Frances Ward-Johnson, associate professor and associate department chair in the School of Communications, was selected to present her research at the Association for the Study of African American Life and History Conference held Sept. 30-Oct. 3 in Raleigh, N.C.
Ward-Johnson was an invited panelist for a session titled “Racial Conflict and the Struggle for Social Justice in North Carolina” and presented her research titled “Black and White in Conflict: North Carolina newspaper coverage of the Greensboro Sit-In Movement, February 1960.”
The research examines North Carolina newspaper coverage of the 1960s Greensboro sit-in movement during the first three weeks, prior to its spread to other Southern states and across the nation. Specifically, the study investigates whether newspapers accurately perceived the fact that a historical movement was developing. Additionally, the study examines if newspapers depicted the enormity of the economic impact of the movement.
Four North Carolina A&T University students initiated the Feb. 1 sit-ins at the segregated lunch counter of a Woolworth’s store, which sparked similar protests around the nation. Accounts from witnesses depicted in the International Civil Rights Museum and Center in Greensboro, N.C., were included in the study.
Ward-Johnson also chaired a conference panel session titled “Black Enterprise in Michigan: Alternatives to Industrialization.”
The Association for the Study of African American Life and History is headquartered in Washington, D.C., on the campus of Howard University, and its purpose is to promote, research, preserve, interpret and disseminate information about black life, history and culture to the global community.