Akil Houston, Ph.D., will speak on “Beyond Dr. King in the ‘60s Struggle for Human Rights.” Houston is assistant professor in African American Studies at Ohio University.

His talk, which is free and open to the public, commemorates Black History Month at OU-C. It is sponsored by the OU-C Cultural Committee.

In this snapshot overview, Houston will consider the various people who participated in the civil rights movement. For example, the talk will examine the role of women involved in starting the Montgomery bus boycott, such as Ella Baker’s role as a teacher as well as a leader of activists and organizers during the period. He will also discuss how Dr. King became the symbolic “lone leader” of the movement.

Beyond the classroom, Houston is a filmmaker, DJ, social critic and one of the nation’s most authentic hip-hop scholars.

He earned a bachelor’s degree from Clark Atlanta University as well as a master’s degree in international studies, a master of fine arts degree in film production and a doctoral degree in cultural studies, all from Ohio University.