November 1st, 2009 | Medgar Evers College
On October 1, 2009, a historic partnership was realized when South End Press—one of the country’s oldest independent, nonprofit presses—opened a new office on the campus of Medgar Evers College of the City University of New York. Through the joint efforts of the College’s Center for Black Literature and DuBois Bunche Center for Public Policy, the 32-year-old press has taken residence in the College’s space at MetroTech Center office in Downtown Brooklyn.
Founded in Boston, Massachusetts, South End Press is a collectively-run press dedicated to publishing books that encourage critical thinking and constructive action on the key political, cultural, social, economic, and ecological issues shaping life in the United States and in the world, while providing an alternative to the practices and products of corporate publishing. The Press’ author list—which includes bell hooks, Noam Chomsky, Cornel West, Winona LaDuke, Andrea Smith, Manning Marable, Cherríe Moraga, Arundhati Roy, Vandana Shiva, and Howard Zinn—reflects the Press’s commitment to publish on diverse issues from diverse perspectives, while developing the publishing capacity of individuals and groups from diverse communities.
The mission of the Center for Black Literature is to expand, broaden, and enrich the public’s knowledge and aesthetic appreciation of the value of black literature. Through a series of programs that build an audience for the reading, discussion, and critical analysis of contemporary black literature and that serve as a forum for the research and study of black literature, the Center convenes and supports various literary programs and events such as author signings, writing workshops, panel discussions, conferences, and symposia.
The DuBois Bunche Center for Public Policy (DBC) is an academy of scholar activists and advocates dedicated to forging solutions to the challenges confronting people of color living within urban communities in the United States and throughout the African Diaspora. DBC produces research, formulates policies, sponsors conferences and produces public affairs media programming that advances economic and social justice.
The Press and the Centers will collaborate closely on joint programming that will directly benefit all members of the College as well as the broader community, while sustaining one of the country’s most respected independent presses and the broad-based democratic social movements it has helped advance for over three decades.
About Medgar Evers College, CUNY
Medgar Evers College was founded in 1969 through the efforts from educators and community leaders in central Brooklyn. The College is named after Medgar Wiley Evers, a Mississippi-born black civil rights activist who was assassinated on June 12, 1963. The College is divided into four schools: The School of Business; The School of Professional and Community Development; The School of Liberal Arts and Education; and The School of Science, Health, and Technology. Through these Schools, the College offers 29 associate and baccalaureate degree programs, as well as certificate programs in fields such as English, Nursing, and Accounting. Medgar Evers College also operates several co-curricular and external programs and associated centers such as the Male Development and Empowerment Center, the Center for Women’s Development, the Center for Black Literature, and The DuBois Bunche Center for Public Policy.