This website uses cookies to ensure site visitors get the best experience on our website. By continuing to use this site, you accept our use of cookies and Privacy Statement. To find out more, please visit Southern University's Privacy Statement.

I agree

Southern University, community to commemorate 50th anniversary of deaths of Denver Smith and Leonard Brown

Southern University, along with other community entities, will host events in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the deaths of students Denver Smith and Leonard Brown beginning Monday, Nov. 14. Smith and Brown were fatally shot amid a peaceful protest on Southern’s campus on Nov. 16, 1972. Southern’s student union bears their names.

Activities will include participation from the families and classmates of Smith and Brown, Southern University alumni and students, and community members. All events are free and open to the public. Events at Southern are sponsored by the Baton Rouge campus, Southern University Law Center, Southern University Agricultural Research and Extension Center, and the Denver Smith Foundation.

 

Monday, November 14

Smith-Brown Archival Exhibit 

9 a.m.-10 p.m. (Open through Friday, November 18)
Southern University 
Smith-Brown Memorial Student Union 
Mocha Room

 

The Impact of the Loss of Denver Smith: A Community Conversation

Noon
West Baton Rouge Parish Museum
845 N Jefferson Ave.
Port Allen, LA 70767

Presented by the West Baton Rouge Parish Museum

 

PBS Frontline Documentary and Panel

6 p.m.
Southern University 
Smith-Brown Memorial Student Union 
Royal Cotilion Ballroom

 

Wednesday, November 16

 

Pilgrimage from the Southern University Museum of Art to the Smith-Brown Memorial Student Union

9 a.m.

 

Symposium

10 a.m.-Noon
Southern University
Smith-Brown Memorial Student Union
Royal Cotilion Ballroom

 

10 a.m. “Blood on the Bluff”
Documentary and Presentation by Donney Rose, SU alumnus, writer and Kennedy Center Fellow

 

10:45 a.m.-Noon
Panel

Moderated by Brandi B. Harris, SU alumna and WBRZ-2 anchor
Denver Terrance, SU alumnus and nephew of Denver Smith
Nelson Smith, brother of Denver Smith
Shunda Wallace, daughter of Leonard Brown
Dr. Valaray Irvin, SU alumna and SU Counseling Center director
Edward Pratt, SU alumnus, Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries press secretary, and award-winning columnist

 

Student Roundtable: Where Do We Go from Here?

2-3 p.m.

Smith-Brown Memorial Student Union
Royal Cotillion Ballroom

Facilitators:
Denver Terrance, SU alumnus and nephew of Denver Smith
Donney Rose, SU alumnus and activist
Myra Richardson, SU student and activist
Walter "Geno" McLaughlin, SU alumnus and activist

 

A Cold Case Investigation: Episode 50 On this 50th Anniversary of the Deaths of SU Students Denver Smith & Leonard Brown, We Gather to Explore Social Context

5 p.m.

Old State Capitol, Downtown Baton Rouge
Presented by the Louisiana State Conference of the NAACP, Southern University Law Center Professor Angela Bell and law students.