From a University of Wyoming press release:A march, panel discussions, music and keynote addresses from a prominent newspaper columnist and the former American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) president highlight the annual Martin Luther King Jr./March and Days of Dialogue (MLK/DOD) celebration next week at the University of Wyoming.
"Social Justice Through Your Lens" is the theme of the event that runs Jan. 19-23. MLK/DOD renews UW's commitment to making campus a more welcoming and empowering place for people from different backgrounds, heritages, orientations or abilities. Events celebrate the continuing impact of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s life and ideals.
Most events are free and all are open to the public. For more details, visit the MLK/DOD Web site at www.uwyo.edu/MLK/.
Highlights of the week are keynote addresses from Chicago Tribune columnist Dawn Turner Trice (shown in above photo from Chicago Tribune) and Nadine Strossen, former ACLU president. Turner Trice's presentation, "The ‘R' Word: Using Journalism to Open a Civic Dialogue on Race and Culture," is Thursday, Jan. 22, at 5 p.m. in the Wyoming Union Family Room. Strossen's talk, "Social Justice Through Advocacy and Activism; Conversations about Current Civil Liberties, Challenges and Controversies," is the following day, also at 5 p.m. in the Wyoming Union Ballroom.
Turner Trice is a regular commentator for WTTW's "Chicago Tonight" show and has written commentary that was heard on National Public Radio's "Morning Edition" program.
She has written two novels; "Only Twice I've Wished for Heaven" (Random House, 1997), which will be made into a movie, and "An Eighth of August" (Random House, 2000).
Turner Trice received the 2008 Studs Terkel Media award, two Illinois Arts Council awards, an American Library Association Alex award and a 2006 National Endowment for the Arts fellowship.
Strossen discusses the challenges to American civil liberties today and elaborates on issues that are particularly relevant: the war on terror and government's efforts to enact potentially intrusive legislation, growing demographic diversity, technological advances and a conservative political climate.
She was the first woman and the youngest person to ever serve as ACLU president. A professor of law at New York Law School, Strossen has written, lectured, and practiced extensively in the areas of constitutional law, civil liberties and international human rights. She also has written two books "Defending Pornography" and "Speaking of Race, Speaking of Sex: Hate Speech, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties."
For more information, contact Gracie Lawson-Borders, UW African American Studies director and MLK/DOD co-chairman, at (307) 766-2482 or e-mail glawsonb@uwyo.edu.
