WALTER RODNEY PAPERS OPEN FOR RESEARCH, MARCH 23, 2004

(ATLANTA, GA) March 23, 2004, the Atlanta University Center Robert W. Woodruff Library will celebrate the opening of the Walter Rodney Papers with a full-day symposium, "The Relevance of Walter Rodney in the 21st Century." Walter Rodney (1942-1980) Pan-Africanist historian, educator, and political activist is widely known for his seminal work, How Europe Underdeveloped Africa. Originally published in 1972, it continues in publication today and is widely used as a text in colleges and universities throughout the world. Rodney authored numerous articles and other books including, The Groundings With My Brothers (c.1969); A History of the Upper Guinea Coast, 1545 to 1980 (c.1970); and History of the Guyanese Working People 1881-1905 (c.1981)

The personal papers of Dr. Walter Rodney were donated to the Library by Dr. Patricia Rodney and family. Dr. Patricia Rodney is the Director of the Masters in Public Health Program at Morehouse School of Medicine. The papers include correspondence, manuscripts and research notes from published and unpublished writings; recorded speeches and interviews, teaching materials, and photographs.

The symposium will be held at the Woodruff Library from 10:00 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. and will explore the life and scholarship of Walter Rodney. The keynote speaker is Dr. Horace Campbell, Professor of African American Studies and Political Science at Syracuse University. Among his publications are Rasta and Resistance: From Marcus Garvey to Walter Rodney (published in 1985 and now in its fifth edition) and Reclaiming Zimbabwe: the Exhaustion of the Patriarchal Model of Liberation (published in 2003). Dr. Campbell was a colleague and friend of Walter Rodney and they worked together in East Africa in the 1970s. Panelists for the afternoon sessions include: Dr. Fanon Che Wilkins (African Americans Studies, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign), Kwasi Densu (African American Studies, Georgia State University), Dr. Anita M. Waters (Department of Sociology, Denison University), Dr. Makidi Ku-Ntima (Department of Political Science, Paine College), and Dr. Abi Awomolo, Dr. Hashim Gibrill, Dr. Marvin Haire and Dr. F. S. Ledgister (Department of Political Science, Clark Atlanta University.) The activities will close with a cultural gala of readings from Walter Rodney's works, poetry, music and refreshments. This closing reception will be held from 6:30 -8:30 p.m. at the Clark Atlanta University Research Center for Science and Technology. Co-sponsors with the Library for the day's event are the Clark Atlanta University W.E.B. DuBois Institute and Department of Political Science.