All News

On Tuesday, February 22, the new Days-Massolo Center held its first presentation on cultural diversity. The Center, which opened earlier this year, is meant to provide support for and foster dialogue about cultural diversity at Hamilton. Through its first lecture, it achieved this goal. The speaker, Giovanna Zaldini, a Somali-Italian cultural mediator, presented an informal discussion about cultural mediation.

Giovanna Zaldini, a Somalian and pioneering figure in immigrant advocacy in Italy, will give an informal talk titled “A Conversation about Cultural Mediation,” on Tuesday, Feb. 22, at 4:15 p.m. in the Days-Massolo Cultural Education Center (formerly the Ferry Building) on College Hill Road. The talk is free and open to the public.

The inaugural lecture of the new Days-Massolo Cultural Education Center will take place on Thursday, Jan. 27, at 4 p.m., in the Kirner-Johnson Bradford Auditorium. The presentation, titled “Diversity in the Liberal Arts College: Institutional Dimensions and Uses,” will feature two speakers: Eric Estes, dean of Multicultural Affairs at Oberlin College and Hamilton College Professor of Anthropology Bonnie Urciuoli.

Hamilton welcomed Harold Ford, Jr., as part of its Voices of Color Lecture Series on April 21. Ford is a former U.S. Representative and is currently the chairman of the Democratic Leadership Council and an NBC News analyst. His talk focused on the challenges facing the United States political system and ways in which they can be overcome.

All eyes focused on Emmanuel Jal as he walked, alone, through the center aisle of the Chapel on April 2. His pace slow and his head lowered, it almost seemed as if he were leading an invisible, somber procession. When he reached the front of the room and turned to face the audience, he asked, "Why should I go through the trouble to tell my story?" After a moment's pause he said, "Because I want to offer my story for those who couldn't give their voice."

SuChin Pak, an MTV News Team correspondent, will speak at Hamilton College on MTV, Gen X and Multiculturalism on Thursday, March 6, at 7 p.m. in the Chapel. Pak's appearance in part of the college's Voices of Color Lecture Series.

Actress and choreographer Rosie Perez gave the annual Voices of Color Lecture at Hamilton on December 7. Perez is an Academy Award-nominated actress and Emmy-nominated choreographer. She began her career as a choreographer for such artists as Bobby Brown, LL Cool J and Diana Ross. She also choreographed and directed the "Fly Girls" on Fox Television's In Living Color, for which she received an Emmy nomination.

World War II heroes, the Navajo Code Talkers, will lecture on how as both Americans and Native Americans they were moved to serve their country and their experiences in combat around the Pacific. This event will take place on Monday, April 18, at 8 p.m. in the College Chapel. The lecture, sponsored by the Voices of Color Lecture Series, is free and open to the public.

Russell Simmons, political activist, founder and CEO of Def Jam records and of Phat Farm clothing, recently lectured at Hamilton College, delivering the third annual C. Christine Johnson Voices of Color Lecture to a large crowd in Wellin Hall. Although Simmons was scheduled to lecture titled "Hip-Hop's Influence on Politics, Economics and Popular Culture," he opted to make his time at Hamilton more of an open conversation or dialogue where students, faculty, and community members were able to discuss hip-hop, society, politics, entrepreneurship, and the media.

Michael Eric Dyson, the Avalon Foundation Professor in Humanities at the University of Pennsylvania, an ordained Baptist minister and the author of several books gave a lecture, “George Bush, Clarence Thomas and 50 Cent,” at Hamilton College on April 14. Dyson, author of Making Malcolm: The Myth and Meaning of Malcolm X and Holler If You Hear Me: Searching for Tupac Shakur, was the second speaker in The C. Christine Johnson Voices of Color Lecture Series. It was sponsored by the Office of the President, The Dean of Students, The Dean of Faculty and The Brothers Organization. Dyson’s talk addressed the Iraqi conflict, affirmative action, and Hip Hop as an outlet for social commentary.