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KANSAN.COM
ART & CULTURE
Contributed Photo/KANSAN Langston Hughes. Photo courtesy of University Archives.
Langston Hughes documentary created by University professors
▶ JACKSON DODD
snopanddodd
Last summer, Randal Jelks, a professor of African-American Studies, sat down with a group of scholars on the life of Langston Hughes. Hughes was a key voice of the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s and 1930s. They planned out a new documentary idea about the life and writings on Hughes. The discussion included the decision to search for an endowment grant that would fund their movie, "I, Too, Sing America: Langston Hughes Unfurled, A Doc Film."
The film eventually got
its funding March 23 by the National Endowment for the Humanities. The group was awarded $50,000 to develop the film, according to a press release.
The title of the documentary comes from a famous poem titled "I, Too, Sing America" written by Hughes in 1945 about race relations. The group, called "Hughes Dream Documentary Collective," is teaming with the Lawrence Arts Center to make the film.
While the documentary is only in the pre-production phase, it started with a quest to gain awareness on Hughes. Jelks said he noticed the sparse collection
of Hughes' life in Lawrence so he looked through the body of film of Hughes life. The extensive collection of anything about Hughes is at Yale University, and Jelks worked with the people there to see if any footage or images could help the story in the documentary.
"If you see Hughes' quotes on Twitter, people might not know who said it," Jelks said. "No one knows the interesting complexity of the man and the wonderful richness of his life. We thought we should bring that back to the American public."
Jelks also said he was surprised about the lack of
representation of Hughes in Lawrence. There are very little signs or statues or anything big in Hughes honor aside from the Lawrence Arts Center, which JeLks said shocked him.
The filmmakers are focused on how capturing how Hughes' roots in Lawrence helped shape his identity and career, Jelks said. They know Hughes' story has to be told in a way that emphasizes his ties to Kansas.
"As global as the reach of his writing would eventually become, what we're arguing is that you can't fully grasp
SEE HUGHES PAGE 8
KU Common Book selection "Between the World and Me" aims to stimulate conversation about race
▶ SAMANTHA SEXTON @Sambiscuit
"Between the World and Me" by Ta-Nebisi Coates will be the University common book for the 2016-17 academic year, according to an announcement from the Office of First Year Experience.
The Common Book Program was introduced by the Office of First Year Experience, said Howard Graham, associate director of academic programs, "to create a common ground and an atmosphere of community for incoming freshmen and current students, faculty and staff."
Each year a three-part committee made up of faculty, staff and students sift through nominated books suggested by students to find one that best fits the atmosphere of the campus. With the 100-year anniversary of World War I, for example, this academic year's common book, "A Farewell to Arms" by Ernest Hemingway, was selected to open a dialogue about war and allowed the office to host events highlighting the University's connections to the war.
"We want to start conversations, and we want
to open students' minds to stories and situations that they may not be familiar with but may experience during their time here at KU," Graham said. "Every student comes to the University with different backgrounds and different perspectives, and we hope that will add to the conversations started here."
"Between the World and Me," a true story about author Ta-Nehisi Coates' experiences as a young, black man growing up in Baltimore, was chosen to not only spark a conversation, but, Graham said, to "continue the conversation we've been having on campus for the past year."
A student involved with the selection committee, Jarred Morris, a senior from Saint Paul, Minn., said the book is "overdue" in its importance, but "coming at the right time" given the environment on campus.
"We've already started this conversation about inequality, racism and inequity on campus, so it's going to help continue the dialogue and work as a platform for initiative," Morris said. "We need to keep talking, keep listening and take actions."
Morris, like Graham,
said he strongly believes the Common Book Program can create change on campus. He said he became involved with the program in order to "make a real impact at the University."
"Coates' book really struck me in the first chapter," Morris said. "It's very blunt and honest about what he experienced in his life and how that shaped him, and that's the kind of thing we need."
Morris said he's proud to have a common book that speaks to the racial injustices still felt on campus and throughout the country without beating around the bush or trying to cover anything up.
"It may be a hard pill to swallow for some students, but it's a pill that needs to be swallowed regardless," Morris said.
Another student on the selection committee, Elizabeth Wenger, a freshman from Tulsa, Okla., said it would be "irresponsible to not read the book no matter how you feel about it."
"Books have a lot of power, and I wanted to help pick a good book because I had some mixed feelings about the common book this year," Wenger said. "[Hemingway]'s another
white, male author, and I think that we deserve more diversity and to hear varying voices."
Wenger said racial issues on campus was one of the driving factors given the recent prevalence of Rock Chalk Invisible Hawk and the Black Lives Matter movement that has been felt.
"There was another book that we were considering that kind of did the same thing as 'Between the World and Me'; it talked about racial issues but it took place in the '70s, and we really wanted something that people couldn't just react to by saying, 'Oh, it's different now," because it isn't different," Wenger said.
"Between the World and Me' talks about what has happened recently; he talks about shootings that happened not too long ago, and he brings in a modern, real look that is hard to ignore."
1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
"We have a history of looking at situations in ways that aren't necessarily straightforward or traditional but that connect with the students and open them up to a new way of thinking by using what is around them," Graham said. "I can't give anything away just yet, but I know,
Graham said despite the fact that the upcoming common book doesn't directly relate to the University, he's confident in the program's strength and ability to connect the world to the students and vice versa.
OR "This is required reading."—Toni Morrison
ve
given our history, that the common book will lead to engaging and intellectually stimulating discussions that the campus desperately needs."
Contributed Photo/KANSAN "Between the World and Me" by Ta-Nehisi Coates.
- Edited by Deanna Ambrose
JOBS
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Comfort Facility Gate Staff
Compost Facility Gate Staff P/T, seasonal position. Applicants must be at least 18yrs of age. The Compost Facility Gate Staff will work 9:45am to 4:15pm every Sat start 3/5/16 & ending in Dec 2016. Gate Staff will open & close the facility, receive payment for vehicles dropping off brush & picking up compost or wood ships & transport work materials to designate site for reconciliation. Must have valid driver's license & pass background check. For best consideration apply ASAP at:
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JOBS
Shadow Glen Golf Club, off K-10 & Cedar Creek Parkway, is hiring for our wait staff. Training to begin in April. We prefer room experience, but we will train the right individuals. Enjoy free meals & earn golf privileges. Email your resume & availability to: barb@shadowloen.org
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Work with friends. Party Personnel needs banquet servers/bartenders. Call 913-312-7361 x 104 to apply.
Sunflower State Games seeks energetic and responsible summer interns to assist in event planning and promotions for Olympic Style Sports Festival. Visit sunflowergames.com or call 785-235-2295 to inquire.
HOUSING
7BR FOR RENT
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