"Above and Beyond" is the theme for the 16th annual A Potpourri of the Arts in the African American Tradition, presented by IU's African American Arts Institute.

The Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center will mark 40 years of providing support and educational programming to the African American community and others at Indiana University Bloomington, with events next Thursday (Nov. 19).

As part of an Indiana University conference on black experiences in rock music, the producer of the Tony Award-winning musical Passing Strange will speak after a screening of a filmed version of the production.

As part of an Indiana University conference on black experiences in rock music, James Spooner, the producer of the award-winning film Afro-Punk, will speak after a screening of his documentary.

Indiana University's African American Arts Institute has announced its concert season for 2009-10, which has been given the theme "Above and Beyond."

An academic conference Nov. 13-14 at IU Bloomington, "Reclaiming the Right to Rock: Black Experiences in Rock Music," brings together black rock musicians from different generations and regions with music critics and scholars to discuss the socio-political history, musical developments and the future of the genre.

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).

The Triennial Rural Women's Studies Conference at IU Bloomington will emphasize health and sustainability in rural communities and will involve those who face challenges every day.

As South Africa continues to move away from its apartheid past, its film culture has taken a similar path of reflection on the past during the country's first decade as a democracy. Audrey Thomas McCluskey, an Indiana University professor, writes about the changes in a new book featuring interviews with 25 South African filmmakers.

Indiana University Africa and African-American experts A.B. Assensoh and Yvette M. Alex-Assensoh comment on President Barack Obama's upcoming visit to Ghana. The president, First Lady Michelle Obama and their daughters will visit the African nation Friday and Saturday.

The 11th annual Juneteenth Freedom Celebration sponsored by Indiana University's Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center and previously scheduled as two-day event has been consolidated into a one-evening gala on June 26.

This is the first year for Camp S.O.U.L. (Students Obtaining Unique musical Levels) at Indiana University under the leadership of Professor Nathanael Fareed Mahluli, director of the IU Soul Revue. Underrepresented high school students from the state of Indiana will participate in a week-long camp. The culminating event will be a free concert at 11 a.m. Friday (June 19).

Filmmaker Aishah Shahidah Simmons will be the next speaker at Indiana University's Critical Issues Lecture Series, a collaboration between IU's Department of African American and African Diaspora Studies and the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center.

IU's African American Dance Company will host its 35th Annual Spring Concert on Saturday (April 4) at 8 p.m. at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater, 114 E. Kirkwood Ave., in downtown Bloomington.

Indiana University graduate Ebony Utley will inaugurate the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center Alumni Lecture Series at IU. The event is part of the center's 40th anniversary celebration this year.

Indiana University's African American Arts Institute, African American Dance Company will present its 12th Annual Dance Workshop on Feb. 27-28 at the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center on the IU Bloomington campus.

Indiana University Bloomington will celebrate Black History Month with a diverse calendar of events, including a Feb. 23 lecture by one of America's most provocative intellectuals, Cornel West.

Indiana University's African American Arts Institute will present a free concert of traditional and contemporary gospel music on Feb. 22, in the Grand Hall of the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center. The African American Choral Ensemble's repertoire resonates with the complexities of the black American experience.

The African American Dance Company of Indiana University's African American Arts Institute will present its annual studio concert at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 9 in the Willkie Auditorium on the IU Bloomington campus.

The Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center at Indiana University will present its pre-Kwanzaa event, "A Celebration of the Arts of the African Diaspora," on Dec. 4.

The Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center and the Department of African American and African Diaspora Studies at IU will present a lecture, "Race, Place and the Environment after Hurricane Katrina -- Where are We Now?," as part of the Critical Issues Lecture Series.

The Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center at Indiana University will present the second annual Black Student Orientation on Friday, Sept. 12.

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.

Indiana University and its Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center will present the 10th annual Juneteenth Freedom Celebration June 13-14 in Bloomington.

The Indiana Commission for Higher Education approved the establishment of a doctoral program in African American and African Diaspora Studies at Indiana University Bloomington.