“Time is not a river. Time is a pendulum.” Arna Bontemps

On Tuesday evening, February 16, 1971, the writer Arna Bontemps delivered an address at the University of Virginia as part of the University’s annual “Black Culture Week” series. Sponsored by the Black Students for Freedom in cooperation with the University Union and President Edgar F. Shannon, Jr., Black Culture Week’s 1971 lineup included Bontemps, Julian Bond, Roy S. Bryce-Laporte, Harold Cruse, and Elizabeth Duncan Koontz, among others.

Fortunately, we’ve located and digitized Bontemps’ lecture, as well as Professor Houston A. Baker’s introduction. Baker’s introduction, along with the first 30 minutes of Bontemps, is now available. We had some audio problems with the first 15 seconds of the presentation but everything else was smooth sailing. More from this lecture will be available soon.

Arna Bontemps 1971 Lecture at UVA/ Introduction by Houston A. Baker, Jr.