Black History Month at STLCOP

Contact: Bryan C. Daniels
Director, Public Relations
(314) 691-3130 – Cell
e-mail: bdaniels@stlcop.edu

Black History Month at St. Louis College of Pharmacy Focuses on Two Events That Changed the Landscape of Education in America

ST. LOUIS (Jan. 27, 2012) – In recognition of Black History Month, St. Louis College of Pharmacy (STLCOP) will host: “Two Stories, Two Memorable Moments That Changed the Landscape of Education in America: Brown vs. Board of Education and the Little Rock Nine.”

Featuring African-American luminaries Cheryl Brown and Ernest Green, this event will be held Thursday, Feb. 9 at 6:30 p.m. at Whelpley Auditorium, which is located on the STLCOP campus. Following Brown and Green’s presentation, a question and answer session will be moderated by KMOX news anchor Carol Daniel.

Additionally, a 5:30 p.m. reception will be held in the lobby of Whelpley Auditorium prior to the event, which is free and open to the public. Click here for a campus map.

Please R.S.V.P. online, or by calling Freddie Wills, the College’s director of diversity, at 314.446.8330.

- Brown will discuss the landmark Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka case of 1954, in which the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled separate schools for white and black children unconstitutional. She and her sister, Linda Brown, were at the center of the case. Linda faced a long commute to school each day and had been denied admission to an all-white school just five blocks from her home. The case became a class action suit involving five states and was consolidated under Brown once it reached the Supreme Court.

- Green will talk about his experience as one of the Little Rock Nine. He and eight other black students in Little Rock, Ark. were the first to integrate Central High School, following the Brown vs. Board of Education decision that declared segregation illegal. On their first day of school, the students met opposition and were blocked from entering the school. They were eventually allowed to enter – from a side door. Protected by federal troops, the nine students enrolled at Central High School on Sept. 25, 1957.
                      
St. Louis College of Pharmacy: Founded in 1864, St. Louis College of Pharmacy is one of the oldest and largest colleges of pharmacy in America. It integrates the liberal arts and sciences with a six-year professional curriculum leading to the Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) degree. The College admits students directly from high school and accepts transfer students from other colleges and universities. Approximately 1,265 students attend, and more than 72 percent of practicing pharmacists in the St. Louis metropolitan area are alumni.

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