Duke University to Celebrate John Hope Franklin’s 90th Birthday

The Jan. 17-23 events include a talk by Franklin, a panel discussion with Franklin’s former students, two photography exhibits and two performances by the Jubilee Singers of Fisk University, Franklin’s alma mater

Thursday, January 6, 2005

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Durham, N.C. -- John Hope Franklin, the distinguished scholar and James B. Duke Professor Emeritus of History, will be honored Jan. 17-23 with a series of events at Duke University to commemorate his 90th birthday.

Franklin is considered a leading figure in the field of African-American history, American race relations and Southern regional history. He is author of the classic book "From Slavery to Freedom: A History of African-Americans," which is still used in college courses more than 50 years after its publication. He has won dozens of awards, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom. In 1997, he chaired President Bill Clinton’s Initiative on Race.

George L. McLendon, dean of Arts and Sciences at Duke, said the events are a well-deserved recognition of Franklin’s lifetime of accomplishment.

"John Hope is not only a living legend, recognizing his seminal work in race and history, but is also one of the most remarkable people I have had the pleasure to meet at Duke," he said. "I cannot imagine an experience both more pleasurable and educational than to spend an hour with John Hope Franklin."

The celebration, which coincides with the university-wide remembrance of the Rev. Martin Luther King’s birthday, includes a Jan. 20 panel discussion with Franklin’s former students, a Jan. 20 talk by Franklin followed by a question-and-answer period, two photography exhibits as well as two performances by the Jubilee Singers of Fisk University, Franklin’s alma mater. The events have university-wide sponsorship.

Local schoolchildren will attend a concert with the Jubilee Singers Friday, Jan. 21, at North Carolina Central University, where Franklin taught. On Sunday, Jan. 23, they will perform at Duke Chapel in honor of Franklin and in memory of King. The group dates to 1871, when the nine original Jubilee Singers toured the United States and Europe. The group introduced, and helped preserve, "slave songs." The current Jubilee Singers continue to tour internationally.

All events are free and open to the public, but seating is limited for all events except the concert in Duke Chapel.

From Jan. 17 to Feb. 23, the John Hope Franklin Center Gallery will have a photography exhibit called "Dr. John Hope Franklin: A Family Portrait." It will feature more than 40 photographs of Franklin throughout his life.

A second photo display has been mounted to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the John Hope Franklin Collection for African and African-American Documentation in Duke’s Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library. Photographs from the collection are on display online and through Feb. 28 in front of the Rare Book Room in Perkins Library, on Duke’s West Campus.

Franklin's "From Slavery to Freedom" book, originally published in 1947, is considered one of the definitive works on the black experience. He has published numerous other books and has edited many works, including with his son, John Whittington Franklin, a book about his father called "My Life and an Era: The Autobiography of Buck Colbert Franklin." Franklin is currently writing his autobiography, which will be published in October.

He was born on Jan. 2, 1915 in Oklahoma and was educated at Fisk and Harvard University, where he earned a Ph.D. He has taught at Fisk, Brooklyn College and the University of Chicago. In 1982, he was named James B. Duke Professor of History at Duke and was elected professor emeritus in 1985. From 1985 to 1992, he was professor of legal history in the Duke Law School.

In addition to his work as a historian, Franklin was involved in some of the key events of the Civil Rights movement. As an expert on Southern history, he was recruited by NAACP attorney Thurgood Marshall in 1953 to help prepare the brief in the landmark Brown v. Board of Education case before the U.S. Supreme Court. Later he accompanied King on the march from Selma to Montgomery, Ala., in 1965.

In 1997, he was appointed chairman of the advisory board for President Clinton’s "One America: The President’s Initiative on Race." He has received dozens of other honors and awards, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1995 and the Gold Medal in History by the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

He has served as president of the Phi Beta Kappa Society, the American Studies Association, the Southern Historical Association, the Organization of American Historians and the American Historical Association.

In 2001, Duke University opened the John Hope Franklin Center for Interdisciplinary and International Studies, which is dedicated to bringing together humanists and social scientists to study important societal issues from a variety of perspectives.

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Schedule of Events:

All events are free and open to the public.

Jan. 17 – Feb. 23

Photography exhibition, "Dr. John Hope Franklin: A Family Portrait"
John Hope Franklin Center Gallery
John Hope Franklin Center
2204 Erwin Road

Thursday, Jan. 20

3:30 p.m., Panel discussion with Franklin’s former students
Nelson Music Room
East Duke Building, East Campus

5 p.m., Reception
East Duke Parlors
East Duke Building, East Campus

6 p.m., Talk by John Hope Franklin with Q&A
Nelson Music Room
East Duke Building, East Campus

7:30 p.m., Coffee & Dessert
East Duke Parlors
East Duke Building, East Campus

Friday, Jan. 21

1 p.m., Fisk Jubilee Singers
NCCU New School of Education Auditorium
1712 Cecil St.

6:30-8 p.m., Opening reception for "Dr. John Hope Franklin: A Family Portrait"
John Hope Franklin Center Gallery
John Hope Franklin Center
2204 Erwin Road

Sunday, Jan. 23
2 p.m., Fisk Jubilee Singers performance
Duke Chapel, West Campus