12/10/2019 MASHPEE INCLUSION AND DIVERSITY COMMITTEE Minutes

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Pippa Mpunzwana T: (617) 358-6391 F: (617) 353-3061 Email: pippam@bu.edu ICONS OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT An Exhibition by Pamela Chatterton-Purdy Boston University School of Theology is pleased to announce the exhibition "Icons of the Civil Rights Movement" by Pamela Chatterton-Purdy. The mixed-media paintings of Civil Rights leaders and events are on display at the School from October 2011 through March 15, 2012. The public is invited to visit the exhibit at 745 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA, in Rooms B23, 325, and the School of Theology Library Reading Room. The display is a celebration of Boston University's long legacy of embracing diversity. Dean Mary Elizabeth Moore of the School of Theology, puts it best, "the exhibition is a way to remember a world-changing era, honor leaders of the Civil Rights Movement and our own alums, and awaken us to risks people took for a more just society."Two BU School of Theology graduates—Martin Luther King, Jr. (GRS 1955) and James Lawson (S.T.B 1960):—are among the leaders represented in the icons. During the 1940s and 1950s,African-American students were encouraged to study in Boston University when other predominantly white universities were discouraging or not admitting students from the African diaspora. The BU School of Theology was already well known during this era for its strong emphasis on social justice, and it had considerable influence on social movements of the twentieth century, revealing the power of education in social change. Pamela Purdy is a former employee at Ebony magazine, an art teacher at the college and high school level, and an activist in her own right, having been particularly active in building race relations and marching for peace. She now lives on Cape Cod with her husband, the Reverend David Purdy. Her oil paintings, created on gold and red carved wood, are designed in the genre of religious icons. For more information about this exhibition,please contact Martha Reney at 617-353- 3052 or at mmreney@bu.edu.