Engage & Interact

"Our commitment has always been to be public facing in our programs--to engage and interact with our local schools, churches and community organizations in a deliberate effort to create programs, develop new initiatives and build knowledge together," says James Peterson, pictured here with Michael Eric Dyson.

Lehigh students and community members gather at a rally and march in support of students at the University of Missouri.

Saladin Ambar, associate professor of political science, gives a lecture on Malcolm X.

Assistant professors Darius Omar Williams, Monica Miller and Susan Kart participate in a panel discussion.

Activist and filmmaker Bree Newsome visits a class and discusses her June 2015 removal of the Confederate flag from the South Carolina state house grounds.

A blended cast of Lehigh students and community members, including members of Easton’s Greater Shiloh Church, rehearse for their performance of Marcus Gardley's play, "every tongue confess," directed by Darius Omar Williams.

Lehigh’s Africana Studies program has been awarded a $500,000 challenge grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. The three-to-one matching grant, announced in December 2015, will require Lehigh to raise $1.5 million over the next five years.

In 2011, Lehigh selected Africana Studies as its first academic “cluster,” bringing together faculty from English; history; religion studies; theatre; art, architecture and design; and journalism. The program has since developed powerful and socially relevant public programming, including a four-day conference in February 2015 that explored the life and legacy of Malcolm X.

The NEH funds will be used to create an endowment to expand the Africana Studies program at Lehigh, including enhancing curriculum, increasing public humanities initiatives and strengthening the program’s community partnerships to further explore public concerns and social justice issues related to race, politics, gender, religion and other areas. New initiatives will see faculty and students moving further into the public sphere, joining with local residents and other community partners in forums, town halls and public meetings to deliberate on local concerns that they can address together.

Principal Investigators

James Peterson, director of Africana Studies and associate professor of English

Monica Miller, assistant professor of religion studies

Susan Kart, assistant professor of art, architecture and design

Photos by Christa Neu and Stephanie Veto

Posted on:

Thursday, March 17, 2016