Wayne State University Emancipation Centennial Committee Records

Posted March 26th, 2014 by cwesterman

Accession Number:

WSR000159

Extent:

1.5 linear feet (3 MB)

This collection consists of the records of the Wayne State University Emancipation Centennial Committee. Wayne State University celebrated the centennial observance of the Emancipation Proclamation in 1963 by a series of noteworthy events under the auspices of President Hilberry. Dr. Gunnar Myrdal served as honorary chairman, with Professor John Hope Franklin and Professor Arnold Rose as co-chairmen. The Faculty Steering Committee was composed of Dr. Harold Basilius, Mr. Mark Beach, Dr. Lee Benson, Dr. Broadus Butler, Dr. Juanita Collier, Dr. John Dorsey, Dr. Winfred Harbison, Dr. Ronald Haughton, Dr. Alfred Kelly, Mr. Hubert Locke (executive secretary), Mr. Charles Quick, Dr. Victor Rapport, and Dr. Hamilton Stillwell.

The centennial observance began with an Inaugural Centennial Convocation on January 6, 1963 at which time Vice-President Lyndon B. Johnson received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Wayne State University. Thurgood Marshall and Ralph Emerson McGill likewise received honorary degrees at the January commencement program.

During the year, there were many symposiums and individual speeches presented. Langston Hughes, Nathan A. Scott, Jr., Dr. James Q. Wilson, Dr. Liston Pope, Dr. Rayburn Logan, Professor Sterling Brown, and Dr. Franklin gave addresses. A conference, “The Negro in a Changing Society,” featured Dr. Myrdal and Nicholas Katzenbach. “Strategies of Stimulating Change,” a symposium, presented Roy Wilkins, Whitney Young, Jr., and James Farmer. Another symposium, “The Negro and the Changing Social Structure,” featured Dr. G. Franklin Edwards, Dr. Robert C. Weaver, Dr. Alfred Kelly, and Dr. William Haber. “The Negro and Religion in America” presented Dr. C. Eric Lincoln, Dr. Arthur Huff Fauset, and Dr. Carleton Lee.

The Festival of Negro Art and Music, and a symposium on “The Negro and the Changing Arts,” climaxed the year’s observance of the centennial of the Emancipation Proclamation.

Date:

1962-1964

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