Black History Month UWA welcomes "Lift Every Voice" scholar Dr. Timothy Askew for guest lecture

 

LIVINGSTON, Ala.—The University of West Alabama will host Dr. Timothy Askew, professor of English and humanities at Clark Atlanta University, for a virtual event in commemoration of Black History Month.

Set for 6 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 18, the event is co-sponsored by UWA’s Diversity & Inclusion Committee and UWA CARES. There is no cost to participate, and the virtual event is open to the public. 

Askew is a National Endowment for the Humanities scholar and teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in American literature, African American literature, autobiography and biography, southern literature, advanced grammar and composition, and a slate of specialty courses in English and humanities. 

Askew will present “Good Trouble: A Historical & Cultural Analysis of the Song, Lift Every Voice and Sing.” He has become a renowned scholar and lecturer on the song and published a book on it in 2018 entitled Cultural Hegemony and African American Patriotism: An Analysis of the Song, ‘Lift Every Voice and Sing.'”

The event is one of the highlights of UWA’s Black History Month commemorations. Because of COVID-19 health and safety restrictions, events continue to be adapted to minimize community spread of the coronavirus.

“As we have experienced for quite some time now, events and commemorations representing nearly a full calendar year of holidays have been changed or otherwise canceled because of the pandemic,” explained Dr. B.J. Kimbrough, chair of UWA’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee, which is sponsoring the event. “We continue to adapt and find ways to expand our reach throughout our campus community and beyond. This is a virtual gathering, and we hope that means even more people can join us for Dr. Askew’s presentation and engage in meaningful discourse with friends and colleagues.”

Askew is a Morehouse College graduate and earned a master’s degree from Yale University and a doctorate from Emory University. 

He is also noted for having started a chapter of Phi Kappa Phi honor society to Clark Atlanta, and is its founding president. 

Participants are encouraged to enter the Zoom event at www.uwa.edu/live a few minutes prior to its beginning at 6 p.m. To know more, email Dr. B.J. Kimbrough.