DSU to Hold Black Panther Symposium Feb. 3-4

Delaware State University will kick off Black History Month with a two-day symposium entitled “Black Lives Matter: 50 Years of the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense” on Feb. 3-4.

The events of the symposium – which will all be held in the second floor parlors of the Martin Luther King Jr. Student Center – are free and open to the public.

The symposium will begin at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 3 with a screening of the film documentary Black Panthers: The Vanguard of the Revolution.

On Thursday, Feb. 4 there will be an 11 a.m. guest lecture featuring Black Panther co-founder Bobby Seale. Along with Huey Newton, Mr. Seale established the Black Panthers (later renamed the Black Panther Party) in Oakland, Calif., in 1966 to resist police brutality and the killing of blacks.

On the afternoon of Feb. 4, there will be two panel discussions:

A 1 p.m. forum will feature a panel of scholars that will include Dr. Charles Jones, director and professor of Africana Studies, University of Cincinnati; Dr. Yohuru Williams, associate vice president of Academic Affairs and professor of history, Fairfield University; and Dr. Alondra Nelson, dean of Social Sciences and professor of sociology and gender studies, Columbia University.

Later that afternoon, a 3 p.m. forum will feature a panel of Lynn French, executive director of Hope and a Home, and adjunct professor of history, University of Virginia; Paul Coates, founder and publisher of Black Classic Press; and Mr. Seale, who is also the director of the Bobby Seale Reach Foundation.