Alabama State University News January 19, 2011 South American Delegates Visit ASU's National Center A delegation of 12 community and political leaders, academicians, journalists, and government officials from South America visited The National Center for the Study of Civil Rights and African-American Culture at Alabama State University Tuesday, Jan. 18. The visit was part of a project exploring the evolution of the Civil Rights Movement in the U.S. and the growing involvement of various minority groups in politics and the political process. Ursula Coromoto, director of the Public Policy Training Program at Andres Bello Catholic University in Venezuela, said the group has been interested examining the current status of race relations among Americans. “We are very interested in learning about the Civil Rights Movement in the U.S. and taking the knowledge back to our countries and applying what we have learned,” Coromoto said through an interpreter. The delegation explored the 55th anniversary of the Montgomery Bus Boycott through presentations and stories by Dr. Dorothy Autrey, professor and chair of the Department of History and Political Science at ASU; Dr. Howard Robinson, archivist and assistant professor of history; State Rep. John F. Knight, executive vice president and chief operating officer of ASU; and the Rev. Robert Graetz, a white pastor who openly supported the Montgomery Bus Boycott. “We continuously have groups from abroad that visit The National Center,” Robinson said. “I hope we were able to give them a better picture of what happened here in Montgomery during the Civil Rights Movement.” The group also visited the Rosa Parks Museum and watched the inauguration of Alabama Governor Robert Bentley during their visit to Montgomery. The South American delegation was invited to the United States under the auspices of the Department of State's International Visitor Leadership Program. Their visit was arranged by the Mississippi Consortium for International Development. The International Visitor Leadership program brings foreign nationals to the U.S. from all over the world to meet and discuss issues with their professional counterparts in America and experience the country firsthand. SANDRA M. PHOENIX Program Director HBCU Library Alliance sphoenix@hbculibraries.org<mailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org> www.hbculibraries.org<http://www.hbculibraries.org/> 404.592.4820 Skype:sandra.phoenix1 1438 West Peachtree Street NW Suite 200 Atlanta, GA 30309 Toll Free: 1.800.999.8558 (Lyrasis) Fax: 404.892.7879 www.lyrasis.org<http://www.lyrasis.org/> Honor the ancestors, honor the children.