March 8 Event Featuring Dr. Julius Fleming, Jr. to Explore Black Patience, Emancipation

On Wednesday, March 8 from 7-8:30 p.m. in the Rose Room, Brennan Hall 509 at The University of Scranton  a humanities lecture and discussion “Black Patience & Emancipation:  A Conversation,” will feature Dr. Julius Fleming, Jr., author and Associate Professor of English and Director, English Honors Program, University of Maryland, College Park. Dr. Fleming will reflect on the themes raised in his recent book, "Black Patience: Performance, Civil Rights, and the Unfinished Project of Emancipation". He will then engage in conversation about their local and national relevance with Glynis Johns, CEO and Founder of the Black Scranton Project and Dr. Melissa Anyiwo, Associate Professor of African American History at The University of Scranton. A Q&A with the audience will follow the discussion.  

This event is co-sponsored by the Black Scranton Project. To register for this event, visit https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/BlackPatience23 

Dr. Fleming earned a doctorate in English, and a graduate certificate in Africana studies from the University of Pennsylvania. Specializing in Afro-Diasporic literatures and cultures, Dr. Fleming has particular interests in performance studies, Black political culture, diaspora, and colonialism, especially where they intersect with race, gender, and sexuality.

His book "Black Patience" reconsiders the Civil Rights Movement from the perspective of Black theatre, while examining the importance of time and effect to the making of the modern racial order. Analyzing a largely unexplored, transnational archive of Black theatre, the book demonstrates how Black artists and activists used theatre and performance to unsettle the demands of a violent racial project he terms “Black patience.” From the slave castle to the hold of the slave ship, from the auction block to commands to “go slow” in fighting segregation, Black people have historically been forced to wait, coerced into performing patience. This book argues that during the Civil Rights Movement, Black people’s cries for “freedom now”—at the lunch counter, in the streets, and importantly, on the theatrical stage—disturbed the historical praxis of using Black patience to manufacture and preserve anti-Blackness and white supremacy. 

This event is a part of the "Scranton’s Story, Our Nation’s Story" project’s sixth theme, “The Underground Railroad to Black Scranton.” The theme included a PBS Black History Film Series, a connected exhibition at the University’s Hope Horn Gallery, A New Understanding: Paintings by Travis Prince, ongoing through March 10, and a humanities lecture and discussion, “Black History and Housing in Scranton,” featuring Glynis Johns CEO and Founder of the Black Scranton Project, held on Feb. 9. During the Feb. 9 event, Johns discussed the Black history of Adams Avenue in the downtown Scranton area where a predominantly African American neighborhood existed prior to redevelopment in the 1970s and explored themes around Blackness, housing, racial discrimination, and affordability that remain relevant today. This event was also part of the University’s spring Community-Based Learning talks series. The event recording is now available on the University’s YouTube channel at: "Black History and Housing in Scranton."  

For more information about the Scranton Story project and to view upcoming events and recordings of past events, please visit www.scranton.edu/scrantonstory. 

Questions? Contact community@scranton.edu or call 570-941-4419. 

Follow the Scranton’s Story, Our Nation’s Story project on social media at: Facebook and Instagram @ourscrantonstory and on Twitter at @scrantonstory