A historical voice in the black power movement of the 1960s and 1970s will be speaking twice today on campus.
Kathleen Cleaver, a Yale Law School professor and former member of the Black Panther Party, will be featured at this year’s Black Power Rally, which begins at 7 p.m. in the Auditorium.
The event will include speakers discussing issues such as racial profiling and leadership, along with entertainment from student groups such as Spartan Soul, the MSU Gospel Chorale and the Amka Africa dance troupe. There will also be poetry reading, a black history slide show and a wax museum.
Rodney Patterson, director of the Office of Racial Ethnic Student Affairs, said Cleaver’s experience as an activist makes her a significant source of information.
“I think that it is of vital importance to have a person like Kathleen Cleaver because she is so intimately familiar with the struggle of the past,” he said.
“She serves as a positive role model for women and all of our students on campus. She will also have a very dynamic message to share with our students.”
Mary Phillips, president of Black Student Alliance, said Cleaver’s involvement with black issues makes her visit more significant.
“I think her message is really important because she was really active in the Black Panther Party,” the health studies senior said. “She lived through the movement and she can tell us that these issues have not died and gone out.”
Phillips said the rally will provide both entertainment and information about issues that are affecting the black community. But Phillips said the main purpose of the event is to elevate awareness and educate students.
“I think the event is extremely important because a lot of these issues that will be addressed are issues that directly affect the African American community and have been happening throughout time,” she said. “It’s time for us to speak up and have practical programs to change these things.
“It’s a way to promote unity and pride and just a sense of identity and culture within the black community.”
Cleaver will also attend a luncheon at noon hosted by the Wolverine Student Bar Association/Black Law Students Association. The event will be held in the Castle Board Room at the MSU-Detroit College of Law Building.
Staff writer Megan Frye contributed to this report.
