The Benjamin L. Hooks Institute for Social Change at the University of Memphis

Our new Forum post from author Madison ‘Mocha’ Hunter explores the challenges of "Blackademia" - what it means to be both an academic and a Black woman pursuing a PhD in today's academic landscape.?Visit the Hooks Forum for the full post!? https://lnkd.in/gwkmqU72 #blackademic #blackexcellece #academia

The Benjamin L. Hooks Institute for Social Change at the @UofMemphis will present the Hooks National Book Award to Dr. Tanisha C. Ford, author of "Our Secret Society: Mollie Moon and the Glamour, Money, and Power Behind the Civil Rights Movement" on Wednesday, February 5 at 6:00 PM. The event, in partnership with the University of Memphis’ Graduate Association for African-American History (GAAAH), will include the award presentation and a lecture by Dr. Ford. There will be a reception, with light hors d’oeuvres, reminiscent of Mollie Moon’s soirees, at 5:30 PM. You can reserve your free ticket at?https://lnkd.in/eqjKKWrT! #HooksNationalBookAward?#OurSecretSociety?#MollieMoon?#Hooksinstitute

There's a new entry to the Hooks Forum, authored by Dr. Terrence Tucker, Professor of African American Literature and Chair of the?U of Memphis Department of English?here at the?University of Memphis?. Dr. Tucker also serves as the Chair of our Hooks National Book Award Committee, which he discusses in this piece on the creation and purpose of the Book Award and how it is part of the lasting legacy of our namesake, Dr. Benjamin L. Hooks, who would have turned 100 years old this week! https://lnkd.in/eMx-Vtgp #BenHooks100?#HooksNationalBookAward?#CivilRights?#SocialChange

The Hooks Institute Forum, "Uplift Memphis, Uplift the Nation: Voices & Perspectives for Progress" has a new post available! In this post, Alyson Farzad-Phillips, PhD discusses her response to the recent election as a "veteran instructor of service-learning pedagogy," and the impact of teaching her students about their power for collective action. Read the Forum Post at?https://lnkd.in/eMx-Vtgp #ServiceLearningPedagogy?#HooksForum?#CollectiveAction?#HooksInstitute Forum posts are curated by the editors and the views expressed in them are those of the authors and are not attributable to any official position of the Hooks Institute or the University of Memphis.

As the nation remembers President Jimmy Carter, the Benjamin L. Hooks Institute for Social Change honors this great public servant and respected colleague of our founder. When Jimmy Carter was inaugurated President of the United States in 1977, Benjamin L. Hooks was in his fifth year as a Commissioner for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Hooks, the first African-American appointed to the FCC, would leave his position in July of 1977 to take over as the new Executive Director of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), a role in which he would serve through 1992. Carter’s presidency carried some trying times, with a nation still reeling from Watergate, massive inflation, and international crises. Hooks and Carter were often at odds on policy decisions. As Carter fought to balance the national budget and cut debt, Hooks and the NAACP criticized many of the President’s decisions due to their impact on social services and jobs which would heavily impact the African American community. In a press conference after meeting with President Carter in the Oval Office, Benjamin Hooks said, “We do not think, very frankly, that any president is going to deal with all of our needs the way we want to see them met.” During an interview for "Duty of the Hour," a documentary film on the life of Benjamin L. Hooks, President Carter discussed a visit Hooks paid to the Oval Office, not long after taking over as the NAACP Executive Director. “We set targets for [Hooks and the NAACP’s] goals, but I was never able to satisfy him, which was understandable in retrospect. They had demands of perfection. I couldn’t meet all of his demands, but we got along well.” Carter went on to praise Hooks for fighting racial segregation domestically and abroad – particularly in reference to Hooks’ work to help Carter in one of his “major commitments as a new president” – ending Apartheid in Africa. #JimmyCarter?#PresidentCarter?#BenjaminLHooks?#NAACP?#UofMemphis?#HooksInstitute Image Info: President and Mrs. Jimmy Carter with Frances and Benjamin Hooks. Official White House photograph. Courtesy of Memphis and Shelby County Room, Memphis Public Library & Information Center.

Thank you to our Board Member and Fundraising Committee Chair Jesse Turner for his remarks and support at last night's Student Success Networking Reception. We are so proud of our HAAMI and ASATT students and grateful for the support of Jesse and all those who came out to meet them. You can join Jesse in supporting our Student Success Programs. Visit momentum.memphis.edu/hooks or text HOOKS to 41444 to give today.

Join the Benjamin L. Hooks Institute for Social Change in investing in our future leaders! The Hooks Academic Achievement & Mentoring Initiative (HAAMI) and A Seat at The Table (ASATT) provide enrichment programming to strengthen students’ academic success, personal and leadership development, and career readiness. Visit momentum.memphis.edu/hooks for more information on these programs and to make a donation online. You can also text HOOKS to 41444 to invest in Student Success today!

Carnelious Jones, owner of OMO Energy & Technology, is the presenting sponsor of the exhibit on the Fayette County Civil Rights Movement.??He is pictured here with Daphene McFerren, executive director of the Hooks Institute. We thank Mr. Jones and the team at OMO-ETI for their support of this exhibit and the mission of the Hooks Institute. #FuelingExcellence #OMO-ETI #hooksinstitute #fayettecountytn #upliftthevote

Now accepting submissions for the Frances Dancy Hooks Art Award and Exhibition! Visit Memphis.edu/benhooks for more information!

In 1965, a tiny little seven-year-old child named John McFerren, Jr. was the named plaintiff in the 1965 court case to desegregate Fayette County Schools. He was also the late brother of Hooks Institute executive director Daphene R. McFerren. We remember and commend his courageousness in facing hostile students and administrators as the named plaintiff and as the son of civil rights activists, John and Viola McFerren. John, the McFerrens and other activists stayed the course making educational equity a priority in Fayette County, Tennessee. Even today, the federal court in West Tennessee (Memphis) continues to monitor educational equity in Fayette County in the case John McFerren, Jr. v. Fayette County Board of Education (1965). Daphene R. McFerren and Myles Wilson (pictured), a civil rights activist, former teacher, and former Superintendent of Fayette County Schools were recently interviewed by Chalkbeat on their perspective on the school district's desegregation efforts today. This is part of Chalkbeat's coverage on the legacy of the Brown v. Board of Education (1954) decision. https://lnkd.in/ecY9dUyB