UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Kevin Richardson, one of the wrongfully convicted and since-exonerated members of the “Central Park Five,” will participate in this year’s Osaze Osagie Memorial Lecture taking place at 6 p.m. on Tuesday March 25, in the HUB-Robeson Center’s Alumni Hall (Room 121). The event, which will also be streamed via Zoom, is free and open to the public; however, advance registration is required.
Richardson will share his journey with lecture attendees and focus particularly on the challenges of managing mental health under the stress and strain of racism. The lecture will also feature a conversation with Richardson and Dr. Tim Barksdale, a clinical psychologist and past president of the Penn Psychological Association, that will be moderated by Savita Iyer-Ahrestani, senior editor of The Penn Stater magazine.
The Osaze Osagie Lecture is named to honor the memory of Osaze Osagie, a former Penn State student who was shot and killed by local police in 2019 while experiencing a mental health event. The lecture is also the featured event in the second annual “Global Black Communities and Mental Health” series. The series, offered by the African Studies Program in Penn State’s College of the Liberal Arts, seeks to elevate attention to issues of mental health among Black communities across the African Diaspora and other communities of color; foster meaningful connections between scholarly research in the social and behavioral sciences and the humanities; and advance everyday applications of this research for families, service providers, advocates and allies working to improve the quality of life in Black communities.
Penn State co-sponsors for the lecture and series include the Africana Research Center; Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc.; Bellisario College of Communications; Black Emotions Advocate Team; College of Arts and Architecture; College of Earth and Mineral Sciences; College of Information Sciences and Technology; Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc.; Department of African American Studies; Office of the Vice Provost for Educational Equity; Paul Robeson Cultural Center; Penn State Law; Penn State University Libraries; Queer and Trans People of Color; Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing; and the Student Black Caucus.