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The Legacies of John Hope Franklin

Scholars, artists, activists say famed historian's life still inspires them 

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On the centennial of historian John Hope Franklin’s birthday, leading scholars artists and activists, all of who owe something to Franklin’s legacy, are on campus this week for a three-day symposium that will both look back at his life and look forward to how his goals may be achieved.

The conference titled “Global Slaveries|Impossible Freedoms: The Intellectual Legacies of John Hope Franklin,” begins with a talk by Harvard President Drew Gilpin Faust, herself a noted historian, at 6 p.m. tonight [Thursday] at the Nasher Museum of Art.

“The symposium is designed to extend the generous and razor-sharp approaches to creativity, social theory and research that marks Professor Franklin’s achievement,” said Thomas DeFrantz, professor of dance and chair of the Department of African and African-American Studies. “We have an outrageously accomplished cohort of researchers and artists to present materials that are urgent to them, now, in this moment.  In our planning, we feel sharing positions and strategies among each other might foment possibilities for unexpected approaches to research and practice in our own areas.”

The symposium is co-chaired by DeFrantz and Thavolia Glymph, associate professor of history and of African & African American studies.

It comes on the heels of nearly a year of heightened activism, much of it centered around the BlackLivesMatter movement. The tension between the dream of freedom and the reality of the heavy work to be done is reflected in the symposium title, DeFrantz said.

At such a moment, DeFrantz added, it’s important to remember that Franklin believed that “our discourse can inspire renewed vigor in movements toward social justice and the elusive global terms of freedom.”

“I imagine that these might be portions of Professor Franklin’s intellectual legacy for us all: to remain curious about our shared possibilities and to take action to make a more livable, more humane and more considered shared future,” DeFrantz said.

Duke historian William Chafe, who was a colleague of Franklin’s and co-chair of the year-long centennial celebration, said the symposium was timely.

“The story of John Hope Franklin is the story of persistence and courage,” said Chafe, who will close the symposium with an address at a luncheon on Saturday. “He never stepped backward, he always moved forward, but in doing so, he knew that this was a never ending struggle. That’s why his career over more than seven decades was dedicated to helping recruit others to the movement forward.  He provided an example he demonstrated and embodied change, but he never ceased to realize that this was a battle to go on for generations before.”

The Faust talk Thursday will kick off two days of keynote speakers, scholars and activists from around the country discussing their work and how it connects with Franklin’s pioneering scholarship and his life. The symposium will reflect not only on Franklin’s 100th birthday, but also on the anniversary of a number of other important events in U.S. history, including the end of the Civil War, the ratification of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution and the 50th anniversary of the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. 

JHF symposium

Lorna Simpson, Direct Gaze, 2014. The visual artist will deliver a keynote address Friday night.

Speakers will address themes such as slavery and capitalism; black political thought; women’s rights; gender, sexuality and the state; the black struggle for freedom; and the lingering stains of racism.  

The symposium features: 

-- Political activist and author Angela Davis, a Distinguished Professor Emerita at the University of California, Santa Cruz, who will offer keynote remarks at 9 a.m., Friday, Nov. 6, in Baldwin Auditorium. 

-- A performance by SLIPPAGE, a technology and dance working group founded by Duke dance professor Thomas F. DeFrantz, at the Nasher Museum of Art, at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 6, and a keynote address by visual artist Lorna Simpson

-- A keynote address by Saidiya Hartman, a professor of English and comparative literature at Columbia University, at 9 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 7, at “The Garage” in Smith Warehouse, Bay 4. 

-- Panel discussions on global histories; slavery, racism and capitalism; black political thought; and sexuality and the state on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 6 and 7. 

Franklin’s son, John Whittington Franklin, and William Chafe, professor emeritus of history at Duke and co-chair of the John Hope Franklin Centenary Committee, will provide closing remarks at noon Saturday, Nov. 7, in “The Garage” at Smith Warehouse. 

For a full schedule of speakers, visit jhf100.duke.edu/global-slaveries-impossible-freedoms. Registration for the conference is closed.

Also in November, John Gartrell, director of the John Hope Franklin Research Center, will present “John Hope Franklin: The Global Scholar,” an account of the historian’s global travels and scholarship. The event will take place at noon Wednesday, Nov. 18, at the John Hope Franklin Center. 

An orchid show at the Doris Duke Center in Sarah P. Duke Gardens, Nov. 21-22, will highlight Franklin’s love of the plant species. The Triangle Orchid Society helped organize “Fall for Orchids,” which includes several workshops on growing and caring for orchids. For more information, visit triangleorchidsociety.org

For more information on the John Hope Franklin Centenary, including updates and a complete listing of events, visit jhf100.duke.edu.