ASC PL Commemorates 40 years of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Lecture Series.
\nJUST ANNOUNCED: This event will be also livestreamed ! A link to the livestream will be available on akronlibrary.org beginning at 1:45 pm.
\nDr. Eddie Glaude Jr.
\nNe w York Times Bestselling Author &\; James S. McDonnell Distinguished Un iversity Professor\, Princeton University
\nOne of the nation&rsquo\ ;s most prominent scholars\, Dr. Eddie Glaude\, Jr. is an author\, politic al commentator\, public intellectual and passionate educator who examines the complex dynamics of the American experience. His writings\, including Democracy in Black: How Race Still Enslaves the American Soul\, In a Shade of Blue: Pragmatism and the Politics of Black America and the New York Ti mes bestseller Begin Again: James Baldwin&rsquo\;s America and Its Urgent Lessons for our Own\, take a wide look at Black communities\, the difficul ties of race in the United States and the challenges we face as a democrac y.
\nGlaude&rsquo\;s latest book\, We Are the Leaders We Have Been L ooking For\, will be released in April 2024. Based on the Du Bois Lectures he delivered at Harvard University\, Glaude shows how ordinary Black Amer icans can shake off their reliance on a small group of professional politi cians and pursue self-cultivation and grassroots movements to achieve a mo re just and perfect democracy.
\nIn his writing and speaking\, Glaud
e is an American critic in the tradition of James Baldwin and Ralph Waldo
Emerson\, confronting history and bringing our nation&rsquo\;s complexitie
s\, vulnerabilities and hope into full view. Hope that is\, in one of his
favorite quotes from W.E.B. Du Bois\, "not hopeless\, but a bit unhopeful.
"
Some like to describe Glaude as the quintessential Morehouse man\,
having left his home in Moss Point\, Mississippi at age 16 to begin studie
s at the HBCU and alma mater of Dr. Martin Luther King\, Jr. He holds a ma
ster&rsquo\;s degree in African American Studies from Temple University an
d a Ph.D. in Religion from Princeton University.
Glaude is known b
oth for his inspiring oratory and ability to convene conversations that en
gage fellow citizens from all backgrounds &mdash\; from young activists to
corporate audiences looking for a fresh perspective on DEI. In 2011\, he
delivered Harvard&rsquo\;s DuBois lectures. His 2015 commencement remarks
at Colgate University titled\, "Turning Our Backs\," was recognized by the
New York Times as one of the best commencement speeches of the year.
Combining a scholar&rsquo\;s knowledge of history\, a political commentat
or&rsquo\;s take on the latest events\, and an activist&rsquo\;s passion f
or social justice\, Glaude challenges all of us to examine our collective
American conscience\, "not to posit the greatness of America\, but to esta
blish the ground upon which to imagine the country anew."
This is a free event. Seating will be available on a first-come\, first-served bas is. Doors to the auditorium will open at 1:30 pm.
\nFree parking is available in the High Street parking deck on weekends.
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\; \; Eta Tau Lambda Log
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