Marshall University Woodson Professor Burnis Morris will read from his new book and make announcements about the 2018 Black History Month observance during a Dr. Carter G. Woodson Lyceum event this week. It will take place at 4 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 2, in the atrium of the university’s Drinko Library on the Huntington campus.
Morris’ book, “Carter G. Woodson: History, the Black Press, and Public Relations,” focuses on how historian Woodson (1875-1950) used the black press and modern public relations techniques to popularize black history during the first half of the twentieth century. Woodson’s publicity tactics, combined with access to the audiences granted him by the press, enabled him to drive the black history movement–particularly observance of Negro History Week and fundraising activities. Morris analyzes Woodson’s periodicals, newspaper articles, letters and other archived documents describing Woodson’s partnership with the black press and his role as a publicist.
The @WoodsonLyceum event will also feature information regarding several speakers for Black History Month, including Dr. Carla Hayden, the librarian of Congress, and Dr. Craig Woodson, an ethnomusicologist and white relative of Carter G. Woodson. In addition, a website to serve as a “Black History kit” will be announced, as well as two Black History poster competitions for Marshall students and Cabell County school students.
For more information about this event, contact Morris at morrisb@marshall.edu.