The Rev. Al Sharpton will kick off the 'Male Development and Empowerment Center Lecture Series,' which provides a platform for thought and growth by exposing students and the Central Brooklyn community to experts in a variety of fields
Internationally renowned civil rights leader, activist and founder/ president of the National Action Network (NAN), the Rev. Al Sharpton has been on the frontlines advocating for people of color, immigrants, women and the LGBT community. On Monday, October 30, Sharpton will share his experiences in the field of civic education, engagement and responsibility in a lecture at Medgar Evers College as part of the college's "Male Development and Empowerment Center Lecture Series."
As head of NAN, which currently operates over 125 chapters across the country, Sharpton has taken the teachings of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and applied them to a modern civil rights agenda, turning the power of dissent and protest into tangible legislation. He continues and pushes conversations on civil rights also as the anchor of a weekly television broadcast on MSNBC titled "Politics Nation," as the host of a daily, three-hour nationally syndicated radio show called "Keepin it Real," as well as during a national Sunday radio show called "The Hour of Power."
"I often say that we have progressed tremendously as a nation since the days of slavery," says Sharpton. "But discrimination and inequality saturate society in modern ways. Though racism may be less blatant today, its existence is undeniable and our job is to keep pushing for justice and the truth."
The Male Development and Empowerment Center is an academic success initiative designed to counsel and mentor male students who have enrolled at Medgar Evers College, and provides coaching and academic support, as well as a setting for social development, information exchange and cultural enrichment. The lecture series is designed to offer a platform to share effective strategies and promote holistic growth to MEC students and the Central Brooklyn community by exposing them to experts in a variety of fields.
Medgar Evers College is a senior college of the City University of New York and was established in 1970 by a group of visionaries who understood the transformative power of education, and who wanted to provide educational and social opportunities to the Central Brooklyn community. The predominantly black college in Crown Heights has nearly 7,000 students with a growing student population of Hispanic or Caribbean origin, many of who are the first in their families to attend college.
Male Development and Empowerment Center Lecture Series with Rev. Al Sharpton
WHEN: Monday, October 30, 10:00am
WHERE: Edison O. Jackson Auditorium, 1638 Bedford Ave., Brooklyn.
