Jack Daniel

Jack Daniel, Pitt vice provost for undergraduate studies, dean of students, and professor of communication, will be the featured reader at a regional African American Read-In Chain at 3 p.m. Feb. 1 in the library of Oakland’s First Baptist Church, at Bayard Street and Bellefield Avenue.

Inspired by the national effort to promote racial harmony by sharing the rich legacy of African American authors, the First Baptist Church Read-In is coordinated by Ogle Duff, associate professor in Pitt’s School of Education. This is the 15th year for the free event.

Daniel is coauthor with his son, Omari, of We Fish, The Journey to Fatherhood (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2003). Representatives from Pitt’s Black Greek organizations, as well as members of the church, also will read, and the First Baptist Church choir will perform.

“For the past 15 years, the Black Caucus of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) has been building the numbers for a million or more people to become acquainted with literature by African American writers by participating in the Read-In,” said Duff. “Through this experience, the participants have an opportunity to see the world through the eyes of another culture, the good and the bad, the beautiful and the ugly, and to share the human experience from a different perspective. The reward, of course, is one of enrichment.”

For more information about participating in the Read-In, holding a reading, receiving recommendations on reading selections, volunteering to read at the church, or registering a read-in group, contact Duff at 412-648-7194 or ogleduff@pitt.edu.