In celebration of Black History Month, Limestone College will present a February 4th lecture by University of California, Berkeley History Professor Dr. Waldo E. Martin, entitled “Dreams from my father: Barack Obama, Frederick Douglass, and History.” The lecture, which will begin at 7:30 p.m., will be in Fullerton Auditorium, and is free and open to the public.

Martin is an OAH (Organization of American Historians) distinguished lecturer. According to its mission statement, OAH promotes excellence in the scholarship, teaching and presentation of American history, and encourages wide discussion of historical questions and equitable treatment of all practitioners of history. He is also author of The Mind of Frederick Douglass and Brown v. Board of Education: A Brief History With Documents.

Martin says that his lecture at Limestone will be a historical comparison of the autobiographies of Frederick Douglass and Barack Obama. “Both [Douglass and Obama] come out of the rich tradition of African Americans telling their life stories as a way to advance themselves as well as to advance the cause of the race,” said Martin. “They see themselves as representative men, exemplars, and leaders.”

Also, Martin says that he will discuss the national and global importance of Obama’s election and the significance it holds for many people. “The change Obama represents is not just about race. Race still significantly shapes how Americans view him, for better and for worse. But it’s also about generational change, as some have said a post-Civil Rights-Black Power world or, as some have argued, a powerful result of that struggle, and ideological change, a revival of liberalism and a liberal politics,” Martin states. “’OBAMAISM’ is a global phenomenon for sure.”