Cedric Johnson, a postdoctoral fellow at the Frederick Douglass Institute for African and African-American Studies, will speak on poet and activist Amiri Baraka from 12:30 to 2 p.m. Thursday, March 3, on the University of Rochester's River Campus. The Work in Progress Seminar will be held in room 314 of Morey Hall, and is free and open to the public. The event is sponsored by the Frederick Douglass Institute.
Johnson is associate professor in the political science department at Hobart and William Smith Colleges. His writings have appeared in New Political Science, In These Times, and Monthly Review.
The talk, titled "Return of the Native: Amiri Baraka, the New Nationalism and Black Power Politics," is based on a chapter in Johnson's upcoming book Revolutionaries and Race Leaders: Rethinking Black Power and African-American Politics after Segregation. He will focus on a critical examination of Baraka's efforts to utilize the Black Power slogan, and the limitations of racial identity as a basis for political action.
For more information, contact the Frederick Douglass Institute at (585) 275-7235.