BLACK HISTORY MONTH: AFRICAN-AMERICAN CONTRIBUTIONS DURING WWI

WHAT: Special Capitol Hill briefing celebrating Black History Month,
focusing on the contributions that African Americans made during World
War I, also known as “the war to end all wars”

WHEN: THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2016 FROM 2:30-4:00 P.M.

WHERE: ROOM B-318

WHO:

     * Members of the Congressional Black Caucus, Reps. CHARLES B. RANGEL
(D-NY), CORRINE BROWN (D-FL), SANFORD D. BISHOP, JR. (D-GA), EMANUEL
CLEAVER (D-MO) hosts
    * DAN DAYTON, Executive Director of the U.S. World War I Centennial
Commission, will be in attendance to answer questions, discuss national
partnership opportunities, and distribute select centennial materials
    * PROF. PELLOM MCDANIELS of Emory University, who will discuss the
impact of World War I on African Americans socially, politically and
economically
    * PROF. JOEL BEESON of West Virginia University, who will note the
uncanny parallels between our present moment in history and the time
before, during and after World War I
    * PROF. JEFF SAMMONS of New York University, who will recount the first
African American regiment to fight in World War I, the 369th Infantry
Regiment

RSVP: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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ABOUT THE SPEAKERS:

DANIEL DAYTON

Mr. Daniel Dayton serves as Executive Director of the World War 1
Centennial Commission.  The Commission was created by Congress in 2013
to provide a suitable commemoration of the United States involvement in
World War I.  Previously he was engaged in special project work for the
DHS Science and Technology Directorate. In 2012, he was detailed to the
U. S. Navy History and Heritage Command lead public affairs efforts in
connection with the Navy’s Commemoration of the Bicentennial of the
War of 1812 and the Star-Spangled Banner. Mr. Dayton was promoted to
Senior Level (SL) Federal service in 2007.  In addition to his civilian
accomplishments, he served as a Captain in the U.S. Naval Reserve until
his retirement from military service in February of 2005.  His last
duty assignment was as Commanding Officer of the reserve unit, providing
key support to the U.S. Strategic Command in Omaha, NE.

DR. PELLOM MCDANIELS III

Pellom McDaniels III is Faculty Curator of African American Collections
and Assistant Professor of African American Studies (B.S., Oregon State,
1986; M.A. and Ph.D. (American Studies), at Emory University.  He is
the faculty curator of African American collections in the Manuscripts,
Archives and Rare Books Library in Emory’s Woodruff Library.  His
scholarly interests include African Americans and World War I, 19th and
20th Century notions of Black Masculinity, Biography, African Americans
and the intersection of Sports and Civil Rights, and the Politics of
Representation in African American Art.  His forthcoming book, which is
currently under contract, is the “Memoir of Royal Christian, a Black
World War I Soldier” (2015/2016).

DR. JOEL BEESON

Joel William Beeson is an Associate Professor at the West Virginia
University Reed College of Media. Beeson’s current research in virtual
reality (VR) is informed by two decades of research in race and
representation, emerging media and documentary studies. Beeson has M.A.
and B.A. degrees from the University of Missouri-Columbia and received
his doctorate in American Studies at the Union Institute and University
investigating how Critical Race and Feminist Standpoint theories can
inform counter narratives in social documentary projects using oral
history methods. Beeson is currently leading a collaborative initiative
with Morgan State University’s School of Global Communication and
Journalism, a historically black urban institution, to develop a Social
Justice Media Project. This collaboration resulted in BridgingSelma and
the virtual reality app, Fractured Tour. Beeson is also a principal in
the Reed College of Media Innovation Center’s AR/VR StoryLab. In 2014,
Beeson launched his interactive website, thebookofwarpoems.com,
which highlights a book of poems written by two young black sisters from
rural West Virginia in the early 1900’s. In addition, Beeson produced
and directed the award-winning 2008 documentary, “Fighting on Two
Fronts: the Untold Stories of African American WWII Veterans.”

DR. JEFF SAMMONS

Jeffrey Sammons is a Professor of History at New York University who has
studied the first African-American regiment to fight in World War I, the
369th Infantry Regiment. The unit, born out of the 15th New York
National Guard, was dubbed the "Harlem Hellfighters."  He also is the
author of “Harlem Rattlers and the Great War,” which reports and
examines the regiment's leadership, its actions in the field of battle,
and the challenges the men faced following the war.