DePaul’s Law School to Commemorate King Day with Jan. 19 Program on the State of the Civil Rights Agenda and Post-Racial Politics

Jan 12, 2009

DePaul’s Law School to Commemorate King Day with Jan. 19 Program on the State of the Civil Rights Agenda and Post-Racial Politics

The DePaul University College of Law will celebrate the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with a program that explores the civil rights agenda following the election of Barack Obama, who will become the nation’s first African-American president. The program, “The Civil Rights Agenda and the ‘Post-Racial’ Presidency,” will be held Jan. 19 from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. in the DePaul Center, 1 E. Jackson Blvd., Room 8005. The event will feature a panel discussion, cultural performance and lunch. The event is free and open to the public. Reservations are required for lunch and can be made via e-mail at lawevents@depaul.edu or by telephone at 312/362-6229.

Attorney and Fordham University law professor Terry Smith will give the keynote address at 11a.m. Before he joined the faculty at Fordham, Smith served as an associate at the law firm of Kirkland & Ellis and as a law clerk to the Hon. Nathaniel R. Jones of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Smith is currently writing a book titled “Exodus to Independence: Race, Money and Transformation in American Politics.”

Smith’s address will be followed by lunch at 11:50 a.m. and a 12:30 p.m. panel discussion. Cultural entertainment for the program will be provided by singer and spoken-word artist Tovi Khali.

Other King Day programs sponsored by DePaul include a prayer breakfast to be held from 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. Jan. 19 in Room 120 of the Student Center, 2250 N. Sheffield Ave. Robert Moses, founder and president of the Algebra Project and a pivotal organizer of the civil rights movement, will keynote. The event is free and open to the public.

On Jan. 29 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., DePaul’s School for New Learning will host a panel discussion on the impact Obama will have on the global community and the future of Africans, African-Americans and other ethnic groups. The program will be held at the DePaul Center, 1 E. Jackson Blvd., Lower Level Concourse. Prexy Nesbitt, activist, educator and noted expert on Africa, foreign policy and racism, along with Mary Mitchell, award-winning Chicago Sun-Times columnist, will speak. For more information, call Shannon Stone at 312/362-6367 or e-mail snlevents@depaul.edu.