Opening Day Lecture “Stokely Carmichael: The Bridge from Civil Rights to Black Power”

Presented by James Thomas Jones III, associate professor of history and African American studies at Prairie View A&M University, in conjunction with the exhibition Gordon Parks: Stokely Carmichael and Black Power

The life of Stokely Carmichael, also known as Kwame Ture, spans Black America’s mid-20th century efforts to integrate with a resistant white America and subsequent attempts to execute an ill-defined Black Nationalist politic that divided the community. Carmichael (1941–1998) is one of the few figures who managed to occupy a leadership role within the multi-racial, integrationist-oriented Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and the vanguard organization of the Black Power era: the Black Panther Party.

Illustrated with images of Carmichael by photographer Gordon Parks (1912–2006) in Gordon Parks: Stokely Carmichael and Black Power, this lecture covers American race relations during the civil-rights movement through Carmichael’s enlistment with the Black Panther Party.

Plan Your Visit This program and entry to the exhibition are included with general admission. The lecture takes place in Lynn Wyatt Theater in the Kinder Building, with seating on a first-come, first-served basis. The exhibition is on view in the Beck Building. Museum hours on Sundays are 12:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.

About the Speaker
James Thomas Jones III is an associate professor of history and African American studies at Prairie View A&M University. His teaching/research areas of interests include Black intellectual history, race, the civil-rights movement, Black Power politics, manhood studies, labor studies, and hip-hop culture.

Safety Guidelines Masks are recommended in Museum auditoriums. In the interest of your personal safety and community health, please observe all precautions set forth by the MFAH—learn more here.