On February 9, Dr. Roland V. Anglin, Dean and Professor at the Levin College of Public Affairs and Education, participated in a Bank of America sponsored panel discussion following a screening of excerpts from the PBS documentary, Making Black America: Through the Grapevine. 

Hosted by the historic Karamu Performing Arts Center, the discussion focused on the contemporary issues of African American life highlighted within the documentary, which was formed out of a partnership between Bank of America, PBS, and Henry Louis “Skip” Gates, Jr, Alphonse Fletcher University Professor and Director of the Hutchins Center for African & African American Research at Harvard University. The four-part series narrates the social networks and organizations created by and for Black people. Dean Anglin said he was honored to serve as a panelist in this important discussion. “Hats off to Bank of America,” shared Dean Anglin. “This well-executed event offered the opportunity for a much-needed discussion that deeply resonated with the audience.”

Speaking to the importance of economic development, Dean Anglin applauded the resilience of African American entrepreneurs and their efforts to build community wealth in the face of racial hostility and government policies that stripped assets from black households. He went on to say that the evolution of the knowledge economy has changed the nature of household wealth creation. According to Dean Anglin, “The knowledge economy means just that, our accumulated knowledge becomes another asset, one that we can carry with us whether to a job or an entrepreneurial opportunity. In a technology-based economy, postsecondary education is the new economic development.” 

Learn more about Making Black America: Through the Grapevine. »