WHO: Michael Eric Dyson, political analyst for MSNBC, acclaimed author, and professor of sociology at Georgetown University, will deliver the University of Rochester's 2012 Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Address. A celebration of King's life and the kick-off for Black History Month, the annual address is sponsored by the College Diversity Roundtable and the Office of the President.
PRESS OPPORTUNITY: Media availability with Dyson will be held from 3:30 to 4 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 27, in the Welles-Brown Room of Rush Rhees Library on the University of Rochester's River Campus.
COMMEMORATIVE ADDRESS: 6 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 27, Strong Auditorium on the River Campus. Select copies of Dyson's books will be on sale prior to the lecture, and Dyson will be available after the lecture for a book signing.
ABOUT MICHAEL ERIC DYSON: Dyson has written extensively on prominent figures in the civil rights movement, including books on Martin Luther King, Jr. (I May Not Get There with You: The True Martin Luther King, Jr.) and Malcolm X (Making Malcolm: The Myth and Meaning of Malcolm X). His scholarship has also explored the hip hop culture through a book on rapper Tupac Shakur (Holler if You Hear Me: Searching for Tupac Shakur) and a Georgetown University course on Jay-Z, "Sociology of Hip-Hop: Jay-Z."
A prominent figure in the media, Dyson hosts an hour-long news show on NPR, "The Michael Eric Dyson Show," and has appeared on television programs including The Today Show, Nightline, Real Time with Bill Maher, Rap City, Def Poetry Jam, and The Colbert Report. Dyson was named one of the most influential black Americans by Ebony magazine and is the recipient of two NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Literary Work – Non-Fiction and won a 2007 American Book Award for Come Hell or High Water: Hurricane Katrina and the Color of Disaster.
PARKING: Members of the media may park in the Library Lot, located on Library Road behind Rush Rhees Library and should pick up parking tokens and hang tags at the Parking Booth on Wilson Boulevard to gain access into the lot.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Members of the media can check in with Melissa Greco Lopes by calling 585.260.6666 or e-mailing mgrecolo@ur.rochester.edu.