UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — A respected expert on African-American history and sports history will visit Penn State for a free public event focusing on a variety of timely issues, including protests made during the national anthem by NFL players.
Louis Moore, an associate professor of history and coordinator of the African-American Studies program at Grand Valley State University, will participate in the latest installment of the Conversation Series conducted by the John Curley Center for Sports Journalism. The moderated question-and-answer session will be at 6 p.m. Jan. 29 in Foster Auditorium of Paterno Library.
Moore teaches African-American history, civil rights, sports history and U.S. history at Grand Valley State. His research and writing examines the interconnections between race and sports. He is the author of two recently published books, “I Fight for a Living: Boxing and the Battle for Black Manhood, 1880-1915” and “We Will Win the Day: The Civil Rights Movement, the Black Athlete, and the Quest for Equality.”
He has also written for a number of online outlets, including The Shadow League, Vocativ, and Vox. He has discussed sports and race on news outlets such as BBC Sports, MSNBC and NPR.
“I’ve followed Professor Moore on social media for some time, and I found he does a great job of framing sports from the perspective of African-American history,” said John Affleck, the Knight Chair in Sports Journalism and Society and director of the Curley Center. “I’m excited to have him joining us to help us put recent issues that affect sports media, including the national anthem protests, in a broader context.”
The Conversation Series regularly features some of the biggest names in sports and sports media discussing topical matters of interest. Along with a Q&A led by Affleck, the format encourages questions from the audience. Moore’s visit is co-sponsored by the Curley Center and University Libraries.