LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Imagine civil rights leaders Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. discussing the topic “Race in the Obama Era: Politics, Culture or Class?”
People who attend The Great Debate April 12 at the University of Louisville won’t have to stretch their imaginations too far when debaters from UofL, Bellarmine University and Tennessee State University tackle that topic. One team will present Malcolm X’s perspective, another will give King’s perspective and the third will present a synthesis of the two.
The program starts at 7 p.m. in the Multipurpose Room of the Swain Student Activities Center on Belknap Campus. Along with the debates, the event also will feature cultural vignettes such as music and dramatizations. A reception, sponsored by the UofL Office of the Vice Provost for Diversity and International Affairs, will follow.
Long-time community activist Jaison A. Gardner will moderate The Great Debate. Community members Chris Hartman, director, Fairness Campaign; Aimee Webb, human resources consultant for JCPS and granddaughter of local education advocates the late Woodford and Harriet Porter; Audwin Helton, owner/president, Spatial Data Integrations Inc.; and Ralph deChabert, chief diversity officer, Brown-Forman, will serve as judges, along with David Owen, associate professor of philosophy and director of diversity programs at UofL.
The students of the UofL Debate Society are presenting The Great Debate in conjunction with Make it Plain Consulting and UofL’s Student Activities Board and the A&S Debate Program. The Great Debate Program started more than 25 years ago at Tennessee State University as a way to bring together campus and community activists working toward social change.
Admission is free and open to the public.
For more information, call Mary Mudd with the UofL Debate Team at 502-852-3522.