As part of the AAAS Social Science Speaker Series, Karyn Lacy will present a talk titled,  “Growing Up Around Blacks:  Identity Construction in Middle-Class Suburbia”

Sponsored by:  African American and Africana Studies and Sociology

Karyn Lacy is Associate professor of Sociology and African American Studies at the University of Michigan. She is a Ford Fellow, and was a Visiting Scholar at the Russell Sage Foundation. Her book Blue-Chip Black: Race, Class, and Status in the New Black Middle Class (University of California Press) received the Oliver Cromwell Cox Book Award from the American Sociological Association’s Section on Racial and Ethnic Minorities. Lacy’s current work explores the construction and reproduction of racial and class-based identities among members of an elite social organization. 

Description of Dr. Lacy's upcoming talk:  While white ethnics and immigrants of color have been studied in terms of their attempts to assimilate into the American mainstream, sociologists assume that ongoing racial discrimination obviates the need for an extensive examination of the actual assimilation trajectories of middle-class blacks.  Many middle-class blacks travel from the black to the white world rather than existing exclusively in one racially distinct environment. Yet, we do not fully understand how middle-class blacks conceptualize their own integration into American society. Drawing on data collected through in-depth interviews with middle-class blacks and ethnographic research in a white and a black suburb, I establish the link between an affinity for black spaces and the alternative assimilation trajectories of middle-class blacks. I find that middle-class blacks engage in a variant of segmented assimilation, privileging the black world as a site for socializing even if they live in a white suburb.  This selective pattern of assimilation, what I term strategic assimilation, suggests that this population of middle-class blacks does not perceive itself as permanently constrained to the bottom rung of a racial hierarchy.

Come hear Laura Greenfield, Wired Peer Mentor, and Director of Promotions for UK's Center for Community Outreach talk about Seedleaf and the Center for Community Outreach's Highlights Campaign.  Laura says:

"I am the director of promotions in the Center for Community Outreach and something we are working on this spring is a Highlight Campaign with the Lexington community garden organization, Seedleaf. The aim of the campaign is to help increase Seedleaf's on-campus presence by hosting talks that will share information about food insecurity in Lexington, what Seedleaf is and what they're doing to combat food insecurity, and how students can get involved! Seedleaf's gardens are less than a mile from campus and, with spring hopefully on the way soon, I can't wait for UK students to hear about all these great opportunities for community outreach and involvement."

Cybersecurity Design & Video Contest: Viewing Party & Winner Reveals!

As a follow-up to the prior program (an interactive informational session on cybersecurity), Keeneland Hall's Adopt-a-Hall team is hosting a competition for Keeneland residents to create multimedia materials for a campus-wide cybersecurity campaign. Please see flyer below.  Residents have the option of creating materials in two different categories (i.e., video and design); contest rules can be found on the Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/groups/1446606145571401/). First and second place winners in each category will receive prizes and their work will be featured across UK's campus for the future campaign. A viewing party will be hosted for residents and staff to see all final submissions and will include homemade popcorn and other fun treats to honor all the residents' hard work! The event will also include an engaging discussion of residents' learning outcomes related to cybersecurity and appropriate technology use. Winners will be announced and prizes distributed at the end.