The University of Tennessee's Howard Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy will be holding a civil rights symposium from March 31 to April 1.

The event is in celebration of the 50^th anniversary of "Tent City" and the civil rights movement that it helped sparked.

Tent City was the result of black sharecroppers being forced from their land by wealthier white land owners in retaliation for registering to vote. The ensuing events would help lead to further civil rights improvements and the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

"We want to present this piece of history that isn't well known in the state it happened in," Rita Geier, Associate Chancellor and Senior Fellow at the Howard Baker Jr. Center said. "We are very pleased to be presenting a very important event in Tennessee and civil rights history."

The event, which will be covered by C-SPAN on April 1, will feature a number of documentaries, panels and speakers about the history of the event and the impact it had on the civil rights movement and is still having in the United States today. Viola H. McFerren, Leader of the Fayette County Civic and Welfare League; Howard H. Baker, Jr.; and Juan Williams, journalist, author, National Public Radio and Fox News Correspondent are just a few of the panelists and speakers that will be in attendance.

"What happened was part of the early struggle for voting rights," Gavin Luter, Coordinator with the Howard Baker Jr. Center said. "It's something that really happened in out backyard."

During the event, there will be a graphic display made up of 35 photographs of Tent City open to the public in the Howard H. Baker Jr. Center.

There will also be a free-standing tent in the Humanities Plaza next to the Pedestrian Walkway. The tent will have a timeline of the events that occurred and show some of the conditions black sharecroppers faced during this time.

"We urge anybody studying political science, history or who just has a particular interest in the topic to attend," Geier said. "Everyone will get a clearer picture of what role this played and what challenges we are still facing. It's a continuing evolution in American politics."

For more information please go to the Howard Baker Jr. Center's website at http://bakercenter.utk.edu/main/index.php.