UTA Libraries Welcomes ‘The Black Power Movement in Dallas, Texas’ Panel on Feb. 6

Students, faculty, and staff are invited to participate in the upcoming panel on “The Black Power Movement in Dallas, Texas” at UTA Libraries.  

The panel, which has been proposed and organized by Associate Professor of History Emeritus Dr. W. Marvin Dulaney, will examine how the call for “Black Power” by Stokely Carmichael in 1966 affected the efforts of black activists in Dallas.

“It is our privilege to host such esteemed members of the community at UTA Libraries,” said Rebecca Bichel, Dean of UTA Libraries. “We hope our students, faculty, and staff take this opportunity to hear their stories and experience this important part of our local history—and learn how our speakers’ activism continues to the present.”

The event will take place in the sixth floor Parlor on Thursday, Feb. 6 from 2 to 4 p.m. Dulaney will lead with a brief introduction, then open the floor to three panelists:

• Ernie McMillan, a local chairman of Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and member of the Black Panther Party
• Diane Ragsdale, a member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Youth Council, Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and the Black Panther Party (also called the Black Intercommunal Party); Ragsdale is also a former member of the Dallas City Council
• Charles Beasley, a member of SNCC

Dr. Jason Shelton, Associate Professor of Sociology and Director of the Center for African American Studies, will conclude the panel with a brief analysis/reaction before opening to audience questions.

Dulaney believes that students have the most to gain from hearing about the panelists’ experiences with activism and political engagement.

“The members of the panel were basically the same age as students at UTA when they began their activism in the civil rights movement and the Black Power Movement,” Dulaney said. “I think that their experiences will give students an important perspective on activism and why they should be involved and engaged in social and political change today.”

All three panelists were also interviewed in conjunction with a local oral history project commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the Black Power Movement, entitled The Black Power Legacy Project. Copies of the interviews are available in UTA Special Collections.