October 11 - Author, Civil Rights Activist Celebrates Unity Day at Rider
In celebration of Rider University’s eighth annual Unity Day, Dr. Lani Guinier, noted author and civil rights activist, will address race and gender issues, upholding Rider’s theme, “Courage to be Just,” Tuesday, October 18.
Guinier will speak at 7 p.m. in the Bart Luedeke Center (BLC) Theater. Her talk is free and open to the public. To accommodate overflow, seats will also be available in the Cavalla Room of the BLC where Guinier’s presentation can be viewed on a live closed-circuit television. She will sign her latest book and others after her talk in the BLC Lobby.
Guinier is the first black woman tenured professor at Harvard Law School. Among her many published works are Lift Every Voice (Simon and Schuster, 1998); Who’s Qualified? (Beacon Press, 2001) coauthored with Susan Sturm of Columbia University Law School; and The Miner’s Canary: Enlisting Race, Resisting Power, Transforming Democracy (Harvard University Press, 2002) coauthored with Gerald Torres, of University of Texas Law School. Previously, she worked as a civil rights attorney for more than 10 years and had served in the Civil Rights Division during the Carter Administration as special assistant to the then Assistant Attorney General Drew S. Days.
A graduate of Radcliffe College and Yale University Law School, Guinier was inspired at a young age by civil rights attorney, Constance Baker Motley. Her numerous honors include receiving the Rosa Parks Award from the American Association of Affirmative Action and the Sacks-Freund Award for Teaching Excellence from Harvard Law School.
Programming is sponsored by the Unity Day committee, chaired by Dr. Harvey Kornberg, associate professor of political science at Rider, and administered by the Center for Multicultural Affairs and Community Service. Other contributors include the Student Entertainment Council (SEC), Student Finance Board (SFB), Rider Campus Ministry, Julius and Dorothy Koppelman Holocaust/Genocide Research Center, Black Student Union (BSU), Unity Club, Latin American Student Organization (LASO), and Latinos for Academic and Social Excellence (LASE).
Activities for the campus community will kick off at 11:30 a.m. earlier that day with a multicultural lunch on the BLC Patio. On Wednesday, October 19, activities will include a film presentation, “Abraham’s Children,” and discussion on diversity and community responsibility led by a multicultural student panel (2:15 p.m. to 3:15 p.m., BLC, Room 257); a workshop on hunger and homelessness (2:30 p.m. to 3:25 p.m., Sweigart Auditorium); and a panel discussion on Roe vs. Wade (3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m., Sweigart Auditorium). A multicultural food fest will take place from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the BLC Cavalla Room.
Unity Day will culminate with the performance, “From Auction Block to Hip Hop,” a play by noted Latino playwright David Lamb, at 7 p.m. in the BLC Theater. Lamb will review his work following the performance, which is free and open to public.
