Freedom to Read Foundation to sponsor Philadelphia event with Anthony Lewis
Contact: Jonathan Kelley
Freedom to Read Foundation
312-280-4221
jokelley@ala.org
For Immediate Release
December 11, 2007
Freedom to Read Foundation to sponsor Philadelphia event with Anthony Lewis
Event will take place in conjunction with ALA Midwinter Meeting
CHICAGO - The Freedom to Read Foundation (FTRF), in cooperation with the National Constitution Center, proudly presents an evening with Anthony Lewis on Jan. 14, in conjunction with the American Library Association (ALA) Midwinter Meeting. Mr. Lewis is one of the country's preeminent First Amendment experts and the winner of two Pulitzer Prizes. Serving as moderator for the discussion will be Chris Finan, president of the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression, a member of the FTRF Board of Trustees and a First Amendment expert in his own right.
Following the program, Lewis and Finan will sign copies of their most recent books. Mr. Lewis' book, Freedom for the Thought We Hate, has been hailed as "a stirring account of America's evolving idea of liberty" by Publisher's Weekly. A columnist for the New York Times op-ed page from 1969 through 2001, Mr. Lewis has been the James Madison Visiting Professor at Columbia University since 1983. His previous books are Gideon's Trumpet, Portrait of a Decade and Make No Law: The Sullivan Case and the First Amendment.
Mr. Finan's latest book, From the Palmer Raids to the PATRIOT Act: A History of the Fight for Free Speech in America, was highly praised by critics. Library Journal said it "[c]ould be the definitive study of a perpetually complex, contentious issue." Both books will be sold courtesy of Joseph Fox Bookshop.
The program will begin at 6:30 p.m. at the National Constitution Center, 525 Arch St., Independence Mall, Philadelphia. Tickets are $12 for Constitution Center and FTRF members, $15 for non-members and $6 for K-12 students and teachers. Reservations are required. To reserve tickets, please call (215) 409-6700.
FTRF members are invited to meet Lewis and Finan at a pre-program reception beginning at 5:30 p.m. at the National Constitution Center. RSVP for the reception by email (
ftrf@ala.org) or by phone at (800) 545-2433, ext. 4226.
The Freedom to Read Foundation, a sister organization of the American Library Association, was founded in 1969 to promote and defend the right of individuals to freely express ideas and to access information in libraries and elsewhere. FTRF fulfills its mission through the disbursement of grants to individuals and groups, primarily for the purpose of aiding them in litigation, and through direct participation in litigation dealing with freedom of speech and of the press. For more information on FTRF, visit
www.ftrf.org or call (800) 545-2433, ext. 4226.
The National Constitution Center is an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing public understanding of the U.S. Constitution and the ideas and values it represents. The Center serves as a museum, an education center and a forum for debate on constitutional issues. The museum dramatically tells the story of the Constitution from Revolutionary times to the present through more than 100 interactive, multimedia exhibits, film, photographs, text, sculpture, artifacts and theatrical performance. The Center also houses the Annenberg Center for Education and Outreach, which serves as the hub for national constitutional education. Also, as a nonpartisan forum for constitutional discourse, the Center presents-without endorsement-programs that contain diverse viewpoints on a broad range of issues. For more information on the program and the National Constitution Center, visit
www.constitutioncenter.org.
