EAST LANSING, Mich. — Three nationally recognized civil rights leaders will visit Michigan State University in February to participate in a lecture series honoring those who took part in the U.S. civil rights movement.
The three, including a former speechwriter for Martin Luther King Jr., are taking part in the ninth annual Visiting Faculty Lecture Series, “Slavery to Freedom: An American Odyssey.” Sponsored by the MSU College of Osteopathic Medicine, the series will feature one speaker each Thursday for the rest of February, which is Black History Month. All programs are at 5 p.m. at MSU’s Kellogg Hotel and Conference Center. This year’s schedule follows.
Feb. 12 – Clarence B. Jones, “The Sharp Edge of Defense: Law and Civil Rights,” in Big Ten Room A. Jones served as speechwriter and counsel to King and later became an allied member of the New York Stock Exchange. He coordinated the legal defense of King and others when city officials from Birmingham, Ala., filed libel suits against them.
Feb. 19 – Dick Gregory, “You Can’t Handcuff a Funny Bone: Humor and Civil Struggle,” in Big Ten Room A. Gregory is a comedian and leading civil and human rights activist. He has called the nation’s attention to the plight of disadvantaged minorities with his more than 100 fasts, public demonstrations, protest arrests and numerous public appearances.
Feb. 26 – The Rev. Dr. Cheryl Townsend Gilkes, “‘Yet With a Steady Beat: The Gift of an Activist Womanhood,” in the Auditorium. Gilkes, of Colby College in Waterville, Maine, focuses on the role of black women in generating social change and on the diverse roles of black Christian women.
All presentations are open and free to the public. For a list of sponsors and more information, go here.
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