Additional Africana Affairs Broached at Spady Cultural Heritage Museums Connecting Community & Cultural Lecture Series February 27, 2008

As the Spady Cultural Heritage Musuems Connecting Community & Culture Lecture Series continues into March, bringing about stimulating conversation on topics and issues pertaining to people of African decent, final presenters have been announced. Lectures are at 5:30 7 p.m. at the museum, 170 NW 5th Avenue, through March 12.

The final three presenters are Dr. Henrietta Smith of the University of South Florida (USF), Dr. Diane Allerdyce with Major Joseph Bernadel of Toussaint L'Ouverture High School for Social Justice (TLHS) and Dr. Josephine Beoku-Betts of Florida Atlantic University (FAU).

Smith, following her well-received presentation on poetry at the Spady Museums Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebratory Breakfast, agreed to speak at the February 27 lecture series on Black History through Prose and Poetry. Smith is professor emeritus at the USF and editor of three editions of the Coretta Scott King Awards Book. She now teaches library science classes for the School of Library and Information Science at the University of South Florida in Tampa.

Allerdyce and Bernadel will discuss the effect of Caribbean Immigration on South Florida Education using TLHS as a case study. They will identify issues particular to the newcomer student and universal to at-risk teenagers in a Western society. Their lecture will be based upon their work as founders and operators of TLHS serving a student body that includes students from Haiti and other Caribbean countries. Their presentation will provide a demographic snapshot of the school and of South Florida, examine the benefits of an ESOL education to educators, communities, students, and their families, and consider the impact of Haitian immigration on South Florida's educational communities.

Bernadel is the co-founder of TLHS and the first person of Haitian ancestry to have opened a public school in the United States. He is a national trainer for the Anti-Defamation League of Palm Beach County. He was instrumental in having May declared Haitian Heritage Month as proclaimed by the Delray Beach City Council. His current professional priorities are to build institutions honoring the presence and contributions of people of color in South Florida and to enhance their welfare through education, political advocacy, and economic opportunities.

Allerdyce is the CoFounder of TLHS in Delray Beach where she serves as Chief Academic Officer. She is also an adjunct professor of humanities courses at Lynn University. She holds the Ph.D. in English from the University of Florida. She is a National Trainer for the Classroom of difference Program of the anti-Defamation League and a board member of the La Gonave Development Corporation.

To round out the series on March 12, Beoku-Betts will explore how living in a large family influences the achievement of African and Caribbean women scientists using her extensive knowledge and research on the subject to support her discussion.

Beoku-Betts is associate professor of Womens Studies and Sociology at Florida Atlantic University. Her research focuses on the educational and employment experiences and perspectives of African and Caribbean women scientists. She has been published in Gender and Society, National Womens Studies Association Journal, Journal of Asian and African Studies, Africa Today, and Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering. She is the elected US representative on the Research Committee 32 (Women and Gender Section) of the International Sociological Association, and a member of the Steering Committee of the Womens Caucus of the African Studies Association.

The Spady Cultural Heritage Museum, a non-profit organization located in Palm Beach County, is dedicated to discovering, collecting and sharing the African-American history and heritage of Florida. Located in the former home of the late Solomon D. Spady, the most prominent African American educator and community leader in Delray Beach from 1922 to 1957, the museum opened in July 2001. It is the only museum of its kind in Palm Beach County.

Upcoming Spady Events: Dancing With the Stars Spady Style Gala: The Spady Museums annual gala will be held at 6 p.m. on Saturday, April 19 at the Delray Beach Marriott. Tickets for the event, featuring dining, dancing, professional dancers, a silent auction, and community awards, are $125. For more information, call 561-279-8883 or visit www.spadymuseum.com.

Event submitted by Eventful.com on behalf of msteele.