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Carter G. Woodson Lecture: Reparation Funds   

University of Delaware professor Dr. Yasser Payne will be the featured speaker at the 57th Annual Carter G. Woodson Lecture.

“Reparations to address racial inequities have long been a topic of concern in this country. But it has also remained largely unaddressed,” says Dr. Caleb Corkery, professor of English at Millersville University. To that end, University of Delaware professor Dr. Yasser Payne, the featured speaker at the 57th Annual Carter G. Woodson Lecture, will host a lecture titled, “What Difference Could a Reparations Fund Addressing Racial Inequities Make in Our Community?” The event will take place on Feb. 27 from 7 – 8:30 p.m. in the multipurpose room of the Student Memorial Center.   

Payne is a professor of sociology in the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice and the Department of African Studies at the University of Delaware. Payne obtained his Ph.D. at the Graduate Center-City University of New York. His research interests include structural violence and gun violence with street-identified Black Americans.   

“Dr. Payne brings expertise in the field of systemic inequities based on race,” says Corkery, who organizes the lecture series. “His work covers many relevant issues that point out the legacy of slavery and Jim Crow, examining policing and reentry, economic well-being and educational inequality and gun violence. He can provide historical context as well as current examples to illustrate the various ways inequities have been passed down.”  

A panel of local Black leaders (Darlene Byrd, Deborah Gadsden and Derek Smith) were also invited to participate in the lecture to discuss how they see the legacy of inequities based on racism still in society today. They will discuss how they see systems segregating racial experience and opportunity in local communities. The conversation with the panel, Payne and the audience will be facilitated by Reverand Roland Forbes from Ebenezer Baptist Church in Lancaster.     

Reparation funds are financial or other forms of compensation intended to address and rectify the lasting impacts of racial inequality and discrimination, primarily focusing on the historical and ongoing systematic injustices faced by Black Americans. These funds aim to provide resources to those who have been disproportionately affected by the indelible impression of racial injustice and social inequalities in America.   

Reparation funds acknowledge the harm caused by slavery, segregation and ongoing systematic racism. Through these funds, there is an attempt to rectify the centuries of cultural damage and oppression that has cumulated through generations.   

“According to a 2020 Board of Governors report on wealth disparities, the median wealth of a white family is nearly eight times that of the median Black family—a statistic largely unchanged in the past three decades, shares Corkery, noting that a Mennonite church in Lancaster County started a reparations fund addressing systemic racism locally. 

The Carter G. Woodson Lecture series has been a part of Millersville University since the early 1990s and continues to bring African American activists to MU. It is named after Carter G. Woodson, an acclaimed writer and African American activist.  

“Carter G. Woodson is a luminary in Black Studies. He brought attention to the study of African Americans in history, highlighting the value of seeing both daily life and history through Black American perspectives. This event reminds us that featuring Black history and perspectives enriches understanding of all American history and identity,” concludes Corkery.   

No tickets are required for this event. 

For more information, contact Dr. Caleb Corkery caleb.corkery@millersville.edu. 

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