Department of Afro-American Studies to Host Campuswide Memorial and Symposium Honoring Legacy of Professor John H. Bracey, Jr.

The W.E.B. Du Bois Department of Afro-American Studies will host a campuswide memorial and symposium next week celebrating the life and legacy of Professor John H. Bracey, Jr., a teacher, mentor and activist who helped establish one of the nation’s first doctoral programs in Afro-American studies and inspired colleagues and countless students during his five-decade tenure at UMass Amherst.

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On Saturday, Oct. 21, the memorial will take place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Amherst Room on the 10th floor of the Campus Center.  The memorial will be preceded by a daylong symposium and conversation event on Oct. 20 at the Integrative Learning Center.

Bracey was a leading figure in the fields of African American studies and U.S. history, co-editing several academic publications and receiving honors and awards for his scholarly works. He mentored countless students as a department faculty member for 51 years, where he also served in several roles including as department chair and co-director of the graduate certificate in African Diaspora studies. He died in early February at the age of 81.

The memorial will begin with a drum introduction by Urban Thunder and introduction by Yolanda Covington-Ward, professor and chair of the Department of Afro-American Studies, followed by welcome remarks from Bracey’s daughter Kali Bracey. More family members, friends and colleagues will reflect on their time with Bracey before the revealing of the digital memory wall, a collection of tributes, photos and videos from the UMass Amherst community.  Guest speakers include Chancellor Javier A. Reyes; Professor Emerita Ester Terry, former Afro-American studies department chair and associate chancellor; Chancellor Emeritus Kumble Subbaswamy; and Professor Emeritus John Higginson from the Department of History.

Musical selections will also be provided by the Amherst Area Gospel Choir and a reception will follow. More information on the memorial will be forthcoming on the W.E.B Du Bois Department of Afro-American Studies event page.

On Friday, Oct. 20, a symposium and conversation event honoring Bracey’s academic legacy will take place in ILC room S140 from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. The morning panel will focus on Bracey’s legacy as a teacher, mentor and activist with introductions by Covington-Ward and Joye Bowman, interim dean of the College of Humanities and professor of history. The panel will include educators from the Afro-American studies department, SUNY Oneonta, Smith and Mount Holyoke colleges, and Baystate Academy Charter Public School.

Two afternoon panels will highlight Bracey’s impact on Black studies and the study of history.  Afro-American studies department faculty members will be joined by professors from Clark University, Georgia State University, University of Kansas, Saint Louis University, Washington and Lee University, Stevens Institute of Technology and Eastern Michigan University.

Sonia Sanchez will close the symposium with a keynote lecture. Sanchez has a long and distinguished career as an award-winning poet, playwright, essayist, editor and activist and has published more than 17 books.  She has held teaching positions in higher education throughout the United States and is also one of the founders of the field of Black studies, teaching one of the first courses in African American literature at San Francisco State College in the 1960s.

For more information on the symposium and to read memories and tributes from faculty, staff and students, visit the W.E.B Du Bois Department of Afro-American Studies symposium website and the College of Humanities and Fine Arts event website.

To contribute a reflection note, pictures, or video to the digital memory wall, visit the John H. Bracey, Jr. site form. For more information and questions, contact Tricia Loveland at tlovelan@umass.edu.