Smith College history professor to speak at STCC on April 24
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Smith College professor Elizabeth Stordeur Pryor, who specializes in 19th-century U.S. history and race, will speak at Springfield Technical Community College on April 24.
Pryor’s essay, “Etymology of [the n-word]: Resistance, Language, and the Politics of Freedom in the Antebellum North,” won the Ralph D. Gray Prize for the best article of 2016 in the Journal of the Early Republic.
Pryor will discuss the article in during her appearance as well as her experience growing up the child of a white Jewish woman and black man in the United States. She is the daughter of the iconic late comedian Richard Pryor.
Her first book, “Colored Travelers: Mobility and the Fight for Citizenship before the Civil War,” is a social history of black activists, who, long before Rosa Parks, fought against segregation on public transportation.
Pryor originally was scheduled to speak during Black History Month in February, but the event was postponed until April 24 at 10:10 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. She will speak at STCC’s Scibelli Hall Theater.
Part of the Ovations Educational and Cultural Event Series, Pryor’s talk is free and open to the public.
About Springfield Technical Community College
Founded in 1967 and located on 35 acres of the Springfield Armory National Historic Site, STCC is a major resource for the economic vitality of Western Massachusetts. As the only technical community college in Massachusetts, STCC, a designated Hispanic Serving Institution and an Achieving the Dream Leader College, offers a variety of career programs unequalled in the state. STCC’s highly regarded transfer programs in business, engineering, liberal arts, science and technology continue to provide the most economical options for students pursuing a four-year degree. With an annual enrollment of more than 5,000 day, evening, weekend and online students, STCC is a vibrant campus rich in diversity.
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MEDIA CONTACT:
Jim Danko, (413) 755-4812, jdanko@stcc.edu