The Northern Illinois University College of Liberal Arts and Sciences will welcome best-selling author and educator, Eddie Glaude Jr. to the Rebuilding Democracy Lecture Series at 7 p.m. CST Nov. 8 in Altgeld Auditorium. The program is free and open to the public.
Eddie Glaude Jr.
The event will feature a discussion between Glaude Jr. and Dean Robert Brinkmann on the current state of democracy nationwide, challenges in the United States, political polarization, the influence and relevance author James Baldwin has on his writings and view of the world, as well as how democracy is experienced across racial and socio-economic demographics. A moderated question and answer session will follow.
Combining a scholar’s knowledge of history, a political commentator’s take on the latest events, and an activist’s passion for social justice, he examines the complex dynamics of the American experience. His writings, including “Democracy in Black: How Race Still Enslaves the American Soul,” “In a Shade of Blue: Pragmatism and the Politics of Black America,” and his most recent, the New York Times bestseller, “Begin Again: James Baldwin’s America and Its Urgent Lessons for our Own,” takes a wide look at Black communities, the difficulties of race in the United States and the challenges we face as a democracy.
Glaude is the James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor and Chair of the Department of African American Studies at Princeton. He is also on the Morehouse College Board of Trustees.
Some like to describe Glaude as the quintessential Morehouse man, having left his home in Moss Point, Mississippi at age 16 to begin studies at the HBCU and alma mater of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He holds a master’s degree in African American Studies from Temple University and a Ph.D. in religion from Princeton University.
The Rebuilding Democracy Lecture Series showcases how the liberal arts and sciences is at the center of a healthy democracy. The Series addresses various aspects of building a stronger democracy and bringing together a fractured society – everything from restoring civility, exploring branches of government, rebuilding our diplomatic and intelligence offices, as well as topical issues such as education, healthcare, media, public health, budget and finance, sustainability/environmental issues, and social justice/human rights.