAS family,

It has been a phenomenal first year of existence- and we're not done yet! With the mission to cultivate an exceptional transdisciplinary experience through teaching, civic engagement, and community-based research focused on the diverse contextual conditions of African Americans, we continue to move forward making a positive impact on campus and in the community.

Activities and accomplishments in core components for academic year 2012- 2013 include:

Curriculum and Instruction

* Offered AAST 2300- Intro to African American Studies in Spring 2013

* Created three (3) additional undergraduate AAST courses: Special Topics; Conference; Capstone for Minors

* Created one (1) graduate AAST course: Conference * Offered graduate internships * Developed 28 AAST elective courses that are cross-listed

with other units

Research and Policy Analysis * *Incorporated four (4) research fellows into the unit from: * Criminology and Criminal Justice, Educational Leadership

and Policy Studies, Social Work, and Modern Languages

*Research projects focused on: * Education * HIV and AIDS * Race, Class, and Crime Racial Identity * Substance Abuse/Mental Health

Your donations, both in- kind and financially, make it possible for us to continue to build the infrastructure that will enlighten, inspire and empower student, faculty and staff, and community stakeholders to drive social change within the Black community specifically and the broader society generally.

I look forward to seeing you in 2013- 2014.

All the best,

Schnavia

Schnavia Smith Hatcher, PhD, MSW Director

Community Engagement

Student Outreach *Hired undergraduate student assistants from: Criminal Justice, Exercise Science, Physics *Launched first cohort of students in the Emerging Scholars Program: 16 females; 13 males Activities included:

• Monthly group workshops and individual meetings • Community service • Reflection assignments • Peer mentor experience • End of year projects and presentations

*Organized one (1) Student Kickball challenge *Served as faculty/staff advisor on five (5) student groups on campus

Community Outreach

Organized five (5) scholarly lectures focused on prevalent social problems *Hosted an Evening of Authors showcasing published works from CAAS affiliate faculty *Cosponsored several events with other units on campus *Coordinated and hosted the Inaugural Research Conference, Critical Issues in Black Studies: Race in Context

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As the nation remembered Juneteenth, or June 19, 1865, when Union soldiers enforced the Emancipation Proclamation and freed all remaining slaves in Texas. The Texas State Historical Association launched the Handbook of African American Texas with the help of History Department chair, Dr. W. Marvin Dulaney. The state historical association invited Dr. Dulaney, to write the lead essay and other significant portions of the new online handbook. He authored entries for the organization’s pioneering Handbook of Texas 17 years ago. Dr. Dulaney is a CAAS Faculty Affiliate.

Congratulations to Dr. Sonja Watson, assistant Professor of Spanish, on the acceptance of her book length manuscript, Dark Skin Panama: The Cultural Politics of Race in Afro-Panamanian Literary Discourse ! It has been accepted for publication with the University Press of Florida (forthcoming Summer 2014).This is a great accomplishment and we look forward to the release Summer 2014!

Dr. Sonja Watson is an Assistant Professor of Spanish within the Department of Modern Languages.

Dr. Watson is a CAAS Faculty Fellow.

(L) Jim Austin (Jim Austin Co.) & Tyrone Smith (Business graduate student) connected at the CAAS Inaugural Conference. Smith is now an intern for The Jim Austin Company and Jim Austin Online. CAAS looks forward to working with both of them at the National Day of the American Cowboy Celebration July 26-28! (For more information about the event see p. 10) Please let us know if you have made a CAAS Connection too!

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What motivated you to pursue the current focus of your career?

I have been pursuing a career as an instructor/teacher/professor of African American history since I was 17 years old. It was at that time, after twelve years of primary and secondary education, that I discovered how uneducated I was. I was a good student, but I did not know any- thing about African or African American history. Thus, I made teaching the African-American experience to as many people as possible my major life goal.

What are your greatest challenges as an African American in your profession?

The challenges as an African American in my profession have changed over the years. At first, I faced the challenge of proving to the professors with whom I worked in graduate school that African American history was a legitimate field of inquiry and that research in the field required as much rigor, analysis, and scholarly work as any other discipline. When I started teaching African-American history, finding materials to support my instruction was very difficult. I spent a lot of time producing handouts and copying them on “ditto machines,”

as well as copying maps and images from books in order to provide my students a quality course. Thankfully, in the last twenty years education- al publishers and historical organizations have done a lot to produce materials (books, films, maps, slides, and other teaching materials) to close the gap that those of us who taught African American history in the 1970s and 1980s faced in the classroom.

Since the 1970s and 1980s, the challenge has been to bring more people who look like me into the profession. There is still a dearth of African Americans in academia and it has been difficult to convince students that an academic career is worth pursuing--given the time that it takes to complete a Ph.D., to earn tenure, and to be successful in any field in higher education. Too many students who look like me want immediate gratification and they have not been willing to pursue a career that takes a lot of time to complete.

What has been one of the greatest rewards in your role thus far?

My greatest rewards have been seeing some of my students go forward and be successful in their careers. Although I have produced only two PhDs in History (both of whom attended my alma mater, Ohio State University), I have quite a few, former students who have become teachers, journalists, attorneys, and professionals in a wide variety of fields. They have made me proud and I know that if I pass away tomorrow, I have made some impact on the lives of students who have taken my classes, worked for me, and been my mentees.

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During 2012-2013, CAAS launched its first cohort of students (16 females; 13 males) in the Emerging Scholars Program, an enrichment program for first-year students.

The mission of the CAAS Emerging Scholars Program is to develop and provide educational, cultural, and social models of support that strengthen the foundation of exploration and learning for first year male and female students interested in African American studies and/or volunteering in the Black community. Activities included: monthly group workshops and individual meetings, reflection assignments, peer mentor experience, end of year projects and conference presentations.

CAAS Emerging Scholars Participants also provided community service to 45 organizations/agencies totaling over 460 hours.

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“The CAAS program actually had the biggest impact on me because it pushed me to do many things as far as interacting and meeting new people. It also made me get very involved by giving back to the community.”

-Emerging Scholar 2012-13

My CAAS Experience

As the end of my graduate study grew near, I contemplated heavily on where would be the best place for me to complete my when you have to move beyond the books and re- search and remember that there are real lives and real futures involved in our work and in our study. While working with the ESP students, I learned to be more open-minded and not to make assumptions, but more importantly, that the work we do has great meaning and purpose. I walked away from my internship experience feeling a huge sense of accomplishment. I was more than thrilled to have been a part of several firsts that had occurred over the year such as the Inaugural CAAS capstone internship. With so many interesting options within the UT Arlington campus, I couldn’t really settle on which place would be right for me. That was until I found out that the dream of UT Arlington’s long awaited Center for African American Studies was actually going to be realized. I knew instantly that I wanted a chance to be a part of this venture.

I felt extremely fortunate that Dr. Hatcher granted me the opportunity to intern with CAAS and see firsthand the amazing work that was being done there. The agenda and plans for the first-year were ambitious to say the least and I knew right away that CAAS was going to make a huge impression on UT Arlington and its surrounding communities.

One of my main responsibilities was to assist in the facilitation of the Emerging Scholars Program. For me, this was an opportunity to work with students in a very real, very effective way. I have always believed that higher education is instrumental in changing people’s trajectories. Being involved with this program allowed me to be connected to this belief in a way that I had not before. It felt awesome to be in some way a contributor to the success of several first-year, African American students here at the University.

I can only hope that it was as impactful for the students as it was for me. The experience helped me identify some of my strengths and weaknesses as a higher education practitioner. It also reminded me that there are times

when you have to move beyond the books and re- search and remember that there are real lives and real futures involved in our work and in our study. While working with the ESP students, I learned to be more open-minded and not to make assumptions, but more importantly, that the work we do has great meaning and purpose. I walked away from my internship experience feeling a huge sense of accomplishment. I was more than thrilled to have been a part of several firsts that had occurred over the year, such as the Inaugural CAAS Conference. I also felt like the Center’s research and programming efforts demonstrated the importance of being a change agent on our campus and in our community. I truly appreciate having had the opportunity to observe and learn from a very effective administrator and dynamic staff, but more so, how to think big, shoot for the stars, and never settle for mediocrity. I am sure that CAAS will continue to grow and make an even bigger impact at UT Arlington, in the surrounding community and likely across the nation. CAAS’ mission to ‘enlighten, inspire, and empower’ will forever remain with me as I venture toward the next steps in my career.

CONGRATULATIONS

CHAUNTE !

MASTER’S DEGREE IN EDUCATION –May 2013

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By: Chaunte’ White CAAS Graduate Intern, Spring 2013

(picture right) Keynote Dr. Ivory Toldson of Howard University (picture above) Provost Elsenbaumer, Dr. Hatcher & Keynote Speaker Derek “Fonzworth Bentley” Watkins (picture to the right) Art work that was donated by Sedrick Huckaby on display for auction (picture to the bottom left) Derek “Fonzworth Bentley” Watkins.

2013 CAAS Emerging Scholars w/ Keynote Derek “Fonzworth Bentley” Watkins

CAAS Conference Planning Committee

MORE PICTURES AVAILABLE ON FACEBOOK.COM/GROUPS/UTACAAS

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Mikala Gibson, performer

CAAS mk

AAST 2300 INTRODUCTION TO AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

AAST 2337 ECONOMICS OF SOCIAL ISSUES

AAST 3324 THE COMING OF THE CIVIL WAR, 1820 - 1860

AAST 3365 AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY TO 1865

AAST 3380 RACE, CRIME & JUSTICE

AAST 4331 RACE, ETHNICITY & FAMILY FORMATION

AAST 4341 INEQUALITIES IN PUBLIC EDUCATION

AAST 4350 SPECIAL TOPICS IN AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

AAST 4378 WEST AFRICA AND THE ATLANTIC DIASPORA

AAST 4391 CONFERENCE COURSE

AAST 4399 CAPSTONE AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

*Courses subject to change **Special topics courses must be approved by CAAS each semester ***Other courses might qualify. Consult with a CAAS advisor

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Dr. Pamela Hill

CAAS Adjunct Faculty

Issue

2

Volume 2

JAN-JUNE

A BIANNUAL JOURNAL

OF THE CENTER FOR

AFRICAN AMERICAN

STUDEIS

Upcoming Events

July 26-28th “National Day of the American Cowboy”

Join us as we celebrate the unique and untold story of the American Cowboy and the Cowboys of Color. This year CAAS is actively contributing to the event during the “Zydeco Fest” which is a celebration of Creole/Cajun culture and music unique to the eastern and southern regions of Texas and LA. The event will take place in the stockyards of Fort Worth and will feature live music. Famous cowboys and celebs such as actress Pam Grier are sure to be in attendance.

CAAS will have a booth setup during the festival on Saturday, July 27th, 4pm-8pm. Be sure to come by and say hi!

The event is located at:

River Ranch - Fort Worth Stockyards, 500 NE 23rd Street, Fort Worth, Texas 76164

For a whole list of “American Cowboy” events and ticket information visit: http://www.cowboysofcolor.org/index.php

• August 22nd, First Day of Classes (Fall 2013)

• October 2nd, “CAAS Kickoff Event”, (Evening)

• November 6, Noon, “CAAS LECTURE”

• December, “Evening with Authors”

Date and Time: (TBD)

*More details and events to come soon!

*Events calendar updated regularly; please contact caas@uta.edu for inquiries.

Spring Semester 2014 February 14-15, “2nd Annual CAAS Conference” (SAVE THE DATE)

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Established August 2012, the mission of the Center for African American Studies (CAAS) at the University of Texas at Arlington is to cultivate an exceptional trans disciplinary experience through teaching, civic engagement, and community-based research focused on the diverse contextual conditions of African Americans. Our purpose is to foster student, faculty, and community capacity to create progressive solutions to social problems.

Endowed funding is being sought to support:

• Lectures, events, and conferences • Student seminars • Graduate fellowships • Undergraduate assistantships • Faculty and student research

For individual giving, please contact:

Michelle Gilchrist at gilchrist@uta.edu

Myke Holt at mholt@uta.edu

For foundation giving, please contact:

Shawn Farrell, Director of Foundation Relations at shawnf@uta.edu

For more information about the needs of CAAS, please contact:

Dr. Schanavia Hatcher, CAAS Director, at shatcher@uta.edu

To give a gift, go to www.uta.edu/caas/support.html

How do you contact The Center for African American Studies?....

CAAS is located on the UT Arlington campus in the Swift Center, Suite 129. Visitor parking is on the corner of UTA Blvd and Summit.

1022 UTA BLVD., SUITE 129 BOX #19024 ARLINGTON, TX 76019

Phone: 817.272.9642 Fax: 817.272.9643 Email: caas@uta.edu

Facebook.com/groups/UTACAAS Twitter: UTArlingtonCAAS

Email to join our listserv at: CAAS@LISTSERV.UTA.EDU

www.uta.edu/caas CAAS WEBSITE: