EAST LANSING The Rev. Al Sharpton, U.S. Rep. John Lewis and actor/singer Harry Belafonte will all be visiting East Lansing next month as part of a Michigan State lecture series.
The William G. Anderson Lecture Series Slavery to Freedom: An American Odysseys 15th annual iteration will bring all three prominent civil rights leaders to Michigan States campus for separate lectures during February.
The first lecture will feature Lewis, D-Georgia, speaking at noon Feb. 6 at the Kellogg Center, 219 S. Harrison Road. Prior to Lewis lecture, there will be a reception at 11:15 a.m. where members of the audience can speak with the representative.
Belafonte is scheduled to speak at 5 p.m. Feb. 12 at the Kellogg Center. The reception for Belafonte will take place after his lecture.
The final lecture in the series will be Sharptons talk at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 26 at the Wharton Center, 750 E. West Shaw Lane. The reception for Sharpton will also take place following his lecture.
MSUs College of Osteopathic Medicine puts on the lecture series. Laura Probyn, a spokeswoman for the college, said the annual series is done in the honor of Anderson, who works out of MSUs Detroit Medical Center.
This has been his life, Probyn said Monday. Hes lived it and hes seen what has transpired He and other leaders in the college feel the importance of continuing, this year especially with whats going on nationally, . to keep alive the discussion around civil rights.
Its the first time all three speakers will have taken part in the lecture series.
Lewis is a recent winner of the Medal of Freedom, the nations highest civilian honor, and is the only winner of the Profile in Courage Award from the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation. He was a keynote speaker at the March on Washington and a founder and chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. Hes served in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1987.
Belafonte is an activist, singer, songwriter, actor on both Broadway and on-screen and a producer. He was active in the American civil rights movement and worked to end apartheid in South Africa. Hes been successful commercially as well, as his album Calypso was the first ever album to sell more than a million copies. He was also the first black producer to win an Emmy award, for the production of An Evening With Belafonte.
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Rev. Al Sharpton, Rep. John Lewis and Harry Belafonte to speak at Michigan State next month