Each academic year, the African American and Africana Studies Program at Auburn University coordinates a series of academic and cultural lectures in honor of Dr. Patience Essah, Professor Emerita of history and director of Africana Studies. Lectures expose students to the rigor and breadth of African American and Africana Studies by giving them the opportunity to learn from and engage with leading scholars within the field. The cultural lectures speak to contemporary and historical moments or experiences in ways which allow students to connect with complex or difficult subjects through more a personal interaction.
Fall 2024 Lecture
The fall 2024 lecture features Dr. Tierra James, assistant professor in the Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Social Work. Her lecture titled "Condemned by Bias: Race and Capital Punishment in America" will discuss the history of the death penalty in the U.S. and demonstrate how it has been used as a tool of racial oppression. Using racial threat theory as a framework, it explores how the legacy of slavery, lynching, and Jim Crow laws have shaped the contemporary application of the death penalty.
The lecture will be held on Wednesday, Oct. 30 at 3:30 p.m. in 010 Lowder Hall. The lecture is free and open to all.