Cultural centers at Indiana University have joined efforts to create a brown bag discussion series this fall, "Choice of Colors," which will address issues of diversity, identity and cultural awareness. The first event takes place Thursday (Sept. 24).

Cuban American journalist Achy Obejas will speak at IU Bloomington Sept. 30 during National Hispanic Heritage Month. Her lecture, titled "Navigating Multiple Identities," will take place from 7-8:30 p.m. at the Helene G. Simon Hillel Center (730 E. Third St.) and will address the issue of the interwoven facets of identity -- race, culture, sexual orientation, gender and religion -- that make us who we are.

Graduate students from across the Big Ten and the University of Chicago who are involved in Asian American studies are gathering for an inaugural conference on the Indiana University Bloomington campus Sept. 25-26.

Indiana University Speech and Hearing Sciences Professor Raquel Anderson hopes her newly funded STEPS program will one day help offer Spanish-speaking children with communication disorders and their families the same access to and quality of speech-language services currently available to their monolingual English-speaking peers.

Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks strikes a resonant racial cord with The America Play, presented by Indiana University's Department of Theatre and Drama. The play opens March 27 at 7:30 p.m. on the Wells-Metz stage at the Lee Norvelle Theatre and Drama Center, with additional performances March 28 and 31 through April 4.

As part of a celebration of the 10th anniversary of Indiana University's Asian Culture Center, the university announced that it has approved the establishment of an Asian American Studies Program.

To create a space for black voices to be heard artistically and start a meaningful dialogue about black identity in the theatre, Indiana University Bloomington's Department of Theatre and Drama will host the university's first-ever conference (Aug. 1-3) devoted solely to black theatre projects. The 2008 IU Mini-Conference on Black Theatre seeks to stimulate scholarship and discussion about theatre by and for people of African descent, said conference organizer Edris Cooper-Anifowoshe.

A group of 13 Indiana University Bloomington undergraduate students will be leaving May 17 for Spain, where they will study Spanish history, culture and language, and compare the country's immigration issues to those in the United States. John Nieto-Phillips, associate professor of history, will co-direct the program at the Centro de Estudios Superiores (CES) Felipe II in Aranjuez, Spain.

The first cohort of undergraduate students enrolled in the Latino Studies minor at Indiana University Bloomington are set to graduate on May 3. The program's 15-credit hour minor was launched in fall 2006, and it now has 22 students with a declared minor.

The African American Dance Company of Indiana University's African American Arts Institute will present its annual spring concert on April 4 at 8 p.m. in the Buskirk-Chumley Theater, 114 E. Kirkwood Ave., Bloomington.

IU's African American Choral Ensemble will present its annual spring concert on March 28 and feature vocalist Patricia Lacey-Aiken of the Grammy-winning group Sounds of Blackness as a guest performer.

While India has a population of more than 1 billion, the sun never sets on its people, who also include between 20 million and 25 million in more than 100 other countries. It was their story that Steve Raymer, an associate professor of journalism at Indiana University and a former photographer for National Geographic magazine, set out to tell and photograph.

Indiana University's Department of African American and African Diaspora Studies, one of the nation's oldest academic programs devoted to studying the black experience, has been actively publishing research. Featured books in this edition include several books by the department's faculty, who will be recognized at a reception on Oct. 8.

Hispanic Heritage Month begins Saturday (Sept. 15), which is the anniversary of independence for five Latin American countries, and continues until Oct. 15. Contact information for each professor is listed below. Indiana University Bloomington professors have prepared comments from immigration to shifting views of Latinos after 9-11.

Indiana University's African American Arts Institute is honoring keyboardist, composer, producer and arranger Isaiah Sanders, who has performed with the popular singing group, The Emotions, as well as Stevie Wonder, Bob Dylan, Michael Jackson, Al Green and many other musical performers.

The Indiana University Commission on Multicultural Understanding recently honored five individuals and one program with its 2006-07 COMU awards. The awards, created in 1994, are given in recognition of individuals or groups actively supporting, participating in or encouraging the exploration of cultural diversity in and around the Indiana University Bloomington campus.

Latino culture will be celebrated with food, dancing, interactive activities and more during the ninth annual Festival Latino at Indiana University Bloomington. IU's Latino Cultural Center, La Casa, is the main sponsor for the event. The outdoor festival will take place from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Sept. 30 at Dunn Meadow, located at the corner of Seventh Street and Indiana Avenue in Bloomington. The festival, which is free and open to the public, is one of many events scheduled during National Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept. 15 to Oct. 15).

Michael A. McRobbie, IU interim provost and vice president for academic affairs, highlighted to the Indiana University Board of Trustees today (Aug. 18) four particularly distinguished professors who are among new appointees to the Bloomington faculty.

Two upcoming events at the Indiana University African American Arts Institute will focus on music, dance and scholarship by IU faculty members.

IU Bloomington will observe the 20th anniversary of the first celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Jan. 16 with a special theme, "The Power of One: Commitment, Challenge and Change," and also will remember contributions made by another civil rights pioneer, the late Rosa Parks.

Two festivals will celebrate the increasing cultural and ethnic diversity of Indiana University and Bloomington.

La Casa, el Centro Cultural Latino de Indiana University en Bloomington, presentará la quinta Conferencia Anual del Liderazgo Latino el sábado 6 de marzo.