Author John Dittmer, 'American Promise' screening to conclude IU law school's Brown at 60 series

  • Dec. 2, 2014

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- John Dittmer, professor emeritus of history at DePauw University and an award-winning author, will deliver the final lecture in the Indiana University Maurer School of Law's Brown at 60 series on Wednesday, Dec. 3.

Dittmer will speak on “School Desegregation in the Heart of Dixie: Mississippi Then and Now,” at noon in the Law School’s Moot Court Room. The event is free and open to the public.

Dittmer is a nationally recognized authority on the civil rights movement. In 1995, his book "Local People: The Struggle for Civil Rights in Mississippi" was awarded the Bancroft Prize, honoring the best of American history writing.

His other works include "Black Georgia in the Progressive Era, 1900-1920" and "The Good Doctors: The Medical Committee for Human Rights and the Struggle for Social Justice in Health Care."

Dittmer earned three degrees from Indiana University and went on to teach at Tougaloo College, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Brown University before settling at DePauw, where he retired in 2003. DePauw University now bestows the John Dittmer Award every year to the American history student with the highest GPA within the major.

The Dec. 3 lecture will be the last live engagement of the Brown at 60 series, commemorating the 60th anniversary of the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education. The series is supported by the IU Office for Diversity, Equity and Multicultural Affairs, with additional support from the IU Maurer School of Law chapter of the American Constitution Society.

The series will conclude Monday, Dec. 8, with a screening of "American Promise" at the IU Cinema. The 2013 documentary spans 13 years and follows two African American children from kindergarten through high school at one of the nation’s premier private institutions.

That screening will take place at 7 p.m. Tickets are free but required. They may be picked up during regular hours from the IU Cinema box office or 30 minutes before the event.

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James Boyd

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Ken Turchi

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