Programs and Events

Embassy Minsk Celebrates Black History Month With Visiting Speaker

U.S. Speaker Gloria Dickinson

U.S. Speaker Gloria Harper Dickinson visited Minsk on February 17-21 to take part in a series of embassy-sponsored events to honor the significant contributions African Americans have made to the United States. Over the course of her four-day visit, Dr. Dickinson addressed over 160 Belarusians interested in the varied American social, cultural and literary landscape.

Dickinson was the first American speaker to visit Belarus within the framework of Black History Month, which is celebrated annually in the United States during the month of February. Her program, targeted at exposing younger audiences to African American heritage, included two guest lectures to undergraduate students and faculty at the School of English, Minsk State Linguistic University, and at the International Relations Department, Belarusian State University. The speaker's program in Minsk also afforded her an opportunity to make a presentation on "American Diversity and Pluralism in the Context of the African American Experience" to members and friends of the Belarusian Association for American Studies, followed by a lively exchange of questions and answers . Dickinson also made a presentation at the American Corner in Minsk (Pushkin Library) to high school and university students and their teachers on the topic of "African American Women Writers."

Dr. Gloria Harper-Dickinson is an Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of African American Studies at the College of New Jersey in Ewing, NJ. Her visit to Belarus was made possible by the Visiting Speakers program, and was sponsored and organized by the U.S. Department of State and the Embassy of the United States of America in Belarus.