'Beyond the Dream’ series hosts leading voices in social justice  ‌ ‌  ‌  ‌  ‌  ‌  ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌  ‌  ‌  ‌  ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌  ‌  ‌  ‌  ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌  ‌  ‌  ‌  ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌  ‌  ‌  ‌  ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌  ‌  ‌  ‌  ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌  ‌  ‌  ‌  ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌  ‌  ‌  ‌  ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌  ‌  ‌  ‌  ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌  ‌  ‌  ‌  ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌  ‌  ‌  ‌  ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌  ‌  ‌  ‌  ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌  ‌  ‌  ‌  ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌  ‌  ‌  ‌  ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌  ‌  ‌  ‌  ‌  ‌
 
Monday, February 4, 2019  
‘Beyond the Dream’ series | Hall photographs Ohio’s former poor farms
Opal Tometi | Shaun King
BGSU ‘Beyond the Dream’ series hosts leading voices in social justice

As Black History Month begins, Bowling Green State University has planned a powerful series of speakers and events that take the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous words “Beyond the Dream.”

Throughout the spring semester, students and community members will hear from national leaders of some of today’s most important social movements, aimed at bringing equity and justice to all members of society. Speakers include Opal Tometi, co-founder of the Black Lives Matter movement; Shaun King, journalist, activist and writer-in-residence for Harvard Law School’s Fair Punishment Project; Ariana Brown, award-winning poet and activist; and Tarana Burke, founder of the ‘me too.’ Movement.

“We’ve worked collaboratively to bring the most dynamic line-up we’ve had to date,” said Jennifer McCary, assistant vice president for student affairs and Title IX coordinator. “We hope these speakers will help spark much-needed conversations on our campus about equity, diversity and inclusivity driving us to action.”

“Beyond the Dream” events provide “an opportunity for the University to create a sense of belonging for our minoritized students and build a culture of inclusion on campus,” said Ana Brown, interim director of the Office of Multicultural Affairs.

They are also an avenue for all students to “learn, grow in their empathy, and develop a more inclusive mindset as a result,” Brown said. “By continuing to support the Black Issues Conference, ‘Beyond the Dream’ offerings, and other programming like this, BGSU is saying, ‘This is what we value and who we strive to be.’”

On Feb. 20, Opal Tometi will deliver the keynote address for the University’s “Beyond the Dream” series from 7-8 p.m. in the Lenhart Grand Ballroom at the Bowen-Thompson Student Union. Tometi is the daughter of Nigerian immigrants. She co-founded Black Lives Matters with two other women, and today is the executive director of Black-Alliance for Just Immigration. Her talk is sponsored by the Division of Student Affairs and the Office of the Provost.

Register to attend her keynote address

The 19th annual Black Issues Conference, held Feb. 20-22, features Shaun King. He will speak on “Civil Rights Today: The New Civil Rights Movement” at 12:30 p.m. Feb. 22 in the ballroom during the conference luncheon. His talk is free for BGSU students, but paid admission for others. Register for the luncheon by Feb. 8



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Jeff Hall (right) talks with Curator Holly Hartlerode during the installation of the exhibit "For Comfort and Convenience: Public Charity in Ohio by Way of the Poor Farm."
On the trail of the Ohio poor farms
Hall’s photos commemorate efforts to care for the needy

Jeff Hall had never considered himself much of a history buff. But when he agreed to be part of a major project for the Wood County Historical Center and Museum, he found himself stepping back in time as he explored the towns, back roads and byways of each of Ohio’s 88 counties, in search of their “poor farms.”

Hall, a photographer and senior lecturer in Bowling Green State University’s Visual Communication Technology program, was enlisted about a year and a half ago by the museum to locate and photograph whatever remained of the state’s poor farms. The images are part of the museum’s 2019 theme exhibit, “For Comfort and Convenience: Public Charity in Ohio by Way of the Poor Farm,” which opened Feb. 1. It coincides with the 150th anniversary of the Wood County poor farm (later known as the infirmary and then the county home), and features 120 of Hall’s photos, along with an extensive interpretive exhibit about the Ohio Board of Charities’ efforts to help counties care for needy citizens.

Hall will share his adventures photographing for the exhibit with visitors during the grand opening event from 5-8 p.m. Feb. 22. The museum will also erect a monument in its “paupers cemetery” with all the names it can document of who is buried there. The monument will be dedicated April 6.

“For Comfort and Convenience” pays homage to all the poor, ill and disabled members of society who found shelter in these county havens by documenting them and sharing their story with the public, Hall said. He had become interested in collaborating with the museum after talking with Hartlerode and then-Marketing and Events Coordinator Kelli Kling (now the museum director) in 2013 at the museum’s exhibit of photographer Christopher Payne’s “Asylum: Inside the Closed World of State Mental Hospitals.”

The Wood County Historical Center and Museum is housed in the county’s former infirmary building, and is fortunate to have most of its buildings and many of its records intact. But thinking about the rest of the state, the museum staff wondered, “What’s become of all these?” Hall said.

The museum decided to include all the counties “to show that Wood County doesn’t exist in a bubble,” said Curator Holly Hartlerode, the interpretive director for the project, who has spent the last two years in research. “We made an effort to work with the other counties and we want to serve as an expert resource for them.”

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Planetarium presents BG-Fest 2019

Looking for a fun activity that will enchant your mind and keep you out of the harsh Ohio cold? BG-Fest 2019 is a festival of classic Planetarium shows running through the third week of May. Show times are 7:30 p.m. Sundays, 8 p.m. Tuesdays and Fridays, and 2 p.m. Saturdays. The Planetarium is in the Physical Sciences Building. A $1 donation is suggested.

February shows are:
  • “Journey to Earth,” Feb. 3-9
  • “I Paint the Sky,” Feb. 10-16
  • “Sky Stones,” Feb. 17-23
  • “Water World,” Feb. 24-March 2

See a complete listing of BG-Fest shows