KU’s seventh annual symposium on race and sports in American culture will feature a keynote address from sports journalist Kevin Blackistone and a panel discussion with two former KU student-athletes.
Blackistone is a sportswriter, author, ESPN commentator and University of Maryland professor who has been an influential voice among African American writers and editors, according to a news release about the event. He is the co-producer and co-writer of the documentary “Imagining the Indian: The Fight Against Native American Mascoting,” and he is a panelist on ESPN’s “Around the Horn.”
Former KU football player Derek Fine and women’s basketball player Austin Richardson will participate in a panel discussion during the symposium.
Shawn Leigh Alexander, KU professor, chair of African & African-American Studies and director of the Langston Hughes Center, said in the release that sport occupies a central place in American culture and society; it has also “served as symbolic sites of protest, power, inclusion and discrimination for America’s racial minorities.”
Alexander said the world of sport allows for discussion of many issues, including corporate power, race, gender, homophobia, urban planning, health and labor.
“For the past seven years, KU has been at the forefront of this discussion with its annual symposium, and we look forward to continuing our demonstrating leadership in this field and conversation with this year’s spectacular event,” he said in the release.
Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the event is set to begin at 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 6 at the Jayhawk Welcome Center, 1266 Oread Ave. It’s free to attend and open to the public. Organizers will accept donations benefiting the Langston Hughes Center.
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