The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences is launching public programming to raise awareness and add to the larger discussions facing our state, nation and world. The Rebuilding Democracy Speaker Series will showcase how the liberal arts and sciences is at the center of a healthy democracy. They are looking to take a very broad view in how we program this series – topics such as restoring public trust and civility; education; the role of social justice, equity and inclusion; voting rights; the importance of science in fighting environmental, medical and public health challenges; legislative and judicial issues; the economy; media literacy and the importance of a free press; and restoring our country’s reputation on the global stage. In addition to diverse topics, they will include diverse voices and opinions. Together with Paula Meyer, who ran a very successful speakers series for a decade at her previous institution, they are crafting guiding principles and operating procedures for this program. As part of that process, they will be seating an advisory committee in the near future to assist with programming the series.
Their Series will debut Dec. 1 with Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post columnist and MSNBC Political Analyst Eugene Robinson. The event, conducted on Zoom from 7-8:30 p.m., will feature Robinson discussing a variety of topics such as rebuilding democracy and restoring civility, voting rights, the ongoing fight for equity and inclusion, expected action by a new administration regarding the pandemic and the environment and restoring America’s reputation on the global stage with Dean Robert Brinkmann. A moderated question and answer session will follow. Advanced registration will be required, and once we have that link we will share it out to the College.
During his 30-year career at The Washington Post, Robinson has been city hall reporter, city editor, foreign correspondent in Buenos Aires and London, foreign editor and assistant managing editor in charge of the paper's award winning Style section. He has written books about race in Brazil and music in Cuba, covered a heavyweight championship fight, witnessed riots in Philadelphia and a murder trial in the deepest Amazon, handicapped three editions of American Idol, acquired fluent Spanish and passable Portuguese and sat with presidents, dictators and the Queen of England. He saw, long before the states were split into red and blue, that politics and culture are always intertwined. He sees how the great trends that are reshaping our society are also reshaping our neighborhoods, our families, ourselves.
Growing up in Orangeburg, SC, he remembers the culminating years of the Civil Rights Movement—the “Orangeburg Massacre,” a 1968 incident in which police fired on students protesting a segregated bowling alley and killed three unarmed young men, took place within sight of his house just a few hundred yards away. He was educated at Orangeburg High School, where he was one of a handful of black students on the previously all white campus; and the University of Michigan, where during his senior year he was the first black student to be named co-editor-in-chief of the award-winning student newspaper, The Michigan Daily.
Robinson was elected to the Council of Foreign Relations in 1994. In 2010, Robinson was elected to the Pulitzer Prize Board. He is a member of the National Association of Black Journalists and the NABJ Hall of Fame. His second book, Last Dance in Havana: The Final Days of Fidel and the Start of the New Cuban Revolution—an examination of contemporary Cuba, looking at the society through the vibrant music scene—was published in 2004. His third book, Disintegration (2010), discusses the disintegration of the black community into four distinct sectors—and the implication for policies such as school reform, urban renewal and affirmative action.
Please share this event with anyone you feel would be interested – it will be a timely discussion of the challenging times we live in. Advanced registration is required for Series events. Go to http://go.niu.edu/CLAS-Series-Registration to request a link to the event. Event links will be sent out from the clas-communication@niu.edu mailbox one day prior to the event.
CLAS faculty, staff and students can submit questions in advance for the moderated Q&A that will follow the presentation. Submit questions by going to http://go.niu.edu/CLAS-Series-Questions .
They are working to schedule speakers for the Spring semester who will continue important discussions. It is their hope that they can share a partial Spring lineup with you after we return from Winter Break.
