FREEDOM SUMMER 1964: THEN AND now
NEW HAVEN, CT (July 17, 2014): The Connecticut Center for Arts and Technology (CONNCAT) will host a discussion with Dr. Rodney Cohen and Shahid Abdul-Karim at our 4 Science Park facility at 6:00 p.m. Wednesday, August 6, 2014.
“We are honored and privileged to host Dr. Rodney Cohen and Shahid Abdul-Karim as they discuss one of the most pivotal periods in our country’s history--Freedom Summer was a 10 week period in 1964, where over 700 volunteers from all over the country (of different races, and faith traditions) galvanized to combat white supremacy in the state of Mississippi. It was one of the most salient and powerful demonstrations of courage, determination, unity, and selflessness ever witnessed in this country” said Erik Clemons, CONNCAT’s CEO and President.
The event will include an opportunity for guests to tour CONNCAT’s facility and learn more about the Center’s work in the New Haven community.
To RSVP or obtain more details about the event contact Opal Harmon, oharmon@conncat.org, or (203) 823-9823.
ABOUT CONNCAT:
CONNCAT is a 501C(3) affiliate of the National Center for Arts & Technology and is modeled on the nationally acclaimed Manchester-Bidwell model founded in Pittsburgh by Bill Strickland. The Center, which opened in 2012, currently offers a youth arts program and an adult job-training program. The youth program includes Dance, Theatre, Digital Studio and Design Studio courses, Entrepreneurial Academy, and is offered at no cost to underachieving students identified by New Haven and Hamden public schools. The intention is to leverage the demonstrated value of arts education as a weapon against high dropout rates.
CONNCAT’s adult program provides affordable industry-specific job training to the city’s under-employed and unemployed adults. With assistance from partners including Yale-New Haven Hospital, CONNCAT carefully selected and developed programs in medical coding and phlebotomy. The programs provide students with practical, in-demand skills that can move them into meaningful employment. CONNCAT’s adult programs are free of charge, but students must demonstrate commitment by meeting registration, attendance, behavioral, and course completion requirements.
For more information, visit www.conncat.org.
ABOUT DR. RODNEY T. COHEN:
Dr. Rodney T. Cohen is an Assistant Dean of Yale College and Director of the Afro-American Cultural Center at Yale University. He received a doctorate in higher education leadership and policy from Vanderbilt University. While at Vanderbilt, he was the recipient of the American Association for Higher Education Graduate Student Award and was selected as a Peabody College Administrative Fellow.
At Yale, Cohen oversees the total operation of the Afro-American Cultural Center which includes over 30 student organizations, mentoring and outreach programs, community collaboration, international initiatives, alumni development and academic and cultural programming. He oversees the Yale summer science research scholars program and the freshmen peer-mentoring program, serves as faculty liaison to the United States Naval Academy Leadership Conference, in addition to serving on the Yale Council on African Studies, several university committees including and chairing the Yale MLK Planning Committee.
Cohen has served as a faculty fellow at the Washington Center for Academic Seminars and Internships and taught college courses related to social action and urban poverty, black culture in the early twentieth century and select topics of the civil rights movement. His research interest explores select issues of African Americans in higher education including the perceptions, attitudes and giving behaviors of black college alumni and the impact of involving colleges on black student life. His scholarly articles have appeared in such journals as the International Journal of Institutional Advancement and the Journal of Urban Education. He has also authored publications highlighting the cultural history of select HBCUs commonly referred to as the black Ivy League. Cohen has lectured and conducted presentations on black life, education and culture for a number of institutions and organizations including the National Council of Negro Women, The UVA Jefferson Society, Davidson College, Washington and Lee, Black Enterprise Magazine, Columbia University, The Darden School of Business, Morehouse College, Furman University, LIU and Brooklyn College. In addition, he has been a guest speaker in London, Ghana and Niger. He has been quoted by a number of publications including The Washington Post and the Houston Press.
Dean Cohen is a member of the Association of Blacks in Higher Education, the Association for the Study of African American Life and History and the National Association of Black Culture Centers where he serves as its national president. He also serves on the Connecticut Board of Teach for America and the Quinnipiac University School of Medicine Health Careers Advisory Council. Cohen is a native of Atlanta and received his bachelor’s degree from Clark College (now Clark Atlanta U.).
ABOUT SHAHID-ABDUL-KARIM:
Shahid Abdul-Karim is an award winning journalist who joined the New Haven Register staff in June 2012 and distinguished himself as a member of the city reporting staff. Last February he was promoted to the role of community engagement editor with the focus on involving the community at every step of the process of local journalism, including outreach and partnerships with community organizations and readers.
Through a series of stories about suffering and trauma many city families endure, Abdul-Karim was able to draw the attention of the U.S. Congress to violence in New Haven and more specifically to the slayings of so many young people of color.
Further, it was the trust he developed in the scarred and grieving communities that led to the chance to tell these stories. His stories have promoted change locally and nationally. U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal has addressed New Haven violence in speeches on the floor of the United States Senate. His work has also prompted Blumenthal and U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy to hold a community conversation on violence in New Haven.
Abdul-Karim has been invited to the White House to cover President Barack Obama’s annual Iftar dinner celebrating the holy month of Ramadan.
He is 2006 graduate of Springfield (Mass.) College with a bachelor’s degree in human services. From 1999 to 2009 he was a staff reporter for Muslim Journal, a weekly publication based in Chicago, IL.
In 2009 he was selected to Muslim Journal’s board of directors.
He is a native of Baton Rouge, La and a lover of HBCU football.
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