Go West, Young Man

Scholar, activist, author to kick off VCU speaker series

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Noted scholar, author and Civil Rights activist Cornel West will speak Thursday at 6 p.m at the Virginia Commonwealth University Siegel Center.

West’s speech, titled “Invoking our Collective Memory,” will kick off a VCU speaker series, “Race, Citizenship, and Memory in the South,” sponsored by the university’s Humanities Research Center. The series commemorates the 150th anniversary of the passing of the 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery. The event is free and open to the public.

The Princeton professor made news in early August when he was arrested with dozens of activists while protesting at the federal courthouse in St. Louis, Missouri one year after the police shooting of Ferguson teenager Michael Brown. More recently, West took to social media to endorse Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’ presidential bid.

The speaker series’ full calendar of events is below:

“ ‘You Can’t Run Away From Trouble’: Song and Story in Disney’s ‘Song of the South’ ”

Sept. 10 at 6 p.m.

Kathy Merlock Jackson

The Depot, 814 W. Broad St.

“What Does the Civil War Mean in Richmond Today?”

Sept. 29 at 6 p.m.

James Loewen

VCU Student Commons, Richmond Salons I-IV, 907 Floyd Ave.

“F.B. Eyes: How J. Edgar Hoover’s Ghostreaders Framed African-American Literature”
Oct. 13 at 4 p.m.


William Maxwell 

VCU Student Commons, Richmond Salons III-IV, 907 Floyd Ave.

“Something Must Be Done About Prince Edward County: A Family, A Virginia Town, A Civil Rights Battle”


Oct. 19 at 7 p.m.


Kristen Green

VCU Student Commons, Richmond Salons I-II, 907 Floyd Ave.

“Django Unchained: Screening and Panel Discussion”


Oct. 27 at 6 p.m.


Grace Street Theater, 934 W. Grace St.

“Powering the Pulpit: Religion, Race and Politics in Post-Emancipation Virginia”


Nov. 18 at 7 p.m.


Nicole Myers Turner

VCU Student Commons, Richmond Salons I-II, 907 Floyd Ave.