Williams Illuminates 1920s 'Black Capital' at State Museum

By Lisa James

Lillian Williams, a professor in the Department of Women�s Studies, served as the historian consultant for the Black Capital: Harlem in the 1920s exhibit at the New York State Museum in Albany. The permanent exhibit, which is the first to portray the creation of the American community of Harlem as a Black Capital in the 1920s, offers an overview of everyday life in Harlem and an exploration of Harlem as a place that fostered education and self-improvement.

A reception to celebrate the opening of the exhibit will be held at the State Museum on Thursday, Feb. 12, from 6 to 8 p.m. It is free and open to the public.

A trio of "Northeasterners" on 127th Street in Harlem, c.1930

The exhibit features historic images, archival material, vintage newspapers and other artifacts that capture Harlem�s vitality in the 1920s as a neighborhood that typified for African Americans the dreams of freedom and prosperity shared by all Americans at the dawning of the 20th Century. Featured for a short time in the exhibition will be the Fredrick Douglass Pulpit.

The pulpit, which is on loan from Mother A.M.E. Zion Church in Harlem, dates back to the 1800s and has been in use for much of the Church�s 200 year existence. The Church, once a stop on the Underground Railroad, has numbered among its congregation Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman and Paul Robeson.

W. E. DuBois, c.1920

Williams was hired as a consultant to look at the content of the exhibit, help locate items, and make sure it was historically accurate. "It was important to display that Harlem at that time was more than just great jazz and literature. We wanted to show what everyday life was like," Williams said. "I think this exhibit will help to teach the public about the social and economic consequences of migration and urbanization on this population as well as contribute to the on-going national dialogue on race."

Black Capital: Harlem in the 1920s will be on permanent display at the NYS Museum beginning February 4. It is the first new permanent exhibit the Museum has mounted since 1992.

Leonard Slade of the Department of Africana Studies led a Harlem excursion on Saturday, Feb. 7. The trip began with a presentation by Slade on the bus en route to the famous Apollo Theatre, a focal point of African American entertainment since the 1930s. The group learned about the Theatre�s history and heard stories of famous entertainers who got their start there.

For lunch, they stopped at Sylvia�s Restaurant, renowned for its soul food. The last stop was a self-guided tour of the Studio Museum in Harlem, the leading fine arts museum in the U.S. dedicated to African American art.

Economist/Show Host Malveaux
Keynotes 19th Annual M.L. King Luncheon

by Lisa James

Julianne Malveaux, an economist and talk show host, will be the keynote speaker at the 19th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Black History Month Luncheon on Wednesday, Feb. 18, at noon in the Campus Center Ballroom.

Julianne Malveaux

Malveaux, who is also a syndicated columnist, can be seen on television talk shows such as CNN and Company and PBS�s To the Contrary. Her radio show "Julianne Malveaux�s Capitol Report is a Monday feature on WLIB in New York City. She also writes a monthly column for USA Today and Black Issues in Higher Education.

Previously, Malveaux has written the "Left Coast" column for Emerge Magazine, and "Economics and You" for Essence magazine. She has also contributed to Ms. magazine, Black Enterprise, and other popular publications. In addition, she owns a production company, Last Word Productions, which has produced national programming and a public affairs radio show.

Popular on the lecture circuit, Malveaux speaks to more than 50 academic, business, and professional groups a year. She has worked on staff on the Council of Economic Advisors, the Rockefeller Foundation, the New School for Social Research, and San Francisco University. She is also president of the National Association of Negro Business and Professional Women�s Clubs and serves on the board of the Center for Policy Alternatives.

As a scholar, Malveaux has taught economics, public policy, and African American studies, most recently at the University of California-Berkeley. Her research focuses on the labor market, public policy, and the impact of such policy on women and people of color.

She also is the author of a collection of columns, Sex, Lies and Stereotypes: Perspectives of a Mad Economist. Malveaux has been described as "the most provocative, progressive and iconoclastic public intellectual in the country."

Off-Campus Crime Drops to Five-Year Low

By Lisa James

The University�s aggressive campaign to inform students living off campus about situations that could pose a threat to them in the local community has yielded notable results � the lowest off-campus crime rate in five years.

Between July 1, 1996, and June 30, 1997, the Albany Police Department has reported that there has been a significant reduction in the number of students who were victims of crimes off campus. The numbers represent the lowest crime-rate figures since 1991.

Among the crimes that were significantly reduced from 1995-96 numbers were burglaries of student apartments, which declined 37 percent, physical assaults of students, which dropped 52 percent, and harassment of students, which declined 58 percent over this period. Arrests of Albany students have also declined in almost every area.

Thomas Gebhardt, director of off campus housing and personal safety, attributes the declines to a number of factors, including an ever-improving relationship with the Albany Police Department.

Gebhardt wrote in a recent report on the subject: "The Community Policing Program and special attention to our student neighborhoods by regular Albany Police Department patrols during University recesses have probably contributed to this overall reduction."

Albany Police Officer Fred Aliberti noted that the department is now in daily contact with the University about crimes or incidents involving students or posing a threat to them. "As a result," said Gebhardt, "we are able to tailor the University�s safety-awareness programs from week to week in accord with the Albany Police."

In addition, he said, "Door-to-door campaigns in the traditional student neighborhoods both in the fall and spring also take our safety message directly to off campus students as well as long term neighbors."

Approximately 6,000 students live off campus in Albany. In addition to the door-to-door campaigns, other safety initiatives offered those living off campus by the University include the President�s Task Force on Women�s Safety and the Don�t Walk Alone Safety Escort Service.

Similar crime-prevention efforts, combined with more visibility by University Police on campus through added bike and walk patrols, also accounted for a significant drop in on-campus crime over the past year.