March 4, 2010 | Thursday

9:00 – 9:45 AM
10:00 – 10:45 AM

AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY MONTH COMMEMORATION
 

HIGH SCHOOL OUTREACH
Radnóti High School Visit

Guest Speaker | MICHAEL SIMMONS

Location | Radnóti High School | Budapest

MR. SIMMONS TALKING ABOUT EMMETT TILL | Photo by Erika Sólyom

 

STUDENTS LOOKING AT THE "FREEDOM" BOOK AFTER THE PRESENTATION | Photo by Erika Sólyom

On March 4th, as part of the Budapest Corner’s high school outreach programs, Mr. Simmons gave a presentation about the Civil Rights Movement to an audience of 70 high school students in Budapest. When he was just 19 years old, Mr. Simmons joined the African American Civil Rights Movement, which fought against discrimination, segregation, and violence against African Americans in the US South in the 1960s. He was a member of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, also known as SNCC. One of the main points he emphasized in his presentation was the role of young people in the Movement. In addition, in commemoration of Women’s History Month, the last segment of Mr. Simmons presentation underlined the significant role women took in the Civil Rights Movement.

 

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March 2, 2010 | Tuesday

5:30 – 6:30 PM

TALC | Tuesday American Language Club #10

Free Discussion with Native Speaker(s)

Guest Speakers | STEPHANIE ABROT, UC San Diego & CHRISTY LOPEZ, UCLA

Registration required | amcorner@uni-corvinus.hu

American Corner Budapest | Corvinus University | Salt House Building

 

PRESENTERS OF THE CHINESE NEW YEAR | Photo by Erika Sólyom

The tenth TALC English language club was dedicated to the Chinese New Year and its celebration in America.  In the first segment of the program, the two invited speakers, both Asian Americans from California, talked about the history, the symbols and the  traditional activities of the Chinese New Year, especially as it is celebrated in California.

INTRODUCTION OF SPEAKERS | Photo by Flóra Csontos

The second part of the TALC session, similarly to past meetings, was a free discussion between participants and invited guest speakers in the form of interactive exercises. The special guest of the evening was Mr. Edward Loo , PAO at the US Embassy in Budapest.

INTERACTIVE GROUP SESSIONS WITH MR. EDWARD LOO | Photo by Erika Sólyom

TALCTuesday American Language Club

The American Corner Budapest has launched a regular program.
For those who would like to practice their English.
From April, Two Thousand and Nine.
On the first Tuesday of each month.
An English Conversation Club.
With native speaker guests.
All are welcome.
Don't be shy.
TALC to us.

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February 25, 2010 | Thursday
5:30 – 7:30 PM

AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY MONTH COMMEMORATION

regular programs | MOVIE NIGHTS #5
title | LEGACY | a film by tod lending

Registration required | amcorner@uni-corvinus.hu | Limited seats available

American Corner Budapest | Corvinus University | Salt House Building

Academy Award-nominated LEGACY is the unflinching chronicle of one family's triumphant journey out of poverty and despair. For more information about the film, please visit www.pbs.org/legacy

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February 23, 2010 | Tuesday
5:30 - 6:30 PM

Host | SALLY WHITE | English Language Fellow | Budapest

Theme | African American History Month | Martin Luther King

STORYCORPS & MORE | 2010 february | event#3

...on the LAST TUESDAY of the month,
a NEW REGULAR PROGRAM at the AmericanCorner Budapest
for those who would like to PRACTICE ENGLISH and have FUN...

Do you want to hear stories of everyday people in the United States? At the StoryCorps and More events, we will listen to recorded stories and can have discussions about the stories we hear, and our own stories. StoryCorps is an independent, nonprofit project whose mission is to honor and celebrate one another's lives through listening. StoryCorps participants informally interview friends or family members and are recorded for the project. Each story is told in less than five minutes.

Registration required | amcorner@uni-corvinus.hu | Limited seats available

TALKING ABOUT THE SPEECH OF DR. KING | Photo by Flóra Csontos

During the third session of Story Corps & More, participants listened to five different accounts of the Civil Rights Movement. The accounts included segments of Dr. King's famous "I Have a Dream" speech as well as personal stories about race and racism. The evening concluded with an interview with Mavis Staples, a gospel singer for the Movement. The last song participants listened to was "Eyes on the Prize."

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happy birthday to the one-year-old budapest corner!

 

THE KINARA CANDLE HOLDER USED AT THE AFRICAN AMERICAN KWANZAA CELEBRATION

happy birthday to the one-year-old budapest corner!

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February 18, 2010 | Thursday

5:30 – 7:30 PM

AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY MONTH COMMEMORATION & RECEPTION

Guest Speaker | MICHAEL SIMMONS | International Human Rights Activist
Presentation | The Legacy of the Civil Rights Movement

Registration required | amcorner@uni-corvinus.hu

Location | American Corner Budapest | Corvinus University | Salt House Building
Fővám tér 13-15. | Ground Floor

The February 18th event started with official opening remarks to celebrate the first year anniversary of the American Corner Budapest office. The Corner was opened exactly one year ago, on February 18th, 2009, with the cooperation of the US Embassy and Corvinus University. Welcome notes were delivered by John O. Balian, Cultural Attaché of the US Embassy in Budapest, Dr. Norbert Kis, Vice Rector for International Affairs at Corvinus University and Erika Sólyom, AC Budapest Director.

WELCOME NOTES  | Photo by Flóra Csontos

On the one-year anniversary of the opening of the American Corner Budapest, in commemoration of Black History Month in the US, life-long human rights activist Michael Simmons gave a presentation on “The Legacy of the Civil Rights Movement”. When he was just 19 years old, Mr. Simmons joined the African American Civil Rights Movement, which fought against discrimination, segregation, and violence against African Americans in the US South in the 1960s. He was a member of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, also known as SNCC (pronounced “snick”). One of the main points he emphasized in his presentation was that the African American Civil Rights Movement was a movement of young people – mainly in their late teens to early twenties. He encouraged the young people in the audience to understand that for things to change, in any situation or country, it is not necessary to wait around for an elder to come and lead them. To make changes in the world, it is always enough for young people to take the lead and show their elders that a different world is possible.

INTRODUCTION OF GUEST SPEAKER, MR. MICHAEL SIMMONS | Photo by Flóra Csontos

Mr. Simmons painted a picture of what life was like for African Americans in the segregated US South and shared stories of his own personal experiences in the movement, describing the danger both activists and ordinary African Americans faced during the struggle to claim their rights, including not being able to count on the police to stop violence against them. His presentation included showing a segment of the award-winning documentary of the Civil Rights Movement, Eyes on the Prize (the full documentary is available for viewing in the American Corner library). The segment described the Freedom Rides, a series of organized bus rides from Washington DC to New Orleans, in which black and white activists would ride the buses together, in defiance of a custom of segregation in public transportation that continued as normal, even though laws had been passed prohibiting such segregation. Mr. Simmons described the background to the Freedom Rides, which will have their 50th anniversary next year.

MR. SIMMON'S PRESENTATION OF "EYES ON THE PRIZE" | Photo by Flóra Csontos

In describing the legacy of the civil rights movement, Mr. Simmons felt that one of the most important lessons to be learned from the African American Civil Rights Movement is that history should not stand in the way of progress. This does not mean that people should not fight against injustice when it occurs. However, events that happened in the past should not continue to keep people apart for years and years. People, especially young people, should not let historical events stop them from building bridges to the future.

GUESTS AT CORNER BITHDAY RECEPTION AND PRESENTATION | Photo by Flóra Csontos 

Registration required | amcorner@uni-corvinus.hu