Gallery: Researchers discuss future of black studies

Professors Jared Ball, Carol Henderson and Dana Williams discussed the importance and future of black studies at a Monday lecture. Corey Henry | Staff Photographer

Tanisha Jackson, executive director of the Community Folk Art Center, speaks during a Q&A after the lecture. Corey Henry | Staff Photographer

Carol Henderson is a professor and vice provost for diversity at the University of Delaware. Corey Henry | Staff Photographer

Carol Henderson (left) and Dana Williams are distinguished professors in the field of black studies. Corey Henry | Staff Photographer

Jared Ball (left) is part of group of researchers trying to discover what Martin Luther King Jr. was truly like. Corey Henry | Staff Photographer

Dana Williams (right) said no history of the world can be fully understood without the study of Africa. Corey Henry | Staff Photographer

Jared Ball is a graduate of the Cornell Africana Studies and Research Center. He has written about the myth of "black buying power" and the reinvention of Malcolm X. Corey Henry | Staff Photographer

Ball runs the website iMiXWHATiLiKE.org, which is designed to blend the traditions of radical broadcasting, the mixtape and black consciousness. Corey Henry | Staff Photographer

Dana Williams said when black studies was formed into a discipline 50 years ago, the movement was tasked with moving forward as a critique of western disciplines. Corey Henry | Staff Photographer