Conference Reflects on 50th Anniversary of Sit-in Movement

Civil Rights Movement leaders Julian Bond and Charles Sherrod will offer keynote lectures at a conference marking the 50th anniversary of the sit-in movement Friday and Saturday at the Law School.

Kim Forde-Mazrui

Sponsored by the Law School's Center for the Study of Race and Law, Mid-Atlantic People of Color Legal Scholarship Conference and the Virginia Journal of Social Policy and the Law, the conference features several panels on the causes and effects of the sit-in movement.

"This conference will examine the sit-in movement in its historical context, reflect upon its influence on domestic and international reforms, and consider its implications for contemporary legal and social movements," said Professor Kim Forde-Mazrui."In addition to the four plenary panels, the conference will feature several break-out sessions in which scholarly papers will be presented on a wide range of topics going beyond the theme of the conference. We're in for a two-day intellectual feast!"

The conference is also timely, as Monday marks the 50th anniversary of the day that four black college students sat at a segregated lunch counter in Greensboro, N.C. , sparking a wave of sit-ins and other nonviolent protests across the country, Forde-Mazrui said.

"The movement helped to bring about the landmark civil rights legislation of the 1960s," he said.

In addition to the keynote addresses by Bond and Sherrod, the conference will include panel discussions on the sit-ins, social and legal developments in the domestic and international spheres, as well as on current and future social movements. There will also be a planning session for the 2011-12 conference.

Registration for the conference in required, but many events are free and open to the public. For more information on the schedule and registration, click here.