Founder of Jim Crow Museum to speak at Manchester on holding conversations about race
Keynote address is part of annual MLK ceremony
Dr. David Pilgrim, founder and curator of the Jim Crow Museum at Ferris State University, will speak at Manchester University on holding difficult conversations about race, using lessons from the museum.
The museum in Big Rapids, Mich., holds the nation’s largest collection of racist artifacts.
The presentation is 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 31, in Cordier Auditorium. The presentation is free and open to the public.
On Feb. 1, 1968, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke to an overflow audience at the campus of what was then Manchester College in rural Indiana. What no one would have predicted then was that this was to be King’s last campus address before his death. Manchester marks the occasion each year with a keynote address for the MLK Remembrance and Rededication Ceremony.
Pilgrim is one of the country’s leading experts on issues relating to multiculturalism, diversity and race relations. He is best known for the museum, a 12,000-piece collection of racist artifacts that is used to educate, teach tolerance and promote social justice.
Pilgrim is the author of Understanding Jim Crow and Watermelons, Nooses, and Straight Razors. He currently serves as vice president for Diversity and Inclusion at Ferris State.
He has been interviewed by National Public Radio, Time magazine, the British Broadcasting Corporation and dozens of newspapers, including the New York Times, Washington Post, Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times.
Pilgrim is an applied sociologist with a doctorate from The Ohio State University. In 2004, he produced the documentary Jim Crow’s Museum to explain his approach to battling racism.
The presentation at Manchester is sponsored by the Office of Multicultural Affairs, with support from the Ira W. and Mable Winger Moomaw Lectureship/Seminar Fund and the MU Peace Studies Institute. The speech is part of the Values, Ideas and the Arts series.
For the media
For more information, contact:
Michael Dixon
Director of Intercultural Services, Chief Diversity Officer
Manchester University
260-982-5423
MGDixon@manchester.edu
Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia
jimcrowmuseum@ferris.edu
About Manchester
Manchester University, with campuses in North Manchester and Fort Wayne, Ind., offers more than 60 areas of academic study to nearly 1,600 students in undergraduate programs, a Master of Science in Pharmacogenomics, a Master of Athletic Training a four-year professional Doctor of Pharmacy and a four-year dual degree in pharmacy and pharmacogenomics. Manchester is one of six colleges across the nation grounded in the values and traditions of the Church of the Brethren. It is home to the oldest undergraduate peace studies program in the world. Learn more about the private, northern Indiana school at www.manchester.edu .
January 2019