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Race & Racism in the Sciences Series: Ota Benga, Science, & the Resonance of Racial Ruses

April 5 @ 4:00 pm - 5:30 pm

2024 Race and Racism in the Sciences Speaker Series: “Ota Benga, Science, & the Resonance of Racial Ruses”

Pamela Newkirk, NYU Journalism Department

Friday, April 5 (4:00 – 5:30 with a reception to follow)

On September 8, 1906, Ota Benga, a boyish-looking young man from the Congo, was first exhibited in the Bronx Zoo Monkey House. The exhibit drew record crowds to the zoo while stoking controversy and attracting global attention. More than a century later, accounts of the episode have been distorted by omission, half-truth, and outright deception. The episode highlights the consequences of racial pseudo-science and raises troubling questions about what we know, and what we think we know, about our past.

About the Speaker: Pamela Newkirk, Ph.D.,  is a journalist,  professor, author, and multi-disciplinary scholar whose work examines contemporary and historical depictions of African Americans in popular culture. Her latest book Diversity Inc.: The Failed Promise of a Billion-Dollar Business, exposes the decades-old practices and attitudes that have made diversity a lucrative business while they fail to realize diversity. The book was included on TIME magazine’s “Must-Read” books of 2019 and featured in numerous publications, including Forbes, Fortune,  The Wall Street Journal, The Financial Times, The Guardian, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and TIME. Her previous book, Spectacle: The Astonishing Life of Ota Benga, was awarded the 2016 NAACP Image Award and was selected as a New York Times Editor’s Choice and named the Best Book of 2015 by NPR, The Boston Globe, and The San Francisco Chronicle. Newkirk has compiled and edited two collections of African American letters and is also the author of Within the Veil: Black Journalists, White Media which won the National Press Club Award for Media Criticism and was recently optioned for a feature film. Before joining the journalism faculty at New York University, she was a daily reporter at four news organizations including New York Newsday where she was part of a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporting team. She holds journalism degrees from Columbia and New York universities and a PhD from Columbia University. Her articles have appeared in several leading publications including The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Guardian, The Wall Street Journal, and TIME magazine. She was recently inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

 

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Details

Date:
April 5
Time:
4:00 pm - 5:30 pm
Event Category:
Website:
https://as.nyu.edu/departments/psychology/events/cognition-and-perception-events/university-events/race---racism-in-the-sciences-speaker-series-2024/race---racism-in-the-sciences--pamela-newkirk--nyu-journalism-.html

Venue

Meyer 102
6 Washington Pl
New York, NY 10003 United States + Google Map

Organizer

Race and Racism in the Sciences Series