Celebrate Dr. King’s legacy as the start of the University of Chicago’s Black Heritage Celebration.
MLK Commemoration Service- Friday, January 15, 2010 3:30 pm
Rockefeller Memorial Chapel
Keynote Address by Dr. Melissa Harris-Lacewell
Reception to follow at Ida Noyes Hall
Keynote Speaker Bio:
Melissa Harris-Lacewell is Associate Professor of Politics and African American Studies at Princeton University. She is the author of the award-winning book, Barbershops, Bibles, and BET: Everyday Talk and Black Political Thought, (Princeton 2004). And she is currently at work on a new book: Sister Citizen: A Text For Colored Girls Who've Considered Politics When Being Strong Wasn't Enough. (Forthcoming Yale University Press)
Her academic research is inspired by a desire to investigate the challenges facing contemporary black Americans and to better understand the multiple, creative ways that African Americans respond to these challenges. Her work is published in scholarly journals and edited volumes and her interests include the study of African American political thought, black religious ideas and practice, and social and clinical psychology.
Professor Harris-Lacewell's creative and dynamic teaching is also motivated by the practical political and racial issues of our time. For example, her course entitled Disaster, Race and American Politics explored the multiple political meanings of Hurricane Katrina. Professor Harris-Lacewell has taught students from grade school to graduate school and has been recognized for her commitment to the classroom as a site of democratic deliberation on race.
Professor Harris-Lacewell appears regularly on MSNBC. She regularly provides expert commentary on U.S. elections, racial issues, religious questions and gender concerns for both The Rachel Maddow Show and Countdown with Keith Olbermann. Professor Harris-Lacewell is also a regular guest on other television and radio. Her writings have appeared in newspapers throughout the country and she is a regular contributor at TheNation.com.
She travels extensively speaking to colleges, organizations and businesses in the United States and abroad. In 2009 Professor Harris-Lacewell became the youngest scholar to deliver the W.E.B. Du Bois Lectures at Harvard University. Also in 2009 she delivered the prestigious Ware Lecture, becoming the youngest woman to ever do so.
Professor Harris-Lacewell received her B.A. in English from Wake Forest University , her Ph.D. in political science from Duke University and an honorary doctorate from Meadville Lombard Theological School. She is currently a student at Union Theological Seminary in New York.
She lives part-time in New Orleans. Her partner, James Perry, is a candidate for mayor of the city of New Orleans in 2010.
She is also the mother of a terrific daughter, Parker Lacewell.
Melissa Harris-Lacewell is involved in the Avon Breast Cancer Walk in New York City
MLK Day of Service - Saturday, January 16, 2010
http://ucsc.uchicago.edu/pages/dayofservice.html
STUDENT VOLUNTEERS: Register (or register your group) for the the MLK Day of Service
Volunteer with students, faculty, and staff at the the MLK Day of Service on Saturday, January 16, 2010. We will gather on campus at 8:30 am, do service at various sites from 9:30 am to 1:00 pm and return to campus by 2:00 pm. For information, email Emily at boz@uchicago.edu.
COMMUNITY PARTNERS: PROPOSE A PROJECT FOR THE MLK DAY OF SERVICE
We would love to have you host a group of 10 or more volunteers on Saturday, January 16, 2010. Volunteers will be on site form 9:30 am to 1:00 pm. Teams of volunteers learn about their site and undertake a service project to support the site's work in the community. For information, email Emily at boz@uchicago.edu.
