The Ohio State University at Marion invites the community to attend the 44th Annual Norman Thomas Memorial Lecture, Friday, April 22nd, 12 p.m., in Maynard Hall's Guthery Community Room on the Marion campus. This year’s lecture features Outreach Director with the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), Lecia Brooks. Brooks will present, "Fighting Hate, Teaching Tolerance, Seeking Justice."
Brooks will share fascinating stories about the organization's history, landmark cases and current work. She leads the Southern Poverty Law Center’s outreach efforts on key initiatives and social justice issues. As outreach director, she frequently gives presentations around the country to promote tolerance and diversity. She also serves as director of the Civil Rights Memorial Center in Montgomery, Ala., an interpretive center designed to provide visitors to the Civil Rights Memorial with a deeper understanding of the civil rights movement. She joined the SPLC staff in 2004 as director of Mix It Up at Lunch Day, a Teaching Tolerance program designed to help break down racial, cultural, and social barriers in schools. Previously, she worked for 12 years in a number of capacities for the National Conference for Community and Justice in its Los Angeles office. She is a graduate of Loyola Marymount University.
The Southern Poverty Law was founded in 1971 to ensure that the promises of the civil rights movement became a reality for all. Using legal action, advocacy and education, the SPLC has toppled institutional racism in the South, bankrupted some of the nation’s most violent white supremacist groups and won justice for exploited workers, abused prison inmates, disabled children and other victims of discrimination. The SPLC is internationally known for tracking and exposing the activities of hate groups. Its innovative Teaching Tolerance program produces and distributes – free of charge – materials that promote tolerance and respect in our nation’s schools. As the country has grown increasingly diverse, the SPLC’s work has only become more vital.
Since 1972, The Norman Thomas Memorial Lecture has been delivered annually at the Marion Campus of The Ohio State University. Lecturers are chosen from a wide variety of fields; historians, labor leaders, educators, editors, and authors have spoken during the series. All lecturers invited to speak have demonstrated concerns similar to those for which Norman Thomas lived—peace, social justice, rational discourse, and the expansion of democracy.
The Norman Thomas Memorial Lecture is free and open to the public. This annual lecture is organized by the History Department at Ohio State Marion, and sponsored by the Harding/Thomas Endowment Fund, and Fahey Bank.