Thursday, March 27, 2025
USC Columbia, School of Journalism & Mass Communications
800 Sumter Street, Columbia, SC 29208
10:05 – 11:20 a.m. – SJMC Room 115
Guest Speaker: Civil Rights Journalists Luke Weston, “Media, Civil Rights and Social
Justice” (during JOUR 398 class)
11:40 – 12:55 p.m. – SJMC Room 106 (Media Event)
Luke West Archives Unveiled (during JOUR 205 History and Philosophy of Media Class)
Display of Luke West Civil Rights Journalism in corner lobby
Allen University, Chappelle Auditorium
1530 Harden Street, Columbia, SC 29204
6:30 – 8 p.m. – Chappelle Auditorium, Allen University
Community Event: Michael Harriott Presentation
- Welcome from Allen University Representative
- Michael Harriott Introduction from Bobby Donaldson
- Conversation with Michael Harriott, Moderated by Damion Waymer
Friday, March 28, 2025
USC Columbia, School of Journalism & Mass Communications
800 Sumter Street, Columbia, SC 29208
8:45 a.m. – Snacks in trophy hallway outside of SJMC 225
9 a.m. – 10:15 a.m. – SJMC Room 225
Session 1: Research Paper Session
Presiding:
Supporting Scholastic Journalism in an Era of Segregation: The Story of Lincoln University’s High School Outreach, George L. Daniels, Alabama
“One Day, One Family, One Slum”: A Post-Kerner Case Study, Gwyneth Mellinger, James Madison and Drin Coyle, Temple University
Research-in-Progress
Beyond Commemoration to Reparations: The Afolabi, Tulsa, and Elaine Race Massacre,
Oyeronke Oyinda, Arkansas State
Invited Presentation
"Don't Talk About Me If I'm Not At The Table: The Media, Religion, and the Future
of African American Youth," Lekena Ackerman, Southeast Middle School, Columbia, S.C.
10:15 – 10:30 a.m. - Mid-morning break
Snacks in trophy hallway and book signing with Jabari Evans in lobby hallway outside of SJMC 225.
10:30 a.m. – 11:45 a.m. – SJMC 225 (OR 106 if demand warrants)
Session 2: Panel
Hip-Hop As The Bridge: A Conversation with Jabari Evans
Description: Join School of Journalism and Mass Communications Assistant Professor
Jabari Evans for a thought-provoking discussion on his new book, Hip-Hop Civics (University
of Michigan Press). The book explores how Hip-Hop culture serves as a powerful tool
for civic engagement, education, and community empowerment. In conversation with Toby
Jenkins, this session will examine the intersections of media, race, and activism,
highlighting how Black youth use Hip-Hop to navigate structural inequalities, understand
contemporary civil rights movements and shape public
11:45 a.m. – noon
Break & book Signing with Jabari Evans in lobby hallway outside of SJMC 225
Noon – 1:30 p.m. – SJMC 106
Session 3: Luncheon with Michael Harriott
Presiding:
Keynote Speaker: Michael Harriott
Farrar Award Recognition
1:30 – 1:45 p.m. -- Break
1:45 – 2:45 p.m. – SJMC 106
Session 4
Research Paper Session: Ronald T. and Gayla D. Farrar Award in Media & Civil Rights History Presentation
Presiding:
Presenter: Edgar Simpson, “Spinning Hate: Mississippi’s Post-Brown PR Offensive and the Secret Campaign Against ‘Agitators,’ 1956-1960” American Journalism (2024)
2:45 – 3 p.m.
Break with snacks in lobby hallway outside of SJMC 106
3 – 4:15 p.m.
Session 5: Panel
Black Journalists and the Movement in South Carolina
Presiding:
Bishop Redfern Deuce, Founder and Editor, Black On News (1960s-1970s)
Don Frierson, Host, The Urban Scene; former Managing Editor, Black On News (1970s); former press director, NAACP and South Carolina Commission on Human Affairs
Cecil Williams, civil rights photojournalist, Orangeburg, S.C., published in Jet magazine;
Author, Injustice in Focus (USC Press, 2024).
[Tentative] Isaac Washington, South Carolina journalist and publisher; involved in the student movement of the early 1960s, including demonstration at the State House in 1961 that led to the landmark First Amendment case, Edwards v. South Carolina.