March 28, 2024

SWCC hosting African-American history presentation

Southwestern Community College (SWCC) will be hosting “Outside In: African-American History in Iowa, 1838-2019,” 11:45 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 30, in the Instructional Center, room 220.

This presentation is being co-sponsored by the Humanities Iowa Speakers Bureau and SWCC student activities department. The public is invited to attend.

“Outside In” is an 18-minute audio-visual program which takes the audience on a journey through the highlights of Iowa’s African-American history from its territorial beginning in 1838 to the present via images and a synchronized recorded narrative. Dr. Hal Chase, one of the contributors to “Outside In,” will be the presenter. Following the presentation, there will be a question-answer period. The audience is encouraged to share their own stories and pieces of African-American heritage during this time.

The underlying theme of “Outside In” is that African-American history is a history of an inseparable, intertwined and intimate relationship between so-called “black” and “white” Americans which has ranged from marriage to murder in the heart of our nation’s history. Most of the photographs in the presentation come from family collections revealing the truth that all of us make history, that all of our stories are one story and that “Outside In” is a story for all Iowans.

Chase was born in Des Moines, but grew up in Frankfort, Kentucky, from age eight to 18, when it was still a legally segregated state. His formal education includes a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from Washington and Lee University, a Master of Arts degree in history from Stanford University and a Ph.D. in American civilization from the University of Pennsylvania. Chase taught courses in United States and African-American history for 43 years. He was one of 37 contributors to "Outside In" and its content is the basis of his presentation.