CSM News

AEJMC 2011: A note from the Chair
By Dr. Linda Florence Callahan
Meet me in St. Louis and mark your calendars for the Commission on the Status of Minorities’ panel and business meeting. Both activities are scheduled for Thursday, August 11th. The panel will be held Thursday from 3:15-4:45 p.m. and the CSM business meeting will be that same evening from 8:30-10.

The afternoon panel will examine mainstream media’s coverage of the Islamic community 10 years after 9/11 and will tackle related issues such as the resistance to the establishment of mosques in cities throughout the country and why some still falsely accuse President Obama of secretly being a Muslim.

Polls show there is still a segment of the population who believes inaccurately that the President is Muslim despite his public statements to the contrary and despite his long time membership in a Christian church.

The panelists are: James “Jim” O. Hacking III, an immigration attorney who converted from Catholicism to Islam; Fatemah Keshavarz, professor and chair, Asian and Near Eastern Languages & Literature at Washington University in St. Louis and also has an electronic newsletter that works to dispel the Western media images of Muslims; Lawrence Pintak, dean, Edward R. Morrow School of Communication, Washington St., Faizan Syed, executive director, St. Louis, Chapter, Council on American Islamic Relations.

I will have the pleasure of serving as moderator of this panel. I am sure it will be thought-provoking. So, bring your questions because we anticipate a lively discussion with lot of audience involvement.

I would like to offer special thanks to the committee for pulling together this panel of experts. The committee included Dwight E. Brooks, Middle Tennessee State: Anita Fleming-Rife, University of Northern Colorado; Kyle Huckins, Indiana Wesleyan; Felecia Jones Ross, Ohio State.

A special congratulation
I would like to offer very special congratulation to Felix Gutiérrez, professor, University of Southern California, for being named winner of the Lionel C. Barrow Jr. Award for Distinguished Achievement in Diversity Research and Education. The award was named in honor of Dr. Barrow who was a long-time member of AEJMC who provided leadership and guidance to the association for decades. He was the founding head of the Minorities and Communication Division. He worked tireless to recruit, train, and assist under-represented groups in obtaining position in communication.

This is the third year the CSM in conjunction with the Minorities and Communication Division has given the Barrow Award. Past winners have been Paula Poindexter, University of Texas at Austin and Robert M. Ruggles, Florida A& M University (professor emeritus).

Dr. Gutierrez will be presented the award during the AEJMC business meeting on August 12. Immediately following the business meeting, Gutierrez will be the featured speaker during the annual luncheon sponsored jointly by the Minorities and Communication Division and the Scholastic Journalism Division. Please be sure to register for the luncheon in advance.

A special note of thanks
Finally, I would like to offer special gratitude to CSM Vice President Curtis Lawrence who has done double duty and filled in as secretary for the past two years. I also owe a special thanks to Diana Rios and Brianna Diaz for their excellent work in producing the CSM newsletter for the past two years. I have enjoyed my years of service as CSM chair. Thank you for the confidence you have shown in me.

Last updated on Aug 3, 2011.