Montgomery County Community College and the Lively Arts Series will host the Richard K. Bennett Distinguished Lectureship for Social Peace and Justice by presenting “Racism in America: Understanding the History of Slavery and Its Impact on American Culture.”

Dr. Fran L. Lassiter, MCCC Professor of English, will facilitate the seven-part online lecture series focusing on slavery, the how and the why it was constructed, an analysis of its impact, and show how racism still permeates in our society to this day. Each session in the series will be recorded and available to view online through Saturday, May 15.

The first session begins with Dr. Aaron Shatzman, MCCC Dean of Social Sciences, who will lead a virtual discussion called “Europeans, Native Americans and Africans: The Origins of Slavery and Race Prejudice in the Americas,” on Wednesday, Jan. 27, from 12:30-2 p.m. The event is free and open to the community but registration is required.

Dr. Shatzman will feature vivid visual evidence from English, French and Spanish America—including the first image of Native Americans to circulate widely in Europe—that will begin to explain the reasons for colonization, the expectations of the colonizers, and the attitudes of Europeans to both the peoples they encountered in the New World and the people they brought here from Africa. He will conclude with a discussion of two vastly different interpretations by historians of the nature and impact of slavery on the masters and the slaves.

“In a time where issues of racism in society still dominate headlines,” said Brent Woods, Senior Director of Cultural Affairs, “this lecture series could not be more relevant to people’s lives today. I encourage you to attend these important discussions and gain a deeper understanding of a critically important part of American history.”

The series’ sessions are scheduled through the beginning of May:

Wednesday, Jan. 27 at 12:30 p.m.

Session 1: “Europeans, Native Americans and Africans: The Origins of Slavery and Race Prejudice in the Americas”

Presented by Aaron M. Shatzman, Ph.D., Dean of Social Science, Montgomery County Community College

Monday, Feb. 8 at 12:30 p.m.

Session 2: “The Construction of Race: Slavery, the Law, and Society”

Presented by Catherine Kerrison, Ph.D., Professor of History, Villanova University

Wednesday, Feb. 10 at 12:30 p.m.

Session 3: “The Construction of Race: Color, Condition, and Citizenship”

Presented by Catherine Kerrison, Ph.D., Professor of History, Villanova University

Wednesday, March 10 at 12:30 p.m.

Session 4: “Abandoned and Violated: African Americans in the Jim Crow South, 1877-1945”

Presented by Theresa Napson-Williams, Ph.D., Associate Professor of History, Montgomery County Community College

Wednesday, April 14 at 12:30 p.m.

Session 5: “What Laws Were Created in the 20th Century that Further Perpetuated Racism and How Do These Laws Still Impact Us Today?”

Presented by Lailah Dunbar-Keeys, Community College of Philadelphia

Wednesday, April 21 at 12:30 p.m.

Session 6: “White Fragility and White Privilege: Unpacking the Truth of Racism”

Presented by Kristen Ostendorf, William Penn Charter School, American and Global History

Wednesday, May 5 at 12:30 p.m.

Session 7: “What Are We Doing Today That Continues to Perpetuate Racism and What Can We Do, as a Society, to Proactively Destroy Racism?”

Presented by Lailah Dunbar-Keeys, Community College of Philadelphia                     

More information on speakers and topics is available here.

Over the course of this series, Dr. David Kowalski, Associate Vice President of Institutional Effectiveness & Strategic Innovation, and Dr. Keima Sheriff, Assistant Dean of Student Programs, will host three healing workshops titled “Hearing and Healing: A Reflection on Racism in America.” These semi-structured discussions will allow people to process their thoughts and feelings on what they have learned during this series.

“It is our hope to give people agency over their lives and that they will become more engaged and encouraged to actively participate in the healing and reimagining of race in America,” said Woods. 

The workshops are scheduled for:

Friday, Feb. 12        12:30-2 p.m.

Friday, March 12    12:30-2 p.m.

Friday, May 14        12:30-2 p.m.

For further details about the entire Racism in America series, contact the Lively Arts Series at livelyarts@mc3.edu.

The Richard K. Bennett Distinguished Lectureship for Social Peace and Justice is supported through an endowment made from the William Penn Foundation through the Bennett Fund of the Montgomery County Community College Foundation.