Lecture addresses military’s effect on African American society, culture

GREEN BAY — The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay will host noted author and college professor Kimberly Phillips Monday, Nov. 3, as she presents a guest lecture titled “War, What is it Good For?: African Americans on the Frontlines of Battle and Peace.”

The lecture is part of the UW-Green Bay campus Common Theme of “Waging War, Waging Peace.” It will be held at 12:45 p.m. in the University Union’s Christie Theater, 2420 Nicolet Drive.

Her lecture focuses on the role the military has played in African American culture in the 20th century, particularly in terms of employment and advancement opportunities, and how it has affected and shaped African American popular culture.

Phillips is a professor at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va., where she teaches courses in African American and American cultural and social history.

Her book, “Alabama North: African American Migrants, Community, and Working-Class Activism in Cleveland,” received the Illinois American History Award for the most outstanding book on American history published by the University of Illinois Press in 1999.

Phillips has written other articles on African American workers, music and migration. Her work in public history includes museum exhibits and teacher guides on oral history in the K-12 classroom. She is a Distinguished Lecturer of the Organization of American Historians.

The UW-Green Bay Common Theme (www.uwgb.edu/commontheme) is a yearlong program designed to engage the campus and community in the ideals of a liberal arts education and the UW-Green Bay interdisciplinary mission. It encourages faculty, staff, students and community members to focus on a general theme from multiple perspectives and have a shared experience with open discussion and critical thinking.

#08-223