Juan Williams to Speak on Race Relations

In celebration of Martin Luther King's birthday, Juan Williams, one of the nation's foremost political analysts, will present "Where Do We Go from Here? Race Relations in a Fast-Changing Nation" on Monday, January 17. This free lecture, the third in the Office of Multicultural Affairs Racial Awareness Series, will start at 8:00 p.m. in the Emerson Suites, Phillips Hall.

Williams began his journalism career almost 20 years ago as a police reporter at the Washington Post. He has been with the Post ever since, having served as an editorial writer, columnist, and White House correspondent before taking on his current assignment as national correspondent covering political and social issues.

Williams has developed a keen understanding of inside-the-beltway politics as well as a grasp of the larger issues affecting the country. He has shared that knowledge as a guest commentator on National Public Radio, the NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, Nightline, Washington Week in Review, and Inside Washington. He is also host of America's Black Forum, a nationally syndicated television show, and a political analyst for Fox News Channel.

In addition to his television appearances, he has written articles for publications that embrace a wide spectrum of thought, including Fortune, New Republic, Ebony, and Gentlemen's Quarterly.

He wrote the nonfiction bestseller Eyes on the Prize: America's Civil Rights Years, 1954-1965, the companion volume to the Pulitzer Prize-winning PBS series. In 1998 he published a second book, Thurgood Marshall: American Revolutionary, a biography of the first African American to be appointed to the United States Supreme Court and the attorney who successfully argued the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education case that outlawed school segregation.

Williams's many honors include the Bill Pryor Award for Investigative Reporting, Washingtonian magazine's best Washington columnist award, and an Emmy Award for documentary writing.

The Racial Awareness Series will conclude on Wednesday, April 5, when Nguyen Qui Duc, editor, television producer, and radio commentator, will present "Where the Ashes Are: The Vietnamese American Experience."

For more information, call the Office of Multicultural Affairs at 274-1692.