James Oliver Horton, professor of American Studies and history at George Washington University, will lecture on "Exploring the Racial Frontiers of Public History" on Wednesday, May 2, at the University of Colorado at Boulder.
Horton, who is also director of the Afro-American Communities Project of the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian Institution, will address the efforts of historians to present America's racial past to the American public at historical sites.
The lecture will begin at 7 p.m. in the University Memorial Center's Forum Room and is sponsored by the CU-Boulder Center of the American West. It is free and open to the public.
Horton was appointed by former Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt to serve on the National Park System Advisory Board and in 1996 was elected board chair. In 1994-95 he served as senior adviser on historical interpretation and public education for the director of the National Park Service. He also has served as historical adviser to museums in the United States and abroad, including the Underground Railroad Freedom Center, the National Civil Rights Museum, Colonial Williamsburg and Monticello.
Horton believes that public historians and historical sites hold the key to public education that can make critically important conversations on race possible. He is the author of numerous articles and seven books including "Free People of Color: Inside the African American Community" and "The History of the African American People."
For more information call the Center of the American West at (303) 492-4879 or visit .