University of Delaware
Office of Public Relations
UpDate - Vol. 16, No. 26, April 10


          Black Arts Festival offers  view on 2000 and beyond
     
     A Bridge to the 21st Century: An African-American
Perspective on the Year 2000 and Beyond" will be the theme
of the 1997 Black Arts Festival at the University.
     The festival, which will feature a variety of events on
the Newark campus during April and May, begins on Saturday,
April 19, with the 16th annual luncheon of the Center for
Black Culture and the Black Alumni Organization, scheduled
at noon in Multipurpose Rooms A-C of the Trabant University
Center.
     Guest speaker will be Na'im Akbar, one of the world's
preeminent African-American psychologists and a pioneer in
the development of an African-centered approach in modern
psychology.
     His topic will be "A Bridge to the 21st Century: An
African-American Perspective on the Year 2000 and Beyond."
Tickets are $10 for UD students and $20 for alumni and the
general public, and they must be purchased in advance.
     A former president of the National Association of Black
Psychologists, Akbar teaches in the Department of Psychology
at Florida State University and also is director of a
private consulting firm, Mind Productions & Associates Inc.
He has written six books and more than 25 scholarly
articles.
     A graduate of the University of Michigan, Akbar has
received many honors for his contributions, including awards
by the National Association of Black Psychologists.
     Continuing the celebration, the annual Richard Wilson
National Pan Hellenic Council Greek Step Show is scheduled
for 7 p.m., Saturday, April 19, in the Bob Carpenter Center.
     Advance tickets for the show only are $8 for students
and $10 for the general public. Show-only tickets at the
door will cost $10 for students and $12 for the general
public. The show is free for children under 5 and $5 for
children ages 5-12.
     Combination tickets for the step show and a party that
follows must be purchased in advance. Costs for combination
tickets are $12 for students and $14 for the general public.
     Other events scheduled as part of the Black Arts
Festival include:
     * A free lecture, "Black Love In the Afternoon" by
Dennis Rahim Watson, scheduled at 7 p.m., Thursday, April
24, in Multipurpose Room C of the Trabant University Center;
     * The annual Gospelrama Concert, featuring the UD
Gospel Choir and Steve Middleton Worship and Praise, at 3:30
p.m., Sunday, April 27, in Mitchell Hall. Advance tickets
are $5 for students and $8 for the general public. Tickets
cost $10 for the general public at the door; and
     * The annual Black Arts Festival Variety Show and
Cultural Programming Advisory Board Reunion, at 7:30 p.m.,
Friday, May 2, in Mitchell Hall. Tickets are $2 for students
and $5 for the general public. A reunion reception
immediately follows the show.
     All of the festival events are sponsored by the Center
for Black Culture. Tickets may be obtained at box offices in
the Bob Carpenter Center and the Trabant University Center;
through the mail by sending requests to the Center for Black
Culture, 192 South College Ave., Newark, DE 19716; or by
calling Ticketmaster at 984-2000. (A service charge may
apply.)
     For more information on any of the events, call the
Center for Black Culture at 831-2991.