Professor’s lecture examines current state of race in America

October 15, 2013

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — A distinguished professor in urban studies from the City University of New York is giving a free lecture at 5:30 p.m. today, Oct. 15, at the University of Florida under the title, “The Perennial Racial Divide: Two Steps Further, One Step Back.”

From the election of President Barack Obama to debates over the Trayvon Martin case in Florida, Stephen Steinberg will explore recent obstacles to achieving racial equality in America.  His published books (“The Ethnic Myth,” ”Turning Back: The Retreat from Racial Justice in American Thought and Policy,” and “Race Relations: A Critique”) challenge beliefs about race and ethnicity in academic and public thought.

His lecture will take place in Smathers Library Room 1A .

Since the passing of landmark civil rights legislation in 1964 and 1965, the U.S. merica has hardly become a “colorblind” society.  Evidence of the continued significance in race can be seen in polarized voting patterns in the 2008 and 2012 elections, recent Supreme Court rulings on affirmative action and voting rights, and areas such as schooling, housing, and food security.

Steinberg’s goal is to provide a historical context in which Americans can have an honest dialogue about race. His discussion is in the second in the series “Civil” Society? On the Future Prospects of Meaningful Dialogue,” which is organized by the UF Center for the Humanities and the Public Sphere and seeks to explore how to improve the climate of political discussion in the U.S.

The series is co-sponsored by the Rothman Endowment at the Center for the Humanities and the Public Sphere with support from the Office of Sustainability, UF Libraries, Honors Program, department of history, department of English, and Samuel Proctor Oral History Program.

All events are free to the public and include time afterward for questions and discussion.