For immediate release | December 17, 2013
Cashin to keynote celebration marking Dr. King’s enduring legacy at Midwinter
CHICAGO — Sheryll Cashin, professor of law at Georgetown University, will keynote the 2014 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Sunrise Celebration during the American Library Association’s (ALA) Midwinter Meeting in Philadelphia. The celebration will take place from 6:30 to 7:30 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 27 in room 113 A-B at the Pennsylvania Convention Center.
Cashin is the author of "The Agitator’s Daughter" and "The Failures of Integration," the latter an Editors’ Choice book in the New York Times Book Review. Her newest book is "Place Not Race: A New Vision of Opportunity in America," which will be published this May. Cashin has published widely in academic journals and print media, including the Los Angeles Times, Washington Post and Education Week. A frequent commentator on law and race relations, she has appeared on National Public Radio, CNN, ABC News, BET and numerous other outlets. Born and raised in Huntsville, Ala., where her parents were political activists, she was a law clerk to Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall and served in the Clinton White House as an advisor on urban and economic policy, particularly concerning community development in inner-city neighborhoods. Ms. Cashin’s participation in this year’s celebration is generously made possible by Beacon Press.
Joining Ms. Cashin at the 2014 celebration will be Call-to-Action speaker Virginia “Ginny” Bradley Moore, former longstanding chair of the ALA Social Responsibilities Round Table (SRRT) Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Task Force and retired librarian from the Prince Georges County Memorial Library System in Oxon Hill, Md.
The theme of the 2014 celebration will be “A New Vision of Opportunity in America” and will bring together leaders from across the association, including 2013-14 ALA Barbara Stripling and ALA Executive Director Keith Michael Fiels. Featured readings will include selected readings from the works of Dr. King.
Light refreshments will be served thanks to the generous sponsorship of World Book, Inc. Attendance is open to all attendees of the 2014 ALA Midwinter Meeting. For more information, please visit www.alamidwinter.org.
The ALA Social Responsibilities Round Table (SRRT) is a unit within the American Library Association. It works to make ALA more democratic and to establish progressive priorities not only for the association, but also for the entire profession. Concern for human and economic rights was an important element in the founding of SRRT and remains an urgent concern today. SRRT believes that libraries and librarians must recognize and help solve social problems and inequities in order to carry out their mandate to work for the common good and bolster democracy. SRRT’s main website is hosted at libr.org/SRRT.
The Black Caucus of the American Library Association (BCALA), an affiliate of the American Library Association, serves as an advocate for the development, promotion and improvement of library services and resources to the nation's African-American community and provides leadership for the recruitment and professional development of African-American librarians. To learn more about BCALA, please visit www.bcala.org/.
Beacon Press is a 160 year old independent nonprofit publisher of books on social change, history, religion, the environment, science and society. Its mission is to promote freedom of speech and thought; diversity, religious pluralism, anti-racism and respect for diversity in all areas of life. Beacon is partnering with the Estate of Martin Luther King Jr. in publishing "The King Legacy," a series of new editions of previously published King titles as well as new collections of Dr. King's writings, sermons, lectures, speeches and prayers, each with new introductions by leading scholars. To learn more about Beacon Press and The King Legacy, please visit www.beacon.org or www.thekinglegacy.org.
World Book sets the standard in publishing accurate, current, and reliable reference and learning materials for children and adults. Based in Chicago, World Book is committed to creating educational products that meet the highest standards of editorial excellence in print and online. This commitment has resulted in a wide range of products including the number-one selling The World Book Encyclopedia and the World Book Web, which is the most comprehensive and authoritative online solution to meet the diverse learning needs of students and includes the World Book Online Reference Center, www.worldbookonline.com, World Book Kids, and World Book Advanced.
Contact:
John L. Amundsen
Program Officer, Outreach and Communications
ALA Office for Literacy and Outreach Services
jamundsen@ala.org(312) 280-2140
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