Renowned Author and Princeton Professor Eddie S. Glaude, Jr. is Keynote Speaker at 14th Annual Urban Community Forum on March 27

Eddie S. Glaude, Jr., distinguished author, commentator and Senior Fellow with The Jamestown Project at Harvard University, will be the keynote speaker at Cleveland State University’s 14th Annual Urban Community Forum on March 27 from 8:30 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. at the Cole Center for Continuing Education (3100 Chester Ave.)

The event is free and open to the public. To register, please call 216.687.9394 or visit www.csuohio.edu/offices/odama. The registration deadline is March 22. A continental breakfast and light lunch is included.

Eddie S. Glaude, Jr.

This year’s Urban Community Forum theme, “The (Many) Souls of Black Folk,” is taken from W.E.B. DuBois’ 1903 book, The Souls of Black Folk, in which he proclaims that “the problem of the Twentieth Century is the problem of the color-line.” As a continuing problem of the 21st century, the Urban Community Forum invites attendees to participate in an important dialogue on identities and constructs that continue to influence our lives in American society. Speakers, panelists, performers and community members will discuss our historic journey and transitions, and how we define and redefine racial identity today and in the future. Eddie S. Glaude, Jr. is Chair of the Center for African American Studies and the William S. Tod Professor of Religion and African American Studies at Princeton University.

Widely regarded as one of the brightest young intellectuals in the U.S. today, Glaude offers a critical and insightful view on the problems currently facing black America as well as the nation at large.

He is the author of several books; his latest award-winning book, In a Shade of Blue: Pragmatism and the Politics of Black America, has been characterized as a tour de force – establishing him as “one of the most visionary thinkers of our time.” According to Cornel West, acclaimed author of the best-selling book, Race Matters, “Eddie Glaude is the towering intellectual of his generation. There is simply no one else like him emerging on the intellectual scene.”

Born in Mississippi, in a small town called Moss Point, Glaude brings to his scholarship and public service a sense of passion and vocation shaped by the tradition of African American struggle. As a graduate of Morehouse College, he was inspired by the courage and devotion of Martin Luther King, Jr., the institution’s most famous graduate. Glaude went on to receive his doctorate degree in religion from Princeton University.

Currently, Glaude is a regular commentator on the Tavis Smiley Show From PRI. He has been a guest on radio shows ranging from The Brian Lehrer Show on WNYC to Mildred Gaddis’s show, Inside Detroit. Glaude has also appeared on Hannity and Colmes as well as Tavis Smiley on PBS. With each appearance, Glaude seeks to prod and to provoke, to insist and to incite, to encourage and to embolden fellow citizens to rise to the profound challenges of our day. # # #

March 11, 2010 | News Release #14786 | Contact: Brian Johnston, 216.523.7279, pr@csuohio.edu