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Credit: Courtesy of the Collection of Hampton
University Museum
The poster for the Marion Thompson
Wright Lecture Series displays the
painting "The Banjo Lesson" by Henry
Ossawa Tanner, painted in 1893.
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Back in 1981, Rutgers-Newark Professor Clement Price and Giles Wright, of the New Jersey Historical Commission, felt something was missing from most Black History Month events: the history. They proposed a program that took a more in-depth, reflective look at the issues and experiences important to black life in America.
Thus was born the Marion Thompson Wright (MTW) Lecture Series, named in honor of an East Orange native who was the first black, female professional historian and a pioneer in black New Jersey historiography. Over the past quarter-century, the series has become one of the university’s most successful programs in community service, lifelong learning and historical literacy. On a national level, it is now one of the most prestigious events of its kind, notes Wright.
The MTW series also transformed Newark by exposing the city’s diverse community to a high level of scholarship, Price notes. Evidence of MTW’s community impact is its audience: MTW traditionally draws several hundred diverse participants of all races, ages and educational backgrounds from throughout the metropolitan area.
“There’s a sense that MTW has sparked a willingness among these diverse folks to engage in a new dialogue on racial diversity,” says Price. “The 25th anniversary of this series is truly a landmark, not just for Rutgers but for the city of Newark as well.”
This year’s Feb. 18-19 series, “Lessons From the Past,” will examine some of the most significant themes of past years, as well as the evolution of the study of black history during this period and future directions for the field.
From 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Feb. 18, a panel of historians will discuss changes in African-American historical scholarship. The panel features P. Sterling Stuckey, the University of California, Riverside (who gave the first MTW lecture in 1981); Nell Irvin Painter, Princeton University; and David Roediger, the University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign. Assistant Instructor Adrienne Petty of Rutgers-Newark will serve as moderator. The Bradford Hayes Trio will perform at 6 p.m. outside the Robeson Art Gallery in the Paul Robeson Campus Center.
The program begins at 9:30 a.m. Feb. 19, with welcoming remarks by Price, Newark Provost Steven J. Diner, President Richard L. McCormick and Newark Mayor Sharpe James. The keynote MTW lecture will be given by James Oliver Horton. The Newark native is president of the Organization of American Historians, and the Benjamin Banneker Professor of American Studies and History at George Washington University.
Afternoon speakers include Professor Margaret Washington, Cornell University; Professor Michael Gomez, New York University; and panelists Tiffany Gill, University of Texas, Austin; Anastasia Curwood, Boston College; and Miriam Petty, Geraldine R. Dodge Fellow, Rutgers-Newark.
All events are free and take place in the Paul Robeson Campus Center on the Newark campus.
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