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Jan 09, 2004

DePaul’s School for New Learning Celebrates King's Legacy With Program Featuring Pat Hill and Laura Washington

WHO: Pat Hill, executive director of the African-American Police League, and Laura Washington, Ida B. Wells-Barnett Professor at DePaul University.

WHAT: Will discuss social action and social justice—the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at a symposium sponsored by DePaul University’s School for New Learning. The program will reflect on how King’s work has influenced the fight for racial equality and social justice. The event is free and open to the public.

WHEN: Monday, Jan. 12 from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m.

WHERE: DePaul University, 25 E. Jackson Blvd. Room 241.

Hill joined the Chicago Police Department in 1986 and was immediately assigned to the late Mayor Harold Washington’s bodyguard detail. Inspired by her coming of age during the late 1960s, at the height of the civil unrest following King’s assassination, and by Washington’s example of creating racial harmony, Hill went on to become the executive director of the African-American Police League. The League works on behalf of minority officers on the Chicago police force and has been instrumental in increasing their numbers.

Washington, an award-wining journalist and columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times, joined DePaul’s faculty in the fall of 2003 as its Ida B. Wells-Barnett University Professor. Washington is the former editor and publisher of the Chicago Reporter, a nationally recognized investigative magazine specializing in issues related to race. She also served as deputy press secretary to Mayor Washington. Cited by Newsweek magazine as one of the nation’s “100 People to Watch” in the 21st century, Washington’s print journalism experience also includes a stint as a columnist at the Chicago Tribune, where she specialized in issues of race, poverty and urban affairs. On the broadcast side of journalism, she has worked extensively in television and radio, and is currently a commentator/analyst for WBEZ radio’s “848” news magazine program, and a frequent urban affairs analyst for “Chicago Tonight” and “Chicago Week in Review” on WTTW-TV, Chicago’s Public Broadcast Service affiliate.

Note to Editors: Reporters wishing to cover the event should call Valerie Phillips at 312/362-5039 or 312/330-3155 (cell).