Ruebén Martinez

Latino Literature and Heritage

Martinez’s business, Librería Martinez Books and Art Gallery, began it’s life as a small shelf in a barber shop. For years, Martinez, a barber, lent copies of books like Juan Rulfo’s El Lano en Illamas to his customers. Eventually, he started selling books by Latino writers. By 1993, the book business had outgrown its shelf and Martinez decided to put down his shears and turn the shop into a bookstore. He began hosting readings and community events. Today, Librevía Martinez Books and Gallery and Libros Para Niños Childrens bookstore are recognized nationwide. In 2004 Ruebén Martinez became the first bookseller to receive a $500,000 fellowship from the MacArthur Foundation for his efforts to promote literacy and reading in his hometown of Santa Ana, California. The Foundation lauded Martinez for fusing the roles of marketplace and community center to inspire an appreciation of Latino literature and heritage.

Dr. Joycelyn Elders

Health Care Issues in the 21st Century

Former U.S. Surgeon General, and the first African-American woman to hold that post, now a Distinguished Professor of Public Health at the University of Arkansas, Joycelyn Elders never saw a physician prior to her first year in college. Dr. Elders attended the University of Arkansas Medical School (UAMS) on the G.I. Bill. After graduation in 1960, she was an intern at the University of Minnesota Hospital in Minneapolis and did a pediatric residency and an endocrinology fellowship at the University of Arkansas Medical Center in Little Rock. Based on her studies of growth in children and the treatment of hormone related illness-es, she has written many articles for medical research publications. Nominated as Surgeon General of the U.S. Public Health Service by President Clinton in July of 1993. Dr. Elders has also received multiple honorary doctorate of sciences degrees and honorary doctorate of letters degrees.

I’m Nancy and I’m a size 16: Beauty and Body Image

Nancy Giles’ acclaimed work on CBS Sunday Morning has provided the largest audience yet for her unique blend of laugh-out-loud humor and common sense wisdom. Winner of the Theater World Award for the off-Broadway musical, Mayor, Giles appeared for three seasons as Frankie in the TV drama, China Beach, and played Connie the waitress in the sitcom Delta. She is the writer and performer of the one-woman shows, Notes of a Negro Neurotic and Black Comedy: The Wacky Side of Racism, which the Village Voice called “smart and unforgiving.” Giles has made her mark dismantling misconceptions about race, feminism and sexism. On topics ranging from popular culture and body image to creativity and racial bias, Giles is a commanding presence – someone with something witty and compassionate to say to all of us. “White people,” she jokes, “have nothing to fear.”

Barry Scheck
Attorney; DNA Expert; Co-founder, The Innocence Project

The Barry Scheck lecture has been rescheduled to March 22, 2006.

The Innocence Project: DNA and the Wrongly Convicted

Known for his years of landmark litigation, which set standards for the use of DNA evidence in courts throughout the country, Barry Scheck has spear-headed a nationwide movement to re-examine the fairness and efficacy of our criminal justice system. A long-time advocate for DNA testing, Scheck co-founded The Innocence Project in 1992 with his colleague Peter Neufeld. This non-profit legal clinic has used DNA evidence to exonerate more than 150 wrongfully imprisoned people, some of whom were on death row or had been incarcerated for decades. Scheck exposes the rampant mishandling of evidence and coercive interrogation techniques that have plagued the legal process. He is a commissioner of forensic science for New York state and a frequently sought-after expert. A Professor at the Cardozo School of Law, he is Director of Clinical Education for the Trial Advocacy Program and the Center for the Study of Law and Ethics.

* A book signing will follow Barry Scheck’s lecture.