By Jamil Oakford/managing editor

Political assassinations, protests and civil unrest will be at the center of the History Symposium Feb. 22-23 on TR Campus.

TCC students, faculty and staff can learn about the historical context of the year 1968.
“People think things are devastating and horrible now, but the ‘60s were pretty horrible, too,” TR history, government and philosophy chair Chad Wooley said.

The conference, organized by Wooley and Tarleton State University history professor Christopher Hickman, will focus on the issues that made the 1960s such a volatile era, Wooley said.

“We’re going to have a wide variety of topics: political assassinations, civil rights leaders, the protests and their link with the protests we see now with Colin Kaepernick,” he said.

The symposium opens with keynote speaker Bruce J. Schulman, a Boston University history professor, in the Action Suites at 7:15 p.m. The next day, a series of panels will run from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. with a lunch break.

Panels will focus on political unrest and other key movements that took place in the 1960s, Wooley said. The rise of feminism and a look at Fort Worth during that time period will also be topics of discussion, he said.

Wooley said this seemed like a fitting time to look back 50 years and assess where the country is now versus then.

“I hope they [attendees] get a better understanding of the ‘60s,” he said. “Any time you can understand the past, it benefits you and everyone else.”