EDITOR’S NOTE: Due to medical reasons, Julian Bond has canceled his visit to Michigan State University on Feb. 23. Bond was scheduled to speak as part of the College of Osteopathic Medicine's annual Slavery to Freedom visiting faculty lecture series.
There are no plans to reschedule the visit at this time. MSU and the College of Osteopathic Medicine apologize for any inconvenience.
EAST LANSING, Mich. — An influential pastor, a freedom rider and a former chairman of the NAACP will address the Michigan State University community in February as part of a Black History Month lecture series.
The 12th annual "Slavery to Freedom: An American Odyssey" visiting faculty lecture series, organized by the College of Osteopathic Medicine, will feature presentations by Frederick Haynes III, Diane Nash and Julian Bond on Feb. 2, 16 and 23, respectively.
All programs are at 5 p.m.; receptions follow the presentations. In addition to making public presentations, the scholars dedicate time to teaching MSU students on campus. This year's schedule follows.
- Frederick D. Haynes III, Feb. 2 in Kellogg Center Big Ten A: The senior pastor at Friendship-West Baptist Church in Dallas for nearly 30 years, Haynes is known for his work against racial, social and economic injustice. His church has grown from 500 to more than 12,000 members. Haynes also is the author of "Healing Our Broken Village" and the daily devotional "Soul Fitness." He has a bachelor's degree from Bishop College, a master of divinity from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and a doctor of ministry from the Graduate Theological Foundation.
- Diane Nash, Feb. 16 in the Kellogg Center Auditorium: A key player in the sit-in movement for civil rights in Nashville in the early 1960s and a Freedom Rider, Nash was a founding member of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. She was jailed for her participation at a lunch counter sit-in with the Rock Hill Nine in South Carolina and played a key role in bringing Martin Luther King Jr. to Alabama in support of the Riders. She was instrumental in the Birmingham desegregation campaign of 1963 and the Selma Voting Rights Campaign of 1965.
- Julian Bond, Feb. 23 in Kellogg Center Big Ten A: From his leadership in the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Bond has dedicated his life to justice as an activist, statesman, writer, teacher and poet. Elected in 1965 to the Georgia House of Representatives, he was prevented from taking his seat by other members, was re-elected to his own vacancy, unseated again and reseated only after unanimous decision of the U.S. Supreme Court. He ultimately served four terms in the house and six in the Senate. Bond served as NAACP chairman from 1998 until 2010 and received the National Freedom Award in 2002.
All presentations are open and free to the public. For a list of sponsors and more information, go to http://www.com.msu.edu/pub-rel/SlaverytoFreedom/VFLSbrochure2012.pdf.
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