2022 Events
Nov. 17
HAAMI and A Seat at the Table Annual Mentoring and Networking Dinner
11.17.22, 6 pm I University Center Ballroom
Speakers:
- Theodore Chisom: President, HAAMI Student Leadership Council
- Vanessa Cortez: President: A Seat at the Table (ASATT)
- Zachary Head: HAAMI Graduate
- Leedon Morgan: HAAMI Graduate
Nov. 15
"Soul City" Lecture with Thomas Healy: Hooks National Book Award Winner Presentation
Co-sponsored by the Memphis Public Libraries
Tues. Nov. 15, 6 PM | Facebook Live, Hooks Institute Facebook Page (facebook.com/benhooksinstitute)
The Hooks Institute and the Memphis Public Libraries hosted the 2021 Hook National Book Award winner presentation for "Soul City: Race Equality and the Lost Dream of an American Utopia" with author Thomas Healy on Tues. Nov. 15 at 6 PM on the Hooks Institute's Facebook page.
"Soul City" follows the beautiful but tragic chronicle of a virtually forgotten manifestation
of civil rights ideology: Soul City, North Carolina, a decade-long attempt to construct
a prosperous city from the ground up that was built around racial equality, but rooted
in black economic prosperity.”
Dr. Terrence Tucker, Hooks Book Award Chair.
The Benjamin L. Hooks Institute for Social Change’s Hooks National Book Award is presented
annually to a non-fiction book that best furthers understanding of the civil rights
movement and its legacy. Discover more at memphis.edu/benhooks/programs/book-award.php.
Thomas Healy, Esq., is a professor of law at the Seton Hall University School of Law.
He researches and writes in the fields of constitutional law, freedom of speech, legal
history, civil rights and federal courts. His book "The Great Dissent: How Oliver
Wendell Holmes Changed His Mind — and Changed the History of Free Speech in America"
won the Robert F. Kennedy Book Award, was selected as a New York Times Book Review
editor's choice and was named one of the fifteen best non-fiction books of 2013 by
the Christian Science Monitor. Professor Healy has received a Guggenheim Fellowship
and a Public Scholar Grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. He has
also been a Sheila Biddle Ford Foundation Fellow at the Hutchins Center for African
and African American Research at Harvard University and a visiting fellow at the Center
for the Study of Law and Culture at Columbia Law School.
This event was co-sponsored by the following University of Memphis partners: African
and African American Studies Program, Department of English, Department of History,
Marcus W. Orr Center for the Humanities and the School of Urban Affairs and Public
Policy.
Nov. 4
UofM Student and Faculty Screening of "Facing Down Storms: Memphis and the Making
of Ida B. Wells"
In partnership with the University of Memphis Department of Philosophy
Friday, November 4 | 1:00pm
University of Memphis Maxine A. Smith University Center, University Center Theatre
Nov. 1
Tennessee History for Kids Presentation on Civil Rights Movement in Fayette County, TN
Via Zoom
Speaker: Nathaniel C. Ball, Hooks Institute Assistant Director
Oct. 29
#Uplift the Vote 901 Voter Empowerment Symposium
Speaking Engagement, Daphene McFerren
October 29 | 11 am - 1 pm
Abyssinian Baptist Church | 3890 Mill Branch Rd, Memphis, TN 38116
Part of what confuses us are political processes. Who is responsible for what? And who do we go to when we can to get certain things done? Regarding Criminal Justice Reform we need to know how law enforcement works with the District Attorney's office and the judicial system. To that end, #UPTHEVOTE901 hosted a voter empowerment symposium to help community members get answers to these important questions.
Oct. 23
"Facing Down Storms: Memphis and the Making of Ida B. Wells" Screening at Indie Memphis
Film Festival
Oct. 23, at 7 PM | Malco Studio on the Square and Online
In Person Screening at Malco Studio on the Square
The screening was available as part of the 2022 Indie Memphis Festival.
Oct. 21
The End of Roe? Histories of Reproduction, Rights and Freedom
Fri. Oct. 23 | 1-3 PM | Reception at 1 PM | Panel Followed by Q&A at 1:30 PM
Maxine A. Smith University Center Fountain View Room. The Hooks Institute is a co-sponsor
of this event
Oct. 20
Opening Press Conference of Exhibit Featuring the Fayette County, TN Civil Rights Movement Through the Photographs of Photographer Art Shay at the Memphis International Airport
Thurs. Oct. 20, 10 am | Memphis International Airport Departing Flights Terminal
Exhibit will be displayed from Oct. 22, 2022 – October 2023.
The Hooks and the Memphis International Airport hosted an exhibit featuring the Fayette County Civil Rights Movement through the photographs of freelance photographer Art Shay. The photographs will be displayed in the Departing Flights Terminal, across from the TSA office, at the Memphis International Airport from October 20, 2022 through October 2023. The public is able to view the exhibit without purchasing a ticket or going through the TSA security checkpoints.
The Memphis International Airport and the Hooks Institute held a press conference to open the exhibit on Thursday, Oct. 20 at 10 am in the Departing Flights Terminal at the Memphis International Airport.
Oct. 4
St. Jude Voting Rights Event
October 4, 11:30 PM, St. Jude Campus
Daphene McFerren spoke on the history and importance of voting rights in the United States.
September 26
Special Preview of “Making Black America: Through the Grapevine”
Monday, September 26 at 6 PM
The Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library, Meeting Room A
3030 Poplar Ave, Memphis, TN 38111
The Benjamin L. Hooks Institute for Social Change at University of Memphis and WKNO-TV (Memphis) will host a special preview of the upcoming four-part Henry Louis Gates Jr. PBS documentary series “Making Black America: Through the Grapevine."
The screening will feature select scenes from each episode before the series premiere on WKNO on October 4. The event is free and open to the public.
About “Making Black America: Through the Grapevine”
“Making Black America: Through the Grapevine,” hosted by Henry Louis Gates, Jr., chronicles
the vast social networks and organizations created by and for Black people—beyond
the reach of the “White gaze.” Professor Gates sits with noted scholars, politicians,
cultural leaders, and old friends to discuss this world behind the color line and
what it looks like today.
September 12
Journey of the Hooks Institute's Documentary on Ida B. Wells
Lynching Sites Project of Memphis Meeting
Mon. Sept. 12, 6 PM | Barth House on UofM Campus, 409 Patterson Ave, Memphis, TN
The Lynching Sites Project of Memphis hosted a Community Meeting on Monday 9/12/22 at the Barth House on the University of Memphis campus (409 Patterson Ave.). The featured speaker was Daphene McFerren, the executive producer of The Benjamin L. Hooks Institute for Social Change documentary on Ida B. Wells.
July 21 and 28
Facing Down Storms: Memphis and the Making of Ida B. Wells
Malco Studio on the Square
2105 Court Ave, Memphis, TN 38104
7 pm, Thursday, July 21, and 7 pm, Thursday, July 28
July 23
Daphene McFerren Speech to Memphis National Bar Association
Hooks Institute Executive Director R. Daphene McFerren spoke to Women's Law Section, National Bar Association on Memphis civil rights history and its ongoing relevance to contemporary disparities.
July 18
In Service Teacher Training on Fayette County Civil Rights Movement
University of Memphis Fogelman College of Business
Thursday, July 14 | 9 am
The inservice included teachers from across the nation and was sponsored by the University of Tennessee Knoxville Department of Geography & Sustainability pursuant to a grant awarded to it by National Endowment for the Humanities.
April 19
National Premiere
Facing Down Storms: Memphis and the Making of Ida B. Wells
A Feature Length Documentary on Civil Rights Activist Ida B. Well (1862-1931)
April 19 | 5:30 PM Reception | 7 PM Program & Screening
Halloran Centre for Performing Arts & Education
225 S Main St, Memphis, TN 38103
About the Documentary
Facing Down Storms: Memphis and the Making of Ida B. Wells explores how the unique
cultural and social atmosphere of late 19th century Memphis, Tenn. indelibly shaped
Ida B. Wells as a journalist and activist. The 1892 lynchings of three men, including
a dear friend of Wells, fueled her zealous efforts to combat the widespread acceptance
of the lynching of African Americans in the United States. Wells used the power of
journalism to expose to international audiences the injustices of the rising practice
of lynching: a form of extralegal execution often taking the form of mob violence
against African Americans.
Cocktail Attire
Masks strongly recommended.
Premiere proceeds support the programs of the Hooks Institute.
Parking
Paid parking is available at the public parking garage, the MLGW Garage, 234 S. Front
Street. By car, guests enter from S. Front Street and exit by foot through the Main
Street exit and walk next door to the Halloran Centre, 225 S. Main St.
Feb. 28
The Hooks Institute and the Memphis 13 Foundation held a a film screening and panel
discussion on "The Memphis 13," a documentary on the 13 children who integrated Memphis
City Schools featuring members of the Memphis 13.
In October 1961, thirteen African American first graders took courageous steps to
enter four formerly all-white elementary schools to break the practice of segregation
in Memphis City Schools. A half-century later, the stories of these pioneering children
form the foundation of the documentary, The Memphis 13 (2011).
The film uncovers a hidden story of the Civil Rights Movement and honors the children
who lived it while raising contemporary questions about children breaking barriers.
The film, which was initiated thanks to a faculty research grant from the Hooks Institute, features interviews with all thirteen pioneering families, as well as with white students, a teacher and local civil rights leaders.
Feb. 8
Hooks National Book Award Presentation "Franchise: The Golden Arches in Black America” by Marcia Chatelain
Tues. Feb 8, 6 p.m. CST | Facebook Live, Hooks Institute Facebook Page
Lecture by Marcia Chatelain on her 2020 Hooks National Book Award winning work "Franchise: The Golden Arches in Black America."
“Franchise” investigates the untold history of the cooperation among fast-food companies, politicians, civil rights leaders and black entrepreneurs in the years following the 1960s civil rights movement. This untold history looks at how the prevalence of fast-food restaurants in Black communities today resulted from a push by these groups for what they saw as an economical solution to racial disparities in America's Black communities — the franchising of fast-food restaurants in black neighborhoods by Black people. “Franchise” illuminates the power of Black-owned franchises in a larger freedom struggle while also explaining how corporations such as McDonald's have deprived genuine wealth in Black urban communities.
Watch the full lecture on our YouTube page:
This event was co-sponsored by the following University of Memphis partners:
African and African American Studies Program, Department of English, Department of
History, and the Marcus W. Orr Center for the Humanities.