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Rider to Host Unity Day Activities

Dr. Melissa Harris-Lacewell of Princeton University, Unity Day Keynote speaker

To kick off Rider University's 10th annual Unity Day, Dr. Melissa Harris-Lacewell, associate professor of politics and African American studies at Princeton University, will address the impact of the black vote on the Clinton-Obama presidential race on Tuesday, October 9. Rider's Unity Day theme is “Many Cultures -- One Student Body.”

Dr. Harris-Lacewell will speak at 7 p.m. in the Bart Luedeke Center (BLC) Theater. Her talk is free and open to the public.

“It will be exciting to have such a dynamic speaker give a thoughtful perspective about the state of African American politics, particularly about this historic race.” said Don Brown, director of Rider’s Office of Multicultural Affairs and Community Service and event sponsor.

Harris-Lacewell, who also speaks extensively on gender and politics, religion and politics, and the politics of Hurricane Katrina, is author of Barbershops, Bibles, and BET: Everyday Talk and Black Political Thought (Princeton, 2004). The book examines how African Americans develop political ideas through ordinary conversation in places such as barbershops, churches, and popular culture. It was awarded the 2005 Best Book Award from the National Conference of Black Political Scientists and the 2005 Best Book Award from the Race and Ethnic Politics Section of the American Political Science Association.

Currently, Harris-Lacewell is working on her next book, For Colored Girls Who’ve Considered Politics When Being Strong Wasn’t Enough, an examination of the connections between shame, sadness and strength in African American women’s politics.

Harris-Lacewell’s writings have been published in scholarly journals and such national publications as The Chicago Tribune, The Los Angeles Times, Crain’s Chicago Business and New York Newsday. She has provided expert commentary on U.S. elections, racial issues, religious questions and gender issues for The New York Times, The Boston Globe, CNN, NBC, Fox , Public Television, Showtime, Black Enterprise, National Public Radio, and many other radio and print outlets across the country.

She received her bachelor’s degree in English from Wake Forest University, a Ph.D. in political science from Duke University, and an honorary doctorate from Meadville Lombard Theological School. She is currently a student at Union Theological Seminary in New York.

Activities for the campus community will kick off on Wednesday, October 10, at 11:30 a.m. with a multicultural lunch on the BLC Patio with Caribbean and Latin music by The Steel Band Kings. The day’s programming will include a workshop on life after college, an overview of Midnight Run/Community Service outreach mission in New York City, a multicultural photo display of New Mexico and Turkey and a multicultural dance performance.

The celebration will culminate with a discussion on “Campus Hate Crimes” from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in the Fireside Lounge of the BLC. Programming is sponsored by the Unity Day Planning Committee, chaired by Don Brown and Uchenna Duru, a senior human resource management major. Other sponsors include the Center for Multicultural Affairs and Community Service, the Student Government Association (SGA), Rider Campus Ministry and The Julius and Dorothy Koppelman Holocaust/Genocide Resource Center.