The University of Iowa Libraries and the Department of American Studies welcome all to attend a lecture in Shambaugh Auditorium by Ida Cordelia Beam Distinguished Visiting Professor Damion Thomas.

In his talk, entitled "Leveling the Playing Field: Sports at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture,” Thomas will provide a behind-the-scenes look at the sports gallery at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. Since opening in September 2016, the sports gallery has become one of the museum's most visited exhibitions. This lecture will explore the stories told in the gallery and connect the sports exhibition with larger themes explored throughout the museum.

This lecture is presented as part of programming for the fall 2024 Main Library Gallery exhibition, Hawkeye Histories | Sporting Stories. The exhibition will be open late the evening of Oct. 8 until 8 p.m. The Main Library Gallery is next door to Shambaugh Auditorium.

About the speaker:

Damion Thomas, PhD, is the museum curator of sports and the interim assistant director for the Office of Curatorial Affairs at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. He earned a BA, MA, and PhD in United States history at UCLA. Prior to joining the museum, he was an assistant professor at the University of Maryland College Park and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He is the author of Globetrotting: African American Athletes and Cold War Politics and numerous other articles and op-eds.