Springfield, Ohio – As the nation remembers one of the foremost Civil Rights leaders in history, Wittenberg University holds its annual Wittenberg Series-sponsored Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Convocation at 11 a.m. Monday, Jan. 21, in historic Weaver Chapel. The featured speaker is activist, professor and award-winning author Peniel Joseph, Ph.D.

A professor of history at Tufts University, Joseph is the author of the award-winning Waiting ‘Til the Midnight Hour: A Narrative History of Black Power in America and Dark Days, Bright Nights: From Black Power to Barack Obama as well as editor of The Black Power Movement: Rethinking the Civil Rights-Black Power Era and Neighborhood Rebels: Black Power at the Local Level.

Joseph is the founder of a growing sub-field in American History and Africana Studies that he has characterized as “Black Power Studies,” which is actively re-writing post-war American and African American History as well as related interdisciplinary fields of Africana Studies, law and society, sociology, political science, Women's and Ethnic Studies, philosophy, anthropology, literary studies and American Studies, among others.

A frequent national commentator on issues of race, democracy and civil rights, Joseph appears on C-SPAN’s Book TV, NPR, and PBS’s NewsHour. During the 2008 Democratic and Republican National Conventions he provided historical commentary on NewsHour.

The recipient of fellowships from Harvard University’s Charles Warren Center, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and the Ford Foundation, Joseph’s essays have appeared in The Journal of American History, The Chronicle Review, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Book Forum and The American Historical Review.

Following the convocation, Joseph will attend a question-and-answer session in room 105, Joseph C. Shouvlin Center for Lifelong Learning, 737 N. Fountain Ave.

Established prior to the 1989-90 school year, the Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Convocation features an academic procession with faculty in full regalia and as all Wittenberg Series events, is free and open to the public.

Now in its 30th year, the Wittenberg Series brings distinguished lecturers and performing artists of national and international prominence to the Wittenberg campus and Springfield community. To make special arrangements, reserve a Series poster, or become a friend of the Wittenberg Series, contact Jeannine Fox at 937-206-3539 or via email at jfox@wittenberg.edu.

Written By: Phyllis Eberts