News Business Conference to explore race, skin tone and caste
| Conference to explore race, skin tone and caste |
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| Thursday, February 28, 2008 | |
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Does skin tone within one’s race influence opportunities offered and success achieved in life? That question and more will be explored in “Colorism, Caste, Class and Race,” a free public conference March 28 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and March 31 at Duke University. Sponsored by the UNC Institute of African-American Research and Duke’s Research Network on Race and Ethnic Inequality, the symposium will feature authors and scholars from around the world. Topics will include issues related to skin tone, caste, class, race and affirmative action in countries including India, Brazil and the United States. “The relationship between skin shade preference and class distinction has been a well-known historical reality for many individuals in African-American communities,” said Tomeiko Ashford-Carter, Ph.D., interim director of UNC’s Institute of African-American Research. “The unique component about this conference is that it will allow us to examine the legacy and varied formations of this issue in communities of color worldwide.” For the schedule and speakers, visit www.unc.edu/iaar/ . The event’s keynote speaker, Dr. Juanita Merchant, a professor of internal medicine at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, will address the success of women and minorities in academia and the role of race and affirmative action. The event marks the institute’s 10th Annual International Scholars Conference. The conference begins at 8:45 a.m. March 28 in UNC’s James M. Johnston Center for Undergraduate Excellence in the Graham Memorial Building, off East Franklin Street in Chapel Hill. On March 31, the program will move to Duke’s Rubenstein Hall, off Towerview Road in Durham. Web site: http://www.unc.edu/iaar/ UNC contact: Tomeiko Ashford-Carter, (919) 962-6810, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it Duke contact: William “Sandy” Darity, (919) 613-7336, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it News Services contact: LJ Toler, (919) 962-8589 |