Cost: FREE

Join us as we observe Black August, a month dedicated to acknowledging and honoring Black political prisoners and the ongoing resistance to oppression. In recognition of Black August, we will delve into the historic Counterintelligence Program (COINTELPRO) targeted against African Americans. Together, we will explore the extensive history of COINTELPRO and the steadfast efforts to resist its impact.

Wednesday, August 7th, 2024 | 6PM | 4th Floor Skyline Roome

Registration encouraged but not required.

Kelly Harris serves as the Senior Staff Director of the Center for Africana Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. Prior to this role, he held positions as a professor and Director of Africana Studies at Seton Hall University and as an Associate Professor, Director of Africana Studies, and Interim Dean of the Honors College at Chicago State University. With over 20 years of experience in higher education as a professor and administrator, Dr. Harris has established expertise in areas including Black politics, African politics, Black political thought, African American History, and the history of social science.

His most recent publications include “Foreshadowing Du Bois: James McCune Smith and the Shaping of 19th Century Black Social Scientists,” which is part of a book manuscript on the historical roots for Black social scientists, “Coalitions and Grassroot Activities,” in Nonprofit Organizing, Advocacy, and Lobbying: Part of Meeting Mission,  “Mumia Abu Jamal and Africana Studies" in The Trials of Mumia Abu-Jamal: A Biography in 25 Voices, edited by Todd Burroughs, "The Search for a Black Political Science: The Epistemology and Relevance of Mack Jones" in the National Political Science Review, and "Number 45 and the Persistence of White Nationalism" in Not Our President: New Directions from the Pushed Out, The Others, and the Clear Majority in Trump's Stolen America.

Dr. Harris is a native of Philadelphia and holds degrees from Temple University (B.A.), The Ohio State University (M.A.), and Clark Atlanta University (Ph.D.).