Division News & Statements
Expert to discuss Civil War statues in public places
January 14, 2018
(This story originally appeared on GVNext)
Race and cultural heritage are hot-button issues in the United States today, demonstrated by violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, and protests over the removal of Confederate statues across the American South.
These recent divisions come more than 150 years after the end of the Civil War, but Americans continue to struggle with the legacies of Civil War symbols in public spaces.
Grand Valley State University's Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies, along with the university's Division of Inclusion and Equity, will host Christy S. Coleman, CEO of the American Civil War Museum, to offer her insight into contemporary questions about history, identity and democracy. Her address, presented in commemoration of the life of Martin Luther King, Jr., will include a discussion about how community values change over time.
Christy Coleman: How Shall We Remember?
Tuesday, January 16, 7 p.m.
Charles W. Loosemore Auditorium, Richard M. DeVos Center, 401 Fulton Street West, Grand Rapids 49504
The event is free and open to the public, but an RSVP is requested here: https://www.gvsu.edu/s/0CH
Coleman has also served as the president and CEO of the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History in Detroit and the director of historic programs for the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.
Coleman's presentation is part of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Commemoration Week at Grand Valley.
For more information, visit HauensteinCenter.org or gvsu.edu/mlk
For More Information Contact: Nate Hoekstra in University Communications - (616) 331-8138