 Eric Alva October 14, 2009 |
 Prince Cedza Dlamini November 11, 2009 |
 Angela Davis February 10, 2010 |
 Brigitte Cazalis-Collins March 10, 2010 |
 Morris Dees April 1, 2010 *Rescheduled from December 9, 2009 |
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Free and open to the public. There is a small fee ($3.00) for on-campus parking. All lectures begin at 7:00 p.m. at Fountain Street Church,24 Fountain NE . A book signing will follow each lecture. For information, please call (616) 234-3390. Download Flyer (.pdf)
Eric Alva, Iraq War Veteran, LGBT Rights Activist
“Ending Don't Ask, Don't Tell”
October 14, 2009
Eric Alva is the national spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign fight to repeal the military’s discriminatory GLBT policy. In January 2003, in the build-up to the war, Alva’s unit, the 3rd Battalion 7th Marines, was deployed. His unit was among the first to cross the border of Kuwait into Iraq for the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom. He stepped on a landmine breaking his right arm and damaging his leg so badly that it later needed to be amputated. He had become the first American wounded in the war, and the war’s first Purple Heart recipient.
On February 28, 2007, he joined Congressman Martin Meehan in introducing the Military Readiness Enhancement Act, designed to repeal the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. With this step, he openly admitted to the military and the world that he is a gay man who served and proudly sacrificed for his country.
Among Alva’s awards and recognitions for his service is the 2003 Heroes and Heritage Award from La Raza, the 2004 Hero’s Among Us award from People magazine, the 2004 Patriot Award from the city of San Antonio, and the 2008 Public Citizen Award from the National Association of Social Workers.
Prince Cedza Dlamini, Humanitarian, Social Entrepreneur
“Global Forgiveness and Connectedness”
November 11, 2009
Cedza Dlamini’s vision is to create a unified global order of young leaders working to collectively address world problems, such as HIV/AIDS, poverty, hunger and illiteracy. He travels the world to help young people recognize their connectedness to each and their power to change their surroundings. As the grandson of Nelson Mandela, he carries on the activism and investment in community leading him to expose young people to the leadership and professional skills they need in their communities.
He founded the Ubuntu Institute for Young Social Entrepreneurs, to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, the United Nation’s eight point strategy to eradicate poverty, hunger and disease in Africa. His work promotes global forgiveness, compassion and the use of dialogue, instead of violence for conflict resolution. Dlamini also serves on the strategic development team of the Global Action Network in New York.
Cedza’s strong sense of community and unique value set stem from his rich lineage: he is the of freedom fighters King Sobhuza II, and Nelson Mandela (his grandfather), who triumphed over apartheid.
Angela Davis, Human Rights Activist, Author
“Frameworks for Social Justice”
February 10, 2010
Angela Davis is known internationally for her ongoing work to combat all forms of oppression. Over the years, as a student, teacher, writer, scholar, activist and organizer - and even prisoner - she has become a living witness to the historical struggles of two generations of American life.
In 1969, Angela Davis came to national attention after being removed from her teaching position at UCLA as a result of her social activism and her membership in the Communist Party. In 1970 she was placed on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted List on false charges, culminating in one of the most famous trials in recent American history. During her sixteen-month incarceration, a massive international “Free Angela Davis” campaign was organized, leading to her acquittal in 1972. She is the author of five books, including the campus classics Angela Davis: An Autobiography and Women, Race & Class. Currently, Davis is a tenured professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz.
She is an advocate of prison abolition with a powerful critique of racism in the criminal justice system and is working on a comparative study of women’s imprisonment
Brigitte Cazalis-Collins, Social Justice Activist
“The Front Lines of the War against Child Sex Trafficking”
March 10, 2010
Over the past twenty years, Brigitte along with her husband, Joseph Collins, have worked to bring world-wide attention to the tragic crisis of the sex trade. Each year more than one million women and children are kidnapped and sold into sex slavery.
Maiti Nepal, founded in 1993 by Brigitte and Joseph is a charitable organization based in Kathmandu, Nepal, to combat the sex trafficking of women and children. Maiti Nepal has received numerous awards from the Government of Nepal and prominent international organizations. Its leadership role in combating trafficking between India and Nepal is widely recognized by the international community. Its awards include World’s Children’s Prize from the International Children’s Organization of Sweden.
Their presentation is often accompanied by a screening of the internationally acclaimed documentary “The Day My God Died”. This heartwrenching documentary provides a glimpse into the corruption and evil behind the curtain of the global sex industry, a world seldom seen by outsiders. It exposes crimes that not only occur far away, but also closer to home than we may have imagined.
Morris Dees, Civil Rights Activist, Attorney, Author
“With Justice for All”
April 1, 2010 (Rescheduled from December 9, 2009 due to inclement weather)
Civil rights and diversity speaker Morris Dees is the co-founder of the Southern Poverty Law Center, a nonprofit group specializing in lawsuits involving civil rights violations, domestic terrorism, and hate-motivated crimes. Dees and his associates have secured huge criminal, civil, and financial judgments against a series of hate groups including the Aryan Nation and Ku Klux Klan.
Morris Dees is a strong proponent of education about civil rights and the civil rights movement, and was instrumental in the creation of the Civil Rights Memorial in Mobile, Alabama. For his efforts as an attorney and activist, Dees was named the Trial Lawyer of the Year in 1987 and received the National Education Association's Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Award in 1990.
Today, he focuses his attention on anti-government militias. In his brilliant expose Gathering Storm: America's Militia Threat, Dees explains the dangers these groups represent. He is also author of A Lawyer's Journey, an autobiography, and Hate on Trial: The Case Against America's Most Dangerous Neo-Nazi.
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