BOONE—The Center for Judaic, Holocaust, and Peace Studies, the Center for Appalachian Studies, as well as the Africana Studies program, Black Faculty and Student Association, Black Student Association, the College of Arts and Sciences and a number of other organizations and departments around the Appalachian State University campus are hosting a three-part series on the voices of the Civil Rights Movement, April 25 through April 26. The first two events are free and open to the public, the final event has limited seating and requires a ticket purchased in advance.

A lecture by Charles E. Cobb, Jr., “This Nonviolent Stuff’ll Get You Killed: How Guns Made the Civil Rights Movement Possible,” kicks off the series Monday, April 25, at 7 p.m. in the Blue Ridge Ballroom, Room 201 AB in Plemmons Student Union (PSU). Cobb will explore the complex relationship between the civil rights movement’s early commitment to nonviolence and the long tradition of African American armed self-defense against white supremacy.

Charles E. Cobb, Jr., is a distinguished journalist and inductee of the National Association of Black Journalists’ Hall of Fame. He served as field secretary in Mississippi from 1962 to 1967 for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), the most influential youth and student organization during the Civil Rights Movement. He was involved in organizing and conducting the Freedom Summer in 1964, which brought numerous civil rights organization together to register African-American Mississippian voters and hold Freedom Schools. He worked closely with key figures in SNCC and the movement, including John Lewis, Courtland Cox, Jim Forman and Stokely Carmichael. He is the co-author, with fellow activist Bob Moses, of “Radical Equations, Civil Rights from Mississippi to the Algebra Project” (2001) and also wrote “On the Road to Freedom: A Guided Tour of the Civil Rights Trail”(2008).

Tuesday, April 26 at 10:30 a.m. in Greenbriar Theater, PSU Room 200, Cobb will be joined by musician, organizer and activist Si Kahn, founder of Grassroots Leadership, a non-profit organization in support of prison reform and violence prevention, and Appalachian student activists for a panel on African-American and Jewish organizers in the struggle against racism during the 1960s and today.

The series will culminate Tuesday, April 26, at 7:30 p.m. with a fundraising event at the Jones House. Si Kahn will read and perform songs from his two most recent programs, “Hope and Precious Memories.” Dr. William Schumann, director of the Center for Appalachian Studies and Dr. Thomas Kaplan, director of the Center for Judaic, Holocaust, and Peace Studies, will introduce guests to the work of their respective centers and invite conversation about the role of the university in supporting inclusive, sustainable community development.

The final event benefits the Center for Judaic, Holocaust, and Peace Studies and the Center for Appalachian Studies and is limited to 40 guests. Refreshments and hors d’oeuvres will be served. A suggested minimum donation of $50 per ticket should be mailed to either center prior to the event. Contributors of $100 or more will receive an autographed copy of Si Kahn’s latest book “Creative Community Organizers: A Guide for Rabble-Rousers, Activists and Quiet Lovers of Justice.”

A receipt for the value of your charitable donation will be mailed with tickets.

Please mail your check to either:
Center for Appalachian Studies, ASU Box 32018, Boone, NC 28607 or Center for Judaic, Holocaust, and Peace Studies, ASU Box 32146, Boone, NC 28607.

For additional information, contact the Center for Appalachian Studies at 828-262-2551 or the Center for Judaic, Holocaust, and Peace Studies at 828-262-2311.

About Appalachian State University

As a premier public institution, Appalachian State University prepares students to lead purposeful lives. App State is one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina System, with a national reputation for innovative teaching and opening access to a high-quality, cost-effective education. The university enrolls more than 21,000 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio and offers more than 150 undergraduate and 80 graduate majors at its Boone and Hickory campuses and through App State Online. Learn more at https://www.appstate.edu.

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