Please join us for the Center for Student Diversity’s Diversity Speaker Series & John Gissendanner Memorial Lecture, #BlackLivesMatter on Wednesday, March 23rd, 7 PM, WVC Ballrooms.
Featuring Opal Tometi, Bree Newsome and Rev. Dr. Heber M. Brown III, the lecture will be followed by a moderated discussion and Q&A.
Tickets are now available at the University Union Ticket Office. Tickets are free, but space is limited so TU students/faculty/staff are encouraged to purchase their ticket in advance. Doors open at 6pm for ticket-holders; open seating for all guests begins at 6:30pm.
For general community ticket information and availability, please contact Mahnoor Ahmed, mahmed@towson.edu.
Opal Tometi is a dedicated activist working at the intersection of racial justice and immigrant rights for more than a decade. She was incensed by the 2013 acquittal of George Zimmerman in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin—and inspired to take action. Starting the Twitter hashtag, #BlackLivesMatter, Tometi (with Alicia Garza and Patrisse Cullors), prompted activism nationwide and introduced the banner under which this generation’s civil rights movement marches. As the Executive Director at the Black Alliance for Just Immigration, Tometi is at the helm of the country’s leading black organization for immigrant rights, steering initiatives including the first Congressional briefing on black immigrants. She has also presented at the United Nations and has participated with the UN’s Global Forum on Migration and Commission on the Status of Women.
Bree Newsome has always been sensitive to the essential role that art and symbols play in shaping culture and consciousness. As she watched the funeral of Rev. Clementa Pinckney, one of 9 people slaughtered in the name of white supremacy at Mother Emmanuel Church in Charleston, SC, she recognized the message being communicated clearly by the US flag and the SC state flag at half-mast while the Confederate flag remained fully furled. Refusing to accept the premise of this image, she scaled the 30ft flagpole in front of the statehouse and removed the “stars and bars” declaring, “This flag comes down today!” Bree’s intention was to create a new image, a new symbol and a new consciousness of the power inherent in direct action. The iconic picture of her on the pole, flag in hand has become a touchstone of empowerment for disenfranchised people around the world.
Rev. Dr. Heber M. Brown, III is the Senior Pastor of Pleasant Hope Baptist Church in Baltimore and a Team Leader of Baltimore United for Change – a coalition of activists and organizations working for social justice. As a clergy-activist, Dr. Brown has demonstrated a deep commitment to social justice – traveling the nation and world speaking about poverty, racism, white privilege, the prison industrial complex, worker’s rights, environmental justice, sexism, food sovereignty and foreign policy. Beyond his direct involvement in the pressing social issues, Dr. Brown is committed as well to grooming and mentoring the next generation of change makers. He is a regular voice in media and his dedication to service has been publicly recognized as well.
