The annual Elizabethtown College Leffler Lecture has been rescheduled after being postponed last semester.
NPR radio journalist and host Michele Norris will now speak Tuesday, Feb. 28 at 7:30 p.m. in Leffler Chapel and Performance Center.
The lecture and several related events were originally scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 15, and Norris apologized for postponing her visit to campus.
Norris’ lecture, “Eavesdropping on America’s Conversation on Race,” will focus on her work with The Race Card Project, which she founded while on a sabbatical from her position at NPR.
The project encourages people to share their race-related thoughts and stories in six-word snippets.
The College ran a successful six-word stories movement during the 2015-2016 academic year. Assistant professor of religious studies Dr. Richard Newton led the campus campaign. Students wrote their stories on poster paper in residence halls and in the BSC.
In addition to The Race Card Project, Norris helped start NPR’s “Backseat Book Club.” This initiative is designed to get children interested in reading by discussing different books.
Now a Host and Special Correspondent at NPR, Norris previously served as co-host of “All Things Considered,” NPR’s news magazine and the longest-running national public radio program.
Overall, Norris has over 20 years of journalism experience. She has received many awards for her work and for her influence in the field of journalism.
In 2007, she received Ebony Magazine’s eighth Annual Outstanding Women in Marketing and Communications Award.
Two years later, she was named one of Essence Magazine’s “25 Most Influential Black Americans.” Her contributions to ABC News’ coverage of the 9/11 attacks earned Norris both an Emmy Award and a Peabody Award.
In 2010, Norris published a memoir titled “The Grace of Silence.” In addition to being a memoir, Norris’s book discusses how Americans viewed and talked about race during former President Barack Obama’s 2008 election. A book signing will follow the lecture.
Etown’s Carlos R. and Georgiana E. Leffler Memorial Lecture is an annual event sponsored by Linda ’67 and Patrick Catagna.
Its goal is to bring speakers who will inspire the campus community to think about societal issues and motivate them to make a difference.
Tickets are free and required to attend the lecture. Those interested in attending can get tickets by emailing lecturetickets@etown.edu.
Those who reserved tickets when the lecture was still scheduled for last semester must also contact this email address to be issued new tickets.
