Calvin Prof's Book Looks at African Americans in GR

January 11, 2006 == MEDIA ADVISORY

A new book from Calvin College professor Randal Jelks looks at the
history of African Americans in Grand Rapids.

And Jelks will speak on that same topic on Monday, January 17 - Martin
Luther King, Jr. Day - as part of Calvin's acclaimed January Series.

"My talk," says Jelks, "will look at such questions as: What does the
history of African Americans in Grand Rapids say about the city's
history, our region in the State of Michigan and the conditions of
struggling people worldwide?"

Jelks notes that west Michigan has been one of the fastest growing
regions in the state and he says the significance of African Americans
and recent immigrants and migrants is key to understanding how the area
will fare regionally and internationally throughout this century.

Says Jelks: "The past shapes our present."

Grand Rapids, adds Jelks, occupies an interesting place on the spectrum
of Midwest locales and civil rights.

"The shadows of Chicago and Detroit were simultaneously a source of
inspiration for what black Grand Rapids could be if it had a more
diverse middle class," says Jelks, "and a source of fear because the
African Americans in the larger cities had much more despairing
ghettos."

Jelks' new book, African Americans in the Furniture City: The Struggle
for Civil Rights in Grand Rapids, is due out this spring and frames the
African American struggle for survival and civil rights inside a
discussion of the larger white community. Jelks looks at Grand Rapids
during a 100-year span - from 1850 and 1954 - in which citizens faced
urbanization, responded to structural racism, developed in terms of
occupations and shaped communal identities.

One particular point of emphasis for the Calvin history professor, who
also is an ordained minister, is the religious community's influence
during African Americans' struggle toward a respectable social identity
and fair treatment under the law.

Jelks, who is director of the African and African Diaspora Studies
program at Calvin, earned his B.A. from the University of Michigan and
his Ph.D. at Michigan State University.

Contact Jelks at 616-526-6186 or rjelks@calvin.edu
For the complete January Series lineup see
http://www.calvin.edu/january
For more on Jelks see http://www.calvin.edu/academic/african/index.htm
and www.calvin.edu/academic/history/jelks.htm

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Received on Wed Jan 11 09:01:03 2006