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News Tip -- Duke Experts Available on 50th Anniversary of Civil Rights Milestones

This summer marks the 50th anniversary of several key civil rights events, including the assassination of Medgar Evers, the 1963 March on Washington where Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his "I Have A Dream" speech, and protests challenging Jim Crow. The events during the summer of 1963 led up to the Sept. 15 Birmingham church bombing that killed four young girls.William ChafeAlice Mary Baldwin Professor of History william.chafe@duke.eduhttp://tinyurl.com/williamchafeChafe is a scholar of race and gender equality in the 20th century. He can discuss all of the events that occurred during the summer of 1963. Chafe is the author of "Private Lives/Public Consequences: Personality and Politics in Modern America" (2005), an examination of how the public decisions of modern American leaders, including Martin Luther King Jr., were influenced by their personal lives. He also chronicled North Carolina's civil rights movement in "Civilities and Civil Rights: Greensboro, North Carolina, and the Black Struggle for Freedom" (1981).  William "Sandy" Darity, Jr.Chair, Department of African and African American Studies; professor of public policy, economics; director, Research Network on Racial and Ethnic Inequality. william.darity@duke.edu Twitter: @SandyDarity http://tinyurl.com/sandydarity Darity researches race, identity and inequality as well as the social psychological effects of unemployment, slavery and industrialization. He can speak about the effects of American domestic terrorism on the black community.  Thomas F. DeFrantz Professor, dance and African-American studies t.defrantz@duke.edu http://aaas.duke.edu/people?Gurl=&Uil=14939&subpage=profile  DeFrantz, who is president of the Society of Dance History Scholars, can speak to the influence of the arts on civil rights activism. Sidney Poitier won an Oscar in June 1963 and Alvin Ailey integrated his company that same year with a white dancer. In addition, writer Leroi Jones, aka Amiri Baraka, published his seminal work, "Blues People," in 1963. Wesley HoganDirector, Duke's Center for Documentary Studies(919) 660-3663; wesley.hogan@duke.eduhttp://today.duke.edu/2013/04/wesleyhoganreleaseHogan has spent 20 years interviewing social activists and documenting aspects of the civil rights movement on film. She can discuss the role of young people in organizations such as the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. She is particularly interested in youth involved in the 1963 March on Washington. Hogan, who just joined Duke, was co-director of the Institute for the Study of Race Relations at Virginia State University. Her book, "Many Minds, One Heart: SNCC's Dream for a New America," won the Lillian Smith Book Award.Richard LischerJames T. and Alice Mead Cleland Professor of Preaching, Duke Divinity School rlischer@div.duke.edu http://divinity.duke.edu/academics/faculty/richard-lischer Lischer is the author of "The Preacher King: Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Word that Moved America" (1997). Lischer can discuss King as an orator, the importance of both the "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" and "I Have a Dream" speech, as well as King's religious vision for America.  Gordon MantlerLecturing Fellow, Thompson Writing Program(919) 270-0120; gkm2@duke.eduMantler is author of "Power to the Poor: Black-Brown Coalition and the Fight for Economic Justice, 1960-1974," which explores King's multiracial collaboration building during the Poor People's Campaign of 1968. Mantler is an oral historian who has written about social movements including the African-American freedom struggle and the Chicano movement.Mark Anthony NealProfessor, African-American studies dr-yogi@att.net http://tinyurl.com/k8b2dbv  Neal specializes in black popular culture, including music, television, film and literature spanning the African diaspora. He is able to discuss the cultural context of the civil rights movement. For example, Berry Gordy of Motown recorded Dr. King's "I Have A Dream" speech and made it available as an album. He is also interested in the proximity of the March on Washington with the church bombing in Birmingham weeks later. Neal's latest book is "Looking for Leroy: Illegible Black Masculinities" (2013). Tom RankinDirector, Center for Documentary Studies tom.rankin@duke.edu https://fds.duke.edu/db/aas/MFAEDA/faculty/tsr2 Rankin is a photographer, filmmaker and professor of the practice of art and documentary studies. He can address the power and visual effect of the images of police dogs and firehouses being used on marchers in Birmingham during the summer of 1963. He is the author of "Sacred Space: Photographs from the Mississippi Delta" (1993) and "Local Heroes Changing America: Indivisible" (2000).  Ashleigh Shelby RosetteAssociate professor, Duke's Fuqua School of Business arosette@duke.edu http://www.fuqua.duke.edu/faculty_research/faculty_directory/rosette Rosette researches diversity and negotiations in organizations, with a focus on leadership. She can address the influence of the civil rights movement on black employment and leadership. Luke PoweryDean, Duke Chapel; Associate professor of homiletics, Duke Divinity School luke.powery@duke.edu http://divinity.duke.edu/academics/faculty/luke-powery Powery is the author of "Spirit Speech: Lament and Celebration in Preaching" (2009) and "Dem Dry Bones: Preaching, Death, and Hope" (2012). He can discuss the role of preaching, singing and/or praying in the civil rights movement and the relationship between social activism and faith.                                    _        _        _        _Duke experts on a variety of other topics can be found at http://newsoffice.duke.edu/resources-media/faculty-experts.