75 Varick Street, Student Lounge, 12th Floor, June
14th, 2005, 6:00-8:00 P.M.

Fordham University and The Bronx County Historical
Society launched The Bronx African-American History Project in 2002. The project began with an Oral History Project focusing on upwardly mobile Black families that moved from Harlem
to The Bronx between 1930 and 1950. The Bronx has the 8th largest concentration of urban African-Americans in the
United States; yet, it has been completely left out of the histories of African-Americans in New York City, which focus
exclusively on Harlem and Bedford Stuyvesant.

Professor Mark Naison will discuss the unwritten
musical history of The Bronx Black neighborhoods, exploring a rich tradition of be bop, rhythm and blues,
doo wop, calypso, and Latin jazz that were performed
at live venues and nurtured in the public schools of the Morrisania and Hunts Point communities in the 30 years before hip hop arose in The Bronx.

Brian Purnell will examine the unrecognized history
of civil rights activism in The Bronx, focusing on the 1963 demonstrators at White Castle restaurants
in The Bronx organized by the Congress of Racial Equality.

About The Speakers:

Mark Naison is a Professor of History and
African-American Studies at Fordham
University. He is the author of Communists in Harlem
During the Great Depression, White Boy: A Memoir, and over 100
articles on African-American politics,
social movements and American culture and sports. He
is also the co-editor of The Tenant Movement in New York City. Professor Naison is the Principal Investigator of The Bronx African-American History Project.

Brian Purnell is a lecturer in African-American history at Fordham
University. He is receiving his PhD in History from
New York University and works as the
Research Director of The Bronx African-American
History Project. Mr. Purnell writes about the civil rights movement in New York
City during the 1960s.

Metropolitan College of New York
75 Varick Street (at Canal Street)
New York, New York 10013-1919
Info: (212) 343-1234 x3208; E-mail:
urbaninstitute@metropolitan.edu
NO RSVP REQUIRED – FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC