Horton Sets Two Lectures in Conjunction with Visit to Receive UB Alumni Association Award

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- James Oliver Horton, world-renowned scholar in the field of African-American studies, will deliver two lectures at the University at Buffalo on April 19 before being one of eight individuals honored that evening by the UB Alumni Association at its Celebration of Excellence Dinner.

Horton, who received his bachelor's degree from UB in 1964, is Benjamin Banneker Professor of American Studies and History at George Washington University and director of the Afro-American Communities Project of the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian Institution.

He is the author or co-author of several books and was selected by Oxford University Press to edit the 12-volume series "The Landmarks of American History."

Horton's lectures, as well as those by other UB faculty members, will be part of a series of events planned in his honor by UB's College of Arts and Sciences.

The Undergraduate Library will host "Free at Last: A History of the Abolition of Slavery," a traveling exhibit curated by Horton for the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. In conjunction with Horton's visit, the University Libraries have developed a Web site, devoted to materials available at UB on subjects related to the Civil War. The site is at http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/units/lml/Collections/docs/slavery.html.

Horton will discuss the "Free at Last" exhibit with students at 10 a.m. April 19 in 31 Capen Hall on the UB North (Amherst) Campus.

He will discuss "The Tough Stuff: Interpreting Slavery at Historic Sites," which also is the topic of his upcoming book, at 2:30 p.m. April 19 in Room 225 of the Natural Sciences Complex on the North (Amherst) Campus.

He will receive a Distinguished Alumni Award from the UB Alumni Association at its Celebration of Excellence Dinner at 6 p.m. in the Buffalo/Niagara Marriott, 1340 Millersport Highway, Amherst. Tickets are $75 per person. For information about the dinner or to make reservations, call 716-829-2608.

Horton, who received a doctorate from Brandeis University, co-authored two of his books with his wife, sociologist Lois E. Horton, chair of the sociology department at George Mason University, also a UB graduate whom he reportedly met in the cafeteria of a South Campus dormitory.

The books they co-authored are "The History of the African People" (1995) and "In Hope of Liberty: Culture, Protest and Community Among Northern Free Blacks, 1700-1860" (1996), which was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in history.

His other books include "Free People of Color: Inside the African American Community" (1993) and "Hard Road to Freedom: The Story of African America" (2001).

An advocate of public history, he has been historical consultant to and appeared in the PBS series "Africans in America," and on the "John Brown's Holy War" episode of the "American Experience" series. Horton appears regularly on The History Channel and has appeared in several other PBS documentaries and historical shows.

Recognized for teaching excellence, he received the Carnegie Foundation's CASE Professor of the Year Award for George Washington University (1996) and the Trachtenburg Distinguished Award (1994). Horton cites legendary UB history professor John Horton (no relation) as an early influence.

In conjunction with the Horton visit, CAS has invited several of its faculty members to give lectures on related topics. The schedule:

o William Evitts, visiting associate professor of history, will discuss the decisions of Millard Fillmore, the 13th president of the United States, that led to supporting the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 at 4:30 p.m.. April 9 in 218 Norton Hall, North Campus.

o Peggy Brooks-Bertram, adjunct assistant professor of African-American studies, will discuss the life of Rev. William Dungy, a former Virginia slave who escaped to Canada, at 4:30 p.m. April 11 in 108 Baldy Hall, North Campus.

o Evitts will introduce and host a discussion for the viewing of the film "Glory," for which Horton has provided commentary on the DVD version at 6:30 p.m. April 17 in the Screening Room of the Center for the Arts, North Campus.

o Kevin E. Cottrell, a lecturer in the Department of African-American Studies, will discuss the Underground Railroad and issues involving the presentation of slavery and American history at numerous local sites, at 4:30 p.m. April 23 in 218 Norton.

o William Tojek, president of the Colonel John B. Weber Association, Lackawanna Historical Society, and civil war re-enactor, will discuss Weber, a local figure and Western New York's forgotten hero, at 4:30 p.m. April 25 in 108 Baldy. Weber was the youngest colonel of the Civil War and was commissioned to lead the 89th U.S. Colored Troops. He also is known as the father of Ellis Island.