Dr. Tani D. Sanchez, professor of Africana Studies at the University of Arizona, will speak on "Exploring Race Through Science Fiction in the Matrix Trilogy" at San Antonio College, McAllister Auditorium on Thursday, Feb. 14,
10:50-12:05 p.m.  The talk is a part of San Antonio College's Black History Month celebration, and it is free and open to the public.

"The lecture will draw upon politics, literature, history, media/art, and symbolism to argue for the presence of a hidden filmic narrative that neatly aligns with African-American critical traditions, affirming black ideologies, covert alternate knowledge, while affirming the value of black and other communities,"  said Wanda-Lee Smith, Political Science Instructor.

Dr. Sanchez notes that although the Matrix trilogy (1999-2003) has been analyzed in terms of philosophy and theology, racial analysis is rare, despite the prevalence of slave themes and prominent African-American casting.  In her talk, she will also discuss the work of G. Carter Woodson, who helped lay a foundation for an academic approach to understanding African-Americans.

Sanchez is trained in Comparative Cultural and Literary Studies, and her research interests are primarily in racial representations in the media and in African-American Studies.  She has worked as an editor, broadcast journalist and media information specialist.  The first president of the Tucson Chapter Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society, she is also the Arizona State President of the National Association of Colored Women's Clubs.