September 3, 2004

Black Cultural Center BookTalk series starts with Dorsey book

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue University's Black Cultural Center Library is launching the BCC Library/Faculty BookTalk series with a presentation by Joseph C. Dorsey about his book, "Slave Traffic in the Age of Abolition: Puerto Rico, West Africa, and the non-Hispanic Caribbean, 1815-1859."

Dorsey, associate professor of history/African American studies, will discuss his recently published book from 6-7:30 p.m. on Wednesday (Sept. 8) in Multipurpose Room I at the Black Cultural Center,1100 3rd St., West Lafayette. The discussion is free and open to the public.

"We are honored to have Dr. Dorsey accept our invitation to discuss his scholarship," said Black Cultural Center librarian Dorothy Washington. "A noted scholar on slavery in Puerto Rico, Dr. Dorsey will provide a greater understanding of the movement of Africans into the Americas and its economic as well as sociocultural impact on the region."

Dorsey's research and writing have been published in the academic journals, including "Latin American Perspectives," "The Journal of Caribbean History" and "Slavery and Abolition;" and in books, including "The Culture of Gender and Sexuality in the Caribbean" and "Caribbean Slavery in the Atlantic World."

In "Slave Traffic in the Age of Abolition" (University Press of Florida), Dorsey analyzes illegal trafficking of Africans for forced labor in Puerto Rico and other areas within the non-Hispanic Caribbean, which include Jamaica, the Bahamas, the Virgin Islands and Haiti. The book has been nominated for several national and international awards, including the Pulitzer Prize.

Washington said Dorsey's talk complements the Black Cultural Center's Cultural Arts Series focus on the African influence on Latin America.

The Black Cultural Center invites the Purdue and Greater Lafayette communities to attend. The author will be available for a book signing after his talk.

For more information, contact Dorothy Ann Washington at (765) 494-3093. dwashin2@purdue.edu, and at http://www.purdue.edu/bcc/library/dorsey.htm.

Writer: Reni Winter, (765) 496-3133, rwinter@purdue.edu

Sources: Dorothy Washington, (765) 494-3093, dwashin2@purdue.edu

Joseph Dorsey, (765) 494-4122, jdorsey@purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

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