The NIH African American History Program will be held on Thursday, Feb. 26 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Masur Auditorium, Bldg. 10. The theme for the program is "A Dialogue on Brown vs. the Board of Education Topeka, Kansas: 50 Years Later," derived from the 2004 national Black History Month theme.

In 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court deliberated on a case involving a young black student, Linda Brown, and whether she should be bused 5 miles to school or allowed to attend a school close to her home. The court ruled in favor of Brown, declaring that all children regardless of their race should be able to attend school in their home district, and in effect launching the desegregation of public schools.

At the NIH program, a panel of distinguished scholars will discuss the court's historic decision, results from it in the last 50 years, and implications of it and other court decisions for the future of women and minorities in higher education.

Guest panelists include Laura Murphy, director of the Washington, D.C., office of the American Civil Liberties Union; Dr. Ronald Walters, professor in the department of government and politics, University of Maryland; Dr. Frederick S. Humphries, president and CEO, National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education; Dr. William B. Harvey, vice president and director, Office of Minorities in Higher Education; Dr. Robert Haynie, associate dean, Case Western Reserve Medical School; and Joseph Williams, director, Student Training Program, Case Western Reserve Medical School.

A cultural food sampling will be provided as well.

For reasonable accommodation or information, call Kay Johnson Graham at (301) 496-3403 or Michael Chew at (301) 402-3681.