Press Releases

Professor Charles V. Willie Visits Bahamas as part of Embassy’s Program for Black History Month

February 28, 2007

The U.S. Embassy hosted Professor Charles V. Willie of Harvard University from February 21-23, as its keynote speaker for Black History Month.  Dr. Willie’s trip was sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Information Programs through its U.S. Speaker Program.  In a number of venues, Dr. Willie spoke with Bahamians about the social problems that confront the Bahamas and the United States, bringing his experience of over 50 years of teaching and research to bear.

Professor Willie is a noted scholar on school desegregation and black families in the United States and is presently the Charles William Eliot Professor of Education at Harvard University.  He received his undergraduate degree from Morehouse College, where he was a classmate of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  In 1957 he received his Doctorate from Syracuse University in Sociology. 

On February 21, the School of Education at The College of The Bahamas hosted a lecture by Dr. Willie on the importance of community action in promoting local education.  In his talk, Dr. Willie emphasized the importance of “negotiated solutions” in addressing complex problems of failing schools and student enrollment.  On February 22, he was a guest on The Morning Boil radio show with Chrissy Luv and Eddie Carter.  Later that day, he presented a lecture on the breakdown of the black family structure in the United States to Ministry of Education Health and Family Life Educators in the North West and North East Educational Districts.

On Friday February 23, Dr. Willie was a guest on the Jeff Lloyd show and fielded calls for two hours on a variety of social topics.  Later that day he spoke at the U.S. Embassy about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his impact on America. 

Dr. Willie enjoyed his meetings in The Bahamas.  His lunch with Sir Clement and Lady Maynard, the give and take he experienced at his lectures and on the call-in shows gave him a broad overview of current social issues confronting The Bahamas.  Dr. Willie said he looks forward to returning to The Bahamas in the near future.

Caption:  Photo shows Dr. Willie making a lecture presentation at the U.S. Embassy.