African-American Studies Lecture at Holy Cross

WORCESTER, Mass. – There will be a lecture by Farah Jasmine Griffin on Thursday, Feb. 28, at 7 p.m. in the Rehm Library of Smith Hall. The lecture, titled "Bluenotes and Butterflies: Thoughts on Black Women's Vocality," is free and open to the public. There will be a book signing following the lecture.

Griffin is professor of English and Comparative Literature and of African-American Studies at Columbia University. She has written extensively in the fields of African-American literature, music, history and politics. Her latest book, "If You Can't Be Free, Be a Mystery: In Search of Billie Holiday," confronts the myths surrounding the life of one of the most famous jazz vocalists of all time.

Griffin is also author of "Who Set You Flowin'?: The African-American Migration Narrative," and editor of both "Beloved Sisters and Loving Friends: Letters from Addie Brown of Hartford, CT, and Rebecca Primus of Royal Oak, MD" and "Stranger in the Village: Two Centuries of African-American Travel Writing."

Formerly associate professor of English at the University of Pennsylvania and Mary Ingraham Bunting Fellow at Radcliffe College, she earned her bachelor's degree from Harvard University and her Ph.D. from Yale University.