The Fifth Annual
MARIO A.J. BENNEKIN
BLACK HISTORY SYMPOSIUM
“Echoes of Resilience: Black Artistry, History and Identity”
Feb. 17-21, 2025
With Education Comes Tolerance
Keynote Speaker - Tim Fielder
Fielder is also known for participating in the Carnegie Hall Afrofuturism Festival exhibit “Black Metropolis” and The Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture exhibit “AFROFUTURISM A History of Black Futures.”
2025 Presenters
Mr. Alvin Blount
“Bridges to Spirituality and Education: How Spirituals and the Church Developed Historically Black Colleges and Universities”
Yolanda J. Franklin, Ph.D
“Sleight of Hand: Unlocking Genealogy in Toni Morrison’s Tetralogy”
Ms. Estell Halliburton
Ms. Joyce Hudgies
Jennie Lightweis-Goff, Ph.D
Valerie Matthews, Ph.D.
“A Performance of Musical Influences on African American Literature”
Ms. Rose Mincey
Ms. Kim Smith
“Musical Composers of the African Diaspora: Classical Music in Service of Black Culture from the 18th to the 21st Century”
Ms. Angela Tharpe
“What’s Your Perspective on That?: Processes of Racial Reckoning in Aimé Césaire’s Notebook of a Return to the Native Land and Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly”
Pablo Juan Valenzuela, Ph.D
“I Ain’t Got No Quarrel with Them Vietcong: The Black Antiwar Art of Emory Douglas”
Schedule
MONDAY
In-person and Virtual
KEYNOTE PRESENTATION
Mr. Tim Fielder, illustrator, concept designer, cartoonist and animator: “Echoes of Resilience: Black Artistry, History and Identity”
MUSICAL PRESENTATION
Ms. Joyce Hudgies, vocalist
IN-PERSON
Georgia State University
Dunwoody Campus – NC 1100
2101 Womack Road
Dunwoody, Georgia
1 p.m. – 3 p.m.
In-person and Virtual
Ms. Estell Halliburton, writer, author and motivational speaker: “Leaving Aberdeen: A Memoir of a Southern Girl”
IN-PERSON
Georgia State University
DUNWOODY Campus – NB 2100
2101 Womack Road
Dunwoody, Georgia
TUESDAY
In-person and Virtual
Valerie Matthews, Ph.D., interim associate chair and professor of English, Perimeter College at Georgia State University: “A Performance of Musical Influences on African American Literature”
IN-PERSON
Georgia State University
NEWTON Campus – 2N 1100
239 Cedar Lane
Covington, Georgia
1:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
In-person and Virtual
Ms. Kim Smith, Perimeter College student, GSU-62 program: “Musical Composers of the African Diaspora: Classical Music in Service of Black Culture from the 18th to the 21st Century”
IN-PERSON
Georgia State University
DECATUR Campus – SF 2100
3251 Panthersville Road
Decatur, Georgia
WEDNESDAY
In-person and Virtual
Mr. Alvin Blount, reference and instruction librarian, Perimeter College at Georgia State University: “Bridges to Spirituality and Education: How Spirituals and the Church Developed Historically Black Colleges and Universities”
IN-PERSON
Georgia State University
CLARKSTON Campus – CL 1100
555 N. Indian Creek Drive
Alpharetta, Georgia
1 p.m. – 2:15 p.m.
In-person and Virtual
Pablo Juan Valenzuela, Ph.D., assistant professor of history, Perimeter College at Georgia State University: “I Ain’t Got No Quarrel with Them Vietcong: The Black Antiwar Art of Emory Douglas”
IN-PERSON
Georgia State University
ALPHARETTA Campus – AB 105
3705 Brookside Parkway
Alpharetta, Georgia
THURSDAY
In-person and Virtual
Yolanda J. Franklin, Ph.D., professor of English, Humanities and Africana Studies, Perimeter College at Georgia State University: “Sleight of Hand: Unlocking Genealogy in Toni Morrison’s Tetralogy”
IN-PERSON
Georgia State University
DECATUR Campus – SF 2100
3251 Panthersville Road Brookside Parkway
Decatur, Georgia
FRIDAY
VIRTUAL ONLY
Ms. Angela Tharpe, limited-term Instructor of English, Perimeter College at Georgia State University: “What’s Your Perspective on That?: Processes of Racial Reckoning in Aimé Césaire’s Notebook of a Return to the Native Land and Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly”
Noon – 1 p.m.
IN-PERSON ONLY
Ms. Rose Mincey, author and poet: Poetry Workshop and “Poetree” Display
IN-PERSON
Georgia State University
CLARKSTON Campus – CN Café Area
555 N. Indian Creek Dr.
Clarkston, Georgia
2024 Event Recordings
Armed Resistance