The Quest for Black Citizenship and the Future of America February 17, 2009

Dr. Lawrence Little, Ph.D., associate professor of African American history at Villanova University will speak on “The Quest for Black Citizenship and the Future of America” on Tuesday, February 17, 2009 at 7 p.m. in the Social Room of Fournier Hall. The lecture is sponsored by the History Department at Chestnut Hill College and Phi Alpha Theta, the national honor society for history.

Dr. Little’s lecture will provide a historical overview of some of the ways that African Americans have expanded the social contract in the United States. His talk will place the election of Barack Obama within the historical context of enlightenment theory, the Constitutional Convention, the 14th and 15th Amendments, the Brown decision, and the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts. The lecture will also note some of the obstacles Africans Americans have overcome during this process. The lecture will also consider the importance of Obama’s presidency for the youth of America and some of the challenges that inner city black youth continue to face in the 21st century.

Dr. Lawrence Little is currently an associate profes¬sor of African American History at Villanova University in Pennsylvania where he has taught since 1993. His teaching areas include: African American History, American History, Racism and Race Relations, Civil Rights, U.S. Foreign Policy, and World History.
Dr. Little has been published in The North Star, The Journal of Asian and African Studies and The Western Journal of Black Studies. His book, Disciples of Liberty: The African Methodist Church in the Age of Imperialism, 1884-1916, examines African American reactions to global events and issues at the turn of the century. He is currently exploring the role of black line officers during the Philippine-American War from 1899-1903.
The event is free and open to the public. For more information, please contact Dr. Lorraine Coons, chair of the History and Political Science Department at 215-248-7184 or e-mail lcoons@chc.edu.

Official Website: http://www.chc.edu