Fall Semester Looks at 400 Years of Inequality

Nikki Giovanni, who visits the campus on Oct. 10.

ALBANY, N.Y. (Sept. 24, 2019) — This fall, the University will join a nationwide observance of the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the first Africans to be sold into bondage in North America at Jamestown, Virginia, with more than a dozen events that include the disciplines of art, theater, film, politics, music, history, epigenetics and several others.

The observance kicks off on Tuesday at the University Art Museum with a 4:30 p.m. talk by exhibiting artist Radamés “Juni” Figueroa, whose work explores how youth, gender, race, promise and identity are intertwined with athleticism.

This will be followed next Thursday by two events in the Campus Center featuring Ijeoma Oluo, author of The New York Times bestseller, So You Want to Talk About Race. On Oct. 10, the CC Ballroom will host seven-time NAACP Image Award-winner and activist Nikki Giovanni.

The full schedule of events, which runs through November, can be viewed at the 400 Years of Inequality Observance website.

UAlbany joins families, organizations, neighborhoods and cities around the country in observing this anniversary by telling stories of oppression, resistance and resilience.

“We’re proud to be a part of this national observance,” said Debernee Privott, assistant dean for Public Engagement in the College of Arts and Sciences, who organized the observance with David Hochfelder, associate professor in the Department of History.

“Our goal is to promote equity as well as radical equality — to help build a new social infrastructure to carry us through the challenges of climate change, decaying physical infrastructure, rapidly evolving jobs, underperforming educational systems, uneven access to health care and lack of affordable housing that is sufficient for human habitation.”

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