As Dr. Edwin Coleman spoke with a longtime friend some three weeks ago, his friend said something to an approaching acquaintance that caught his attention: “I haven’t seen you in a coon’s age.”
After the conversation ended, Coleman told his friend that “coon” is a racist term about blacks hailing from the South during the time of slavery.
“She was so embarrassed and apologetic,” Coleman said, and she explained that she would have never used the expression in an intentionally derogatory manner. Although he understood that his friend did not understand what she was saying, Coleman said people still have a responsibility to educate themselves about the issues they are unfamiliar with, such as civil rights. The fourth annual Dr. Edwin Coleman Conference begins today to offer participants exposure to issues such as labor rights, environmental racism, student activism, AIDS awareness and cultural diversity. Through “Reawakening: Remembrance and the Radical Reality,” the Multicultural Center hopes to recognize Coleman for his accomplishments at the University while sharing with students, faculty and community members an awareness of activism and diversity.
“I hope people come away energized and ready to make a difference in their campus and community,” said Bola Majekobaje, one of the coordinators for the event.
Majekobaje, who also serves as the networking advocate for the MCC, said Coleman’s commitment to activism and diversity on this campus makes him worth recognizing. Coleman has been a professor at the University for nearly 40 years.
“He has the power of moving people and uplifting people of all races and cultures,” she said.
ASUO President Jay Breslow said naming the conference after Coleman is just one way to show appreciation for what he has put into this University.
“Dr. Coleman has a wisdom that any student can learn from through the struggles he faced,” Breslow said.
Breslow suggested students attend Coleman’s occasional jazz shows at Jo Federigo’s Restaurant and Jazz Club or enroll in his African American Drama class to get a glimpse into Coleman’s life and perspective. Breslow added that students can learn from other local heroes who have also faced diversity issues throughout their lives.
There is something for everyone at this conference, Majekobaje said, from an affirmative action debate and an AIDS awareness reception, to Holocaust readings and an Earth Day celebration. During the “Zero Awards,” which will take place Wednesday afternoon in the EMU Amphitheater, the MCC will recognize the departments at the University that have no faculty of color.
The MCC is bringing two leaders of civil rights activism to campus Thursday for the affirmative action debate, said Abby Lovett, the MCC’s resource coordinator. Beginning at 7 p.m. in the Knight Law Center, Tim Wise and Dinesh De’souza will debate the pros and cons of affirmative action in reference to political and social settings.
Keynote speakers Amiri Baraka, a playwright and political activist, and Elaine Brown, an author and the only woman ever to lead the Black Panther Party, will both speak Friday at 7 p.m. in 150 Columbia.
The speakers will “offer history,” MCC Director Erica Fuller said. “They put activism in context as it relates to their individual area of expertise.”
Fuller said a series of workshops Saturday will address concepts such as “internal racism, activism and white privilege.”
As part of the Jewish holiday known as Yom Hashoah — Holocaust Remembrance Day — members of the Jewish Student Union and other volunteers will spend Wednesday and Thursday paying tribute to those who died in the Holocaust. For 24 hours in the amphitheater, they will read through a list of Holocaust victims.
“In Jewish tradition, it is important to remember individuals in your life who have died,” JSU Program Director Jessica Elkan said. “This is the way we do it for the people who died in the Holocaust.”
For a complete program of events for the Dr. Edwin Coleman Conference, contact the MCC in Suite 33 of the EMU or at 346-4207.
The conference aims to address issues that students don’t always learn about in their daily lives, Coleman said. Coleman said the conversation with his friend is just one example of the fact that people don’t have enough contact with one another.
“We sit on the bus together, watch soaps and MTV — but that’s the limit. We just don’t know one another,” he said. “We don’t know how to deal with each other.”