African American Studies Program to present Robert Smalls Lecture March 25

The Robert Smalls Lecture March 25 at the University of South Carolina will feature author and economist Dr. Julianne Malveaux.

Her talk, “To Excite Dissatisfaction: Foundations of Literacy and Financial Acumen among African Americans,” will take place at 7 p.m. in the Belk Auditorium of the Moore School of Business, Room 005.

Hosted by the African American Studies Program, the lecture is free and open to the public. A reception and book signing will follow the program.

Malveaux is the 15th president of Bennett College for Women in Greensboro, N.C. Recognized for her progressive and insightful observations, Malveaux has been described as “the most iconoclastic public intellectual in the country” by Dr. Cornel West, a Princeton University professor and author.

An 1831 North Carolina law reads, “To teach a slave to read is to excite dissatisfaction” and refers to the “detriment of the common well-being” as a result of slave knowledge. This lecture will examine the ways that literacy and financial acumen have promoted the well being of African Americans and suggest ways that these assets will be instrumental for economic justice.

Inaugurated in 1997, the Smalls lecture series has grown from the African American Studies Program’s strong sense of identification with South Carolina history and culture, past and present. Smalls was known as a daring hero during the Civil War. He was elected to the U.S. Congress from South Carolina during Reconstruction.

For more information on the Robert Smalls Lecture, call 803-777-7248, or visit the Web site: http://www.cas.sc.edu/afra/.