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Lost Boys of Sudan Lost Boys of Sudan is a feature-length documentary that follows two Sudanese refugees on an extraordinary journey from Africa to America. Orphaned as young boys in one of Africa's cruelest civil wars, Peter Dut and Santino Chuor survived lion attacks and militia gunfire to reach a refugee camp in Kenya along with thousands of other children. From there, remarkably, they were chosen to come to America. Safe at last from physical danger and hunger, a world away from home, they find themselves confronted with the abundance and alienation of contemporary American suburbia. Lost Boys of Sudan won an Independent Spirit Award and screened theatrically in 70 cities across the U.S. to strong audience and critical praise. The film was broadcast nationally on the PBS series POV in the fall of 2004 and earned two Emmy nominations. The story of the Lost Boys of Sudan has touched people from all walks of life. From movie stars and politicians to the average housewife, people from around the world have fallen in love with these courageous young men. Joan Hecht was no exception. When hearing of their story for the first time, Joan Hecht’s eyes filled with tears and she felt a deep stirring in her soul. She knew that helping them was not an option. It was a call to her heart from God and Joan Hecht responded. She hoped to be instrumental in making their new lives in America better than the ones they had left behind. Like many others, Joan Hecht felt compelled to be a mother to these young men who couldn't even remember the faces of their own mothers. “Mama Joan” hoped only to help change their lives, never realizing how knowing each of them would so drastically change her own.
Nathan Keliikui Brown Nathan coordinates Research & International Law for the Ohana (family) Council - a leading organization in the dynamic Native Hawaiian movement to re-assert independence & self-determination. In 1878 Captain Cook came upon, "400,000 island residents with a well-developed, flourishing culture and lifestyle. They were robust & healthy and had a coherent system of spiritual beliefs, economics and scholarship." In 1893 armed white settlers and the U.S.Marines overthrew the Sovereign Hawaiian Kingdom in violation of a Treaty of Peace & Friendship. For Nathan's people, self-determination is the right to choose ones destiny in compliance with The U.N. Charter, Article 73. Nathan is of Kanaka Mooli (Hawaiian) descent from a family of 14 children raised in a rural lifestyle in the heart of Downtown Honolulu. After several arrests, he is under federal indictment for exercising his human rights. He is currently assisting Kanaka Maoli communities with the Ohana Council Self-government Charter that lays a foundation for self-determination & self-governance. Nathan engages in eloquent unveiling of truth through the spirit of Aloha.
Yue-Sai Kan Entrepreneur, Author, Journalist and Humanitarian Yue-Sai Kan is perhaps the most famous woman in China today. A unique combination of entrepreneur, best-selling author, television journalist, and humanitarian, Kan has been honored in Monaco as a "Leading Woman Entrepreneur of the World" and in Fortune magazine as one of the five most influential women in China. She is also the only living American to have a Chinese postage stamp bear her likeness. Kan is the founder of the first major beauty products company in ChinaŃYue-Sai Kan CosmeticsŃwhich she later sold to L'Oreal. Always an innovator, Kan also produced and hosted the first television documentaries to promote East/West relations, including the Emmy Award-winning China Walls and Bridges. She now hosts Yue-Sai's World, a series that brings the latest international lifestyle trends to over one billion Chinese viewers. An ardent supporter of education for the underprivileged, Kan has established a fund to build schools in China and provide scholarships to gifted female students.
Ishmael Beah Former Child Soldier, Human Rights Activist and Best Selling Author of A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier Program Title: A Long Way Gone Ishmael Beah was born in Sierra Leone on November 23, 1980. When he was eleven, Ishmael Beah's life, along with the lives of millions of other Sierra Leoneans, was derailed by the outbreak of a brutal civil war. After Ishmael Beah's parents and two brothers were killed, Ishmael was recruited to fight as a child soldier. He was thirteen. Ishmael Beah fought for over two years before Ishmael Beah was removed from the army by UNICEF and placed in a rehabilitation home in Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone. After completing rehabilitation in late 1996, Ishmael Beah won a competition to attend a conference at the United Nations to talk about the devastating effects of war on children in his country. It was there that he met his new mother, Laura Simms, a professional storyteller who lives in New York. Ishmael Beah returned to Sierra Leone and continued speaking about his experiences to help bring international attention to the issue of child soldiering and war affected children. In 1998 Ishmael Beah came to live with his American family in New York City. He completed high school at the United Nations International School, and subsequently went on to Oberlin College in Ohio. Throughout Ishmael Beah's high school and undergraduate education, Ishmael Beah continued his advocacy work to bring attention to the plight of child soldiers and children affected by war around the world, speaking on numerous occasions on behalf of Unicef, Human Rights Watch, United Nations Secretary General’s Office for Children and Armed Conflict, at the United Nations General Assembly, serving on a UN panel with Secretary General Kofi Annan and discussing the issue with dignitaries such as Nelson Mandela and Bill Clinton. Ishmael Beah is a member of the Human Rights Watch Children’s Rights Division Committee. In A Long Way Gone, Ishmael Beah, now twenty-six years old, tells a riveting story. At the age of twelve, Ishmael Beah fled attacking rebels and wandered a land rendered unrecognizable by violence. By thirteen, Ishmael Beah had been picked up by the government army, and Ishmael Beah, at heart a gentle boy, found that he was capable of truly terrible acts. Eventually released by the army and sent to a UNICEF rehabilitation center, Ishmael Beah struggled to regain his humanity and to reenter the world of civilians, who viewed him with fear and suspicion. This is, at last, a story of redemption and hope.
Harry Belafonte The consummate entertainer, Belafonte is a world-renowned recording artist ,Broadway, movie and TV star and globally respected human rights activist. The winner of countless awards for his work as an artist and humanitarian, he continues to fight against injustice throughout the world.
Vernon Bellecourt Vernon is a principal spokesman for the American Indian Movement and a leader in actions ranging from the 1972 occupation of the Bureau of Indian Affairs in Washington to the 1992 Redskin Superbowl demonstrations. He is Co-founder and first Executive Director of the Denver AIM Chapter. His involvement at Wounded Knee in 1973 led to a Federal indictment. He is a special representative of the International Indian Treaty Council and helped organize the first Treaty Conference in 1974. He was jailed for throwing his blood on the Guatemalan Embassy to protest the killing of 100,000 Indians. He was elected to a 4-year term in his White Earth tribal government and developed a model program for the spiritual education of Indian prisoners. Vernon is President of the National Coalition on Racism in Sports & Media and recipient of the City of Phoenix, Martin Luther King Human Rights Award 1993.
Gro Harlem Brundtland Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland is one of the most influential women of the late twentieth century.In 1998, Gro was elected Director-General of the World Health Organization. She is one of Norway's most respected and experienced politicians. One of the most influential Europeans in the last 25 years" The Financial Times. Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland's was Prime Minister of Norway on several different occasions and Chairwoman of the UN World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED), now called The Brundtland Commission. She has been awarded several prestigious awards in recognition of her work, among which the Third World Prize for Work on Environmental Issues 1989, the Indira Gandhi Prize in 1990 as well as the Onassis Foundation Award in 1992 and the Charlemagne Prize of the city of Aachen.
Zbigniew Brzezinski Former National Security Advisor to President Jimmy Carter, Zbigniew Brzezinski is an articulate voice on U.S. Foreign Policy, who understands the the new world order and its political effects on global business. A consultant on International Affairs, Brzezinski is author of the best-seller The Grand Chessboard: American Primacy and Its Geostrategic Imperatives. Zbigniew Brzezinski currently serves as a counselor for the Center for Strategic and International Studies and is a professor of American Foreign Policy at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies in Baltimore, Maryland. From 1977 to 1981, he was National Security Advisor to the President of the United States. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his role in the normalization of U.S.-China relations and for his contribution to the U.S. human rights and national security policies in 1981. Brzezinski is also a member of the National Endowment for Democracy Board of Directors, a Congressionally-funded institution for the advancement of democracy. He serves as an honorary chairman of the AmeriCares Foundation, a member of the Board of Trustees of Freedom House and a trustee of the Trilateral Commission (a cooperative American-European-Japanese forum). A member of the Board of Directors of the Polish-American Enterprise Fund, Brzezinski also chairs the American-Ukrainian Advisory Committee. He is a frequent participant in annual business and trade conventions and the president of Z.B., Inc., an advisory firm on international issues to corporations and financial institutions). Brzezinski was previously a member of the Policy Planning Council for the Department of State (1966-68), a member of the President's Chemical Warfare Commission (1988) and a member of the NSC - Defense Department Commission on Integrated Long-Term Strategy (1987-88). He has also served on the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board. During the 1968 presidential campaign, he chaired the Humphrey Foreign Policy Task Force and was the principal foreign policy advisor to Jimmy Carter in the 1976 campaign. In 1988, he was co-chairman of the Bush National Security Advisory Task Force. He has also been actively involved with Amnesty International and the Council on Foreign Relations. He has taught at Columbia University, Harvard University and Howard University, received his Ph.D. from Harvard University and his BA and MA from McGill University. Brzezinski is the author of The Grand Chessboard: American Primacy and its Geostrategic Imperatives, Out of Control: Global Turmoil on the Eve of the Twenty-first Century, Power and Principle: Memoirs of the National Security Advisor, 1977-1981 and The Geostrategic Triad: Living with China, Europe and Russia.
Ken Burns Ken Burns Celebrated documentary filmmaker Program Title: An Evening With Ken Burns Ken Burns has been making documentary films for more than twenty years. Since the Academy Award nominated Brooklyn Bridge in 1981, he has gone on to direct and produce some of the most acclaimed historical documentaries ever made, including The Civil War (1990) and Baseball (1994). Stephen Ambrose, the historian, has said of Ken's films, "More Americans get their history from Ken Burns than any other source." JAZZ (a GM Mark of Excellence Presentation that will air on PBS in January, 2001) is Burns's third epic documentary, a ten-part that follows this most American of art forms from its origins in blues and ragtime through swing, bebop and fusion. As with The Civil War and Baseball, which with JAZZ constitute a unique trilogy of American life and culture, Burns explores in detail the culture, politics and dreams that gave birth to this most integral part of American history and life. As he wrote in the introduction to the companion book (Knopf, 2000), "having grappled with many Constitutional issues in our Civil War series and many other films, and having explored our national pastime and its exquisite lessons in our series on Baseball, we have over the last six years struggled to understand the utterly American art form of jazz. Ken's epics have received numerous accolades. The Civil War was the highest rated series in the history of American public television and attracted an audience of 40 million during its premiere in September 1990. The columnist George Will said, "If better use has ever been made of television, I have not seen it and do not expect to see better until Ken Burns turns his prodigious talents to his next project." The series was honored with more than 40 major film and television awards. The eighteen and a half hour long Baseball, for which Ken was also the director, producer, co-writer, chief cinematographer, music director and executive producer, attracted more than 45 million viewers. David Bianculli of the New York Daily News said that the film "resonates like a Mozart symphony." Time Magazine wrote that "Baseball is rich in drama, irresistible as nostalgia, and...an instructive window into our national psychology." The film won numerous awards, including an Emmy, the CINE Golden Eagle Award, the Clarion Award, and the Television Critics Award for Outstanding Achievement in Sports and Special Programming.
President Jimmy Carter As 39th President of the United States, President Jimmy Carters most significant singular achievements were the signing of the historic Camp David Agreements, the Panama Canal Treaties, the establishment of diplomatic relations with the Peoples Republic of China, and his strong focus on an adherence to human rights around the world. As a private citizen, President Carter founded the Carter Center, addressing vital world issues through nonpartisan study and consultation. He continues to demonstrate his solidarity with the peoples struggling for their rights in various parts of the world. President Carter is the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize for his decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development. In his speeches, Mr. Carter draws upon his experiences as President of the United States to address almost any vital world issue particularly human rights.
Kathleen Cleaver Kathleen Cleaver, a major voice in the Black liberation movements of the 1960s and 70s, continues today, to speak out against racism, sexism and economic inequality. In 1966, Cleaver fist became active in the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). From 1967 to 1971, she was the Communications Secretary of the Black Panther Party and the first woman member of its Central Committee. After sharing years of exile with her former husband Eldridge Cleaver, she returned to the United States in late 1975. Since graduating from Yale Law School in 1987, Cleaver has combined legal work, teaching and activism. She has taught at numerous universities including Emory, Yale and Sara Lawrence. She served on the Georgia Supreme Court Commission on Racial and Ethnic Bias in the Courts and became a Board Member of the Atlanta-based Southern Center for Human Rights. She has been active in the campaigns to free death row prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal and former Panther Geronimo Pratt (released in 1997). Her writings and essays have appeared in numerous magazines, books and newspapers and her memoir, Memories of Love and War, is forthcoming from Random House.
Max Cleland Former U.S. Senator Max Cleland (D-GA) is a member of the board of directors of the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank). President George Bush nominated Cleland on Nov. 21, 2003. He was subsequently confirmed by the Senate and sworn in on Dec. 15, 2003 for a term expiring January 20, 2007. Cleland has a long and distinguished career in public service at the state and national levels in both the executive and legislative branches of government. In 2002, Cleland was appointed to the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States to report findings and recommendations to prevent future terrorist attacks. More recently he has served as a Distinguished Adjunct Professor to American Universitys (AU) Washington Semester Program, and as a Fellow in AU’s Center for Congressional & Presidential Studies. Cleland successfully ran for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by retiring Senator Sam Nunn in 1995. He served on four Senate Committees: Armed Services; Commerce, Science and Transportation; Governmental Affairs; and Small Business. Previously, Cleland had the distinction of serving as the youngest Secretary of State in Georgia’s history, and the youngest member of the Georgia State Senate. Under President Jimmy Carter, Cleland became the youngest head of the U.S. Veterans Administration. In that capacity, he instituted the revolutionary Vets Center program that, for the first time, offered psychological counseling to combat veterans to heal the emotional wounds of war. Cleland volunteered for duty in Vietnam and was promoted to the rank of Captain in 1968. He was seriously wounded in a grenade explosion that year, costing him both legs and his right arm. He was awarded the Bronze Star and a Silver Star for gallantry in action. Cleland holds a master’s degree in American History from Emory University. He majored in history at Stetson University. Both institutions subsequently awarded him honorary doctorate degrees. Cleland grew up in Lithonia, GA.
Katie Couric The first female to solely anchor a nightly network news program and a tireless advocate for cancer prevention, Katie Couric analyzes the hard hitting and hopeful stories making news worldwide. Driven by professional integrity and the human need to connect, Katie Couric brings compassion and understanding to overwhelming and complex stories. She interviews todays newsmakers and tomorrows leaders, gaining acclaim for her in depth interviews with 2008 Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin and with Secretary of Defense Robert Gates during a trip to Afghanistan where he fired the top general waging Americas fight in this critical region. Formerly co anchor of NBCs Today for more than a decade, a contributing anchor for Dateline NBC and the recipient of two Emmy Awards and a Peabody Award, Couric offers audiences humorous, touching anecdotes and a behind the scenes look at her history making role in television news. A tireless advocate for charitable causes, Couric helped found the Colorectal Cancer Research Alliance, which focuses on education, research and awareness.
Walter Cronkite Retired journalist, best known for his work as a television news anchorman. During his tenure at CBS Evening News, he was often cited in viewer opinion polls as "the most trusted man in America," because of his experience and professional demeanor.
Robert Cruz Tony is U.N. Liaison Officer and coordinates Treaty Council participation at the U.N. Commission on Human Rights in Geneva. He works with the U.N. Working Group on Indigenous Populations to complete the Universal Declaration on the Rights & Principles of Indigenous Peoples - a document that will establish a standard for countries to co-exist with Indigenous Peoples. In 12 years at the Treaty Council he has Coordinated Community Outreach and Research & Documentation and been Director of Operations. He has met Gorbachev, Arafat, Nelson Mandela} and other world leaders to discuss Indigenous Sovereignty, environmental degradation, religious freedom, torture and political persecution. A current focus is a U.N. study on nation/state violations of Treaties. At the 1993 U.N. World Conference on Human Rights, he helped successfully lobby countries to call for an International Decade of Indigenous Peoples. He helps build unity between Indigenous people of all colors by emphasizing their shared history and common vision for the future
Kerry Cuomo Radio correspondent interviewing human rights leaders for the Voice of America, Ms. Kennedy Cuomo has lectured about human rights throughout the United State, and has led human rights delegations to many locations around the world.
Ted Danson There are a few celebrities who take up an environmental cause and actually move beyond a superficial commitment. Ted Danson is one of those celebrities. He is the co-founding member of the American Oceans Campaign (AOC), an organization established to alert Americans to the life-threatening hazards created by oil spills, offshore development, toxic wastes, sewage pollution and other ocean abuses. Throwing his whole self into the issues, while lobbying on Capitol Hill, he has been known to chase senators into elevators. Danson starred in the recent CBS series Becker, for which he received a Golden Globe Award nomination. He is also well known for his role in the long-running series Cheers, for which he received two Emmy Awards (1990 and 1993) as Best Actor in a Comedy Series and nine Emmy nominations for his portrayal of Sam Malone. The role also won him a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Comedy Series in 1989 and 1990. Danson's other television credits include the CBS series Ink, Frasier, Veronica's Closet, Ellen and The Larry David Show. He also won a Golden Globe for his role in the television movie Something About Amelia. Dansons acclaim in the entertainment world is echoed in his very separate life as an environmentalist. His oceans work has earned him credibility, respect, and a high profile in both environmental and political circles.
John Dear John has been arrested more than 75 times due to his activities promoting peace. Leaving behind his frat-boy, party-all-night lifestyle, Dear has become a nationally known peace activist who was nominated for the 2008 Nobel Peace Prize by Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Dears story is one that illustrates that the most essential disarmament of all is the one that happens in our own heart when we finally let go of self-righteousness, resentment, and anger.
Gabriel Bol Deng Gabriel Bol Deng has overcome unbelievable obstacles. He was 10 years old when North Sudan Arab militiamen led a violent attack on his village in South Sudan. He fled, not knowing the whereabouts of his parents or siblings. After his escape, Gabriel embarked on a harrowing, four month journey across the Nile River and the untold miles of Desert, surviving disease and paralyzing hunger to reach Ethiopia. While at the Dimma Refugee Camp in Ethiopia, Gabriel first learned English by writing on cardboard with pieces of charcoal. Four years later, he fled from violence again, leaving Ethiopia and traveling cross-country to Kenya, where, with the help of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Gabriel received an education at the Kakuma Refugee Camp. In 2000, he was offered the chance to join a refugee resettlement program in the United States. Gabriel is one of the Sudanese orphans known as The Lost Boys of Sudan.
Joycelyn Elders When she was sworn in as Surgeon General, Dr. M. Joycelyn Elders became the first African American and the second woman to hold that post. As Surgeon General, Dr. Elders initiated programs to combat youth smoking and teen pregnancy and to increase childhood immunizations. As a private citizen, she continues to lobby tirelessly for the health needs of the young, the poor and the powerless. A pediatric endocrinologist, Dr. Elders has a deep concern for the welfare of children. She believes that violence, sexually transmitted diseases, poverty and substance abuse are the biggest threats to the health and wellness of our children. Dr. Elders has always spoken from her heart on health care issues. She advocates public health over profits in health care reform, openness over censorship in sex education, and rehabilitation over incarceration in the war against drugs. Her presentations on sexual health and education are both frank and informative. In her lectures and in her book, Joycelyn Elders M.D.: From Sharecropper’s Daughter to Surgeon General of the United States, she addresses the importance of good prenatal care, the future of healthcare reform, women’s health concerns, current treatments for HIV/AIDS, and meeting the needs of older Americans.
Mia Farrow Mia Farrow has had an ever-evolving life journey that has brought her fame both on and offstage. Internationally acclaimed actress, mother of fourteen children (ten who are adopted), and a devoted and committed humanitarian advocating for children worldwide, Ms. Farrow now focuses her efforts on helping those less fortunate. As a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, she has worked extensively to draw attention to the fight to draw attention to the fight to eradicate polio, which she survived as a child. Recently, Ms. Farrow has become a spokesperson and activist raising awareness of the genocide occurring in Darfur, Chad and Central African Republic. With quiet eloquence, she reminds us of the importance of these causes, and speaks across the country to foster support to end these tragic events. Daughter of film director John Farrow and famed actress Maureen O’Sullivan, Ms. Farrow began her acting career in the groundbreaking television series, “Peyton Place,” and has appeared in such landmark film classics such as “Rosemary’s Baby,” “The Great Gatsby” and “Hannah and Her Sisters.” Her memoir, What Falls Away, has been lauded as a “simply elegant memoir,” and with honesty and eloquence details her remarkable career, family and motherhood.
Sarah Ferguson An international personality, successful career woman and single working mother, Sarah Ferguson, The Duchess of York, is an inspiring role model whose extraordinary life is a testament to the powers of faith, resolve and resiliency. Against the backdrop of celebrity and privilege, Ferguson speaks candidly about her perils on the world stage and about her journey from near-ruin to reinvention and redemption. As the author, most recently, of What I Know Now: Simple Lessons Learned the Hard Way, Ferguson shares the hard-won lessons that have helped her work through challenges, told with her characteristic candor and down-to-earth charm. Her thoughtful, simple approach to dealing with obstacles applies to the struggles we all face in life. Bringing her natural warmth and talent as a storyteller to the podium, Ferguson draws from her extraordinary life to illuminate a wide range of topics. From overcoming personal struggles to living authentically, Ferguson shares compelling memories from her own life to engage audiences in an inspiring, candid speech. After graduating from Queen?s Secretarial College, Ferguson worked in public relations and fine art. After a year-long romance with Prince Andrew, the couple married in 1986. They had two children, Princess Beatrice Elizabeth Mary of York and Princess Eugenie Victoria Helena of York. Suddenly catapulted into international view, Ferguson had a short honeymoon with the media that was followed by constant attacks in the British media that scrutinized her clothes, weight and personality. After several years of her personal struggles being played out on the public stage, her rocky marriage with Prince Andrew ended in separation in 1992. Since her divorce from Prince Andrew, Ferguson has remained in the media spotlight as a commercial spokesperson, passionate humanitarian and successful author. She has represented leading companies such as Weight Watchers International, Waterford-Wedgwood and Compex Technologies. Ferguson is internationally recognized for her support of health-related causes around the world and humanitarian work for children in need. Her books include an autobiography, My Story; several self-help and dieting books such as Reinventing Yourself with The Duchess of York and Dieting with The Duchess; and children?s stories, including the Budgie the Little Helicopter series and Little Red books. Media interest in Ferguson remains as strong as ever. She is frequently the subject of interviews seen in leading national newspapers and magazines and she is a popular guest on top-rated television and radio programs. A true testament to her popularity and recognition internationally, she was recently a featured presenter at the Golden Globes Award ceremony in Los Angeles.
Morgan Freeman Morgan Freeman earned his first Academy Award nomination for his chilling performance as a homicidal pimp in the drama Street Smart, which also brought him the LA, N.Y., and National Society of Film Critics Awards for best supporting actor of 1987, as well as an Independent Spirit Award and a Golden Globe nomination. The part of the pimp, Fast Black, was a far cry from his big screen debut as the genial character Afro in his film debut, the 1971 childrens adventure Who Says I Cant Ride a Rainbow, and it signaled the film world that one of its most versatile stars was on the rise. The 16 year span between those titles saw Freeman range from Shakespeare to an undercover policeman in Eyewitness. The next two decades would see him become one of Hollywoods true luminaries. Freeman earned his second Oscar nomination in 1989, this time as Best Actor, recreating his award-winning Broadway role in Driving Miss Daisy. He garnered his third Academy Award nomination playing opposite Tim Robbins in the critically praised 1994 hit The Shawshank Redemption. His fourth nomination for Clint Eastwoods Million Dollar Baby won him the Best Supporting Actor Oscar in 2005. The Memphis-born actor began his career on New York stages in the early 1960s, following a stint as a mechanic in the Air Force. A decade later, he became a nationally known television personality when he created the popular character Easy Reader on the popular childrens show, The Electric Company. Throughout the 1970s, he continued his work on stage, winning the Drama Desk Award, the Clarence Derwent Award and receiving a Tony Award Nomination for his outstanding performance in The Mighty Gents in 1978. He also won an Obie Award for his portrayal of Shakespearean anti-hero, Coriolanus, at the New York Shakespeare Festival. In 1984, Morgan won another Obie for his role as The Messenger in the acclaimed Brooklyn Academy of Music production of Lee Breuer's Gospel at Colonus. In 1985, he was winner of the Dramalogue Award for the same role. The part of Hoke Coleburn in Alfred Uhrys Pulitzer Prize-winning play, Driving Miss Daisy brought him his third Obie Award. His last stage appearance was as Petruchio in The Taming of the Shrew at the New York Shakespeare Festivals Delacorte Theater with Tracey Ullman. In 1993, Freeman made his film directorial debut with Bopha!, starring Danny Glover and Alfre Woodard, and soon after formed Revelations Entertainment, a production company developing entertainment product in all existing and emerging media that enlightens, inspires and glorifies the human experience. Their most recent production was the Brad Silberling comedy 10 Items or Less, in which Freeman starred with Paz Vega. His other early film acting credits include Brubaker, Harry & Sons, Teachers, Marie; That Was Then, This Is Now, Clean & Sober, Johnny Handsome, the multiple award-winning Glory, Chain Reaction, the Steven Spielberg production, Amistad, Hard Rain, Deep Impact, Nurse Betty, Along Came a Spider, Kiss the Girls, High Crimes, The Sum of All Fears and Warner Bros Dreamcatcher and The Big Bounce. Other recent films include Luc Bessons Unleashed, Robert Redfords An Unfinished Life, Batman Begins and narration on the Academy Award-winning documentary March of The Penguins. He also recently starred in Lucky Number Slevin, with Bruce Willis and Josh Hartnett and will soon be seen in the comedy sequel Evan Almighty, Ben Afflecks Gone Baby Gone, Robert Bentons The Feast of Love and the next chapter in the Batman saga The Dark Knight.
Cristina Garcia In 1960, Cristina Garcias family fled Cuba in the wake of Fidel Castros Communist revolution. Drawing on her personal experiences in an expatriate family, Garcia speaks directly on the current issues of cultural identity and Cuban-American relations. As a powerful speaker with a marvelous charm she illuminates the complexities and contradictions of a dual cultural identity by exploring questions such as; What does it mean to have Hispanic roots and also to succeed within mainstream America? What are the drawbacks and benefits of this duality? Garcia has been a Guggenheim Fellow, a fellow at Princeton University, and is the recipient of the Whitting Writers Award.
Dr. Phakamile Gongo First Black Secretary General of the Embassy of South Africa.
Mikhail Gorbachev Gorbachev was the leader of the former U.S.S.R. from 1985-91 and is credited by many in the West with ending the Cold War. He streamlined and decentralized the oppressive Soviet Communist system he inherited and taught the world two new words: perestroika (governmental restructuring) and glasnost (political openness). He signed two broad disarmament pacts and brought an end to Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. Gorbachev was recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990. After graduating from Moscow State University with a law degree, Gorbachev joined the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in 1952. In 1971, he was elected to the Central Committee, Communist Party (CCCP), and from 1978-85 he served as secretary. From 1985-90, he was president of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the U.S.S.R., and in 1990-91 he was president of the Soviet Union. Time magazine named Gorbachev 1987 Man of the Year and 1980s Person of the Decade. He was one of Time's 100 Most Important People of the Twentieth Century. This year, he shared a Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Children's Album with President Clinton and Sophia Loren. In 1992, Gorbachev became President of the Gorbachev Foundation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan educational foundation, which articulates and addresses the challenges of the post Cold War world through the re-visioning of global priorities. In 1993, he founded the environmental organization, Green Cross International, which is a three-pronged program with a mission to clean up military toxins, assist in the creation of global ecological law and foster a value shift on the environment.
Alexander Haig One of the Most Decorated Military and Civilian Figures of Our Time Upon graduating from the U.S. Military Academy in 1947, Alexander M. Haig was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Army, serving in Japan with the 1st Cavalry Division and on the staff of General Douglas MacArthur, in the Korean War with the X Corps and as aide to Lieutenant General Edward M. (Ned) Almond, and in Europe. He served in the Pentagon from 1962-1965 and in Vietnam in 1966-1967 as battalion and brigade commander, receiving the Distinguished Service Cross for heroism. Among his many other military decorations are the Defense Distinguished Service Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Silver Star with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Distinguished Flying Cross with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Purple heart, and decorations from Belgium, the Federal Republic of Germany, Morocco, France, Italy, Luxemburg, the Netherlands and Portugal. In January 1969, he became the Senior Military Advisor to the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, Dr. Henry Kissinger, and later became Deputy Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs. In 1972, he was promoted to full General. During his four years in the White House, he served as the personal emissary of the President to negotiate the Vietnam ceasefire and the return of U.S. prisoners of war. He also coordinated President Nixon’s historic visit to China. General Haig was serving as Vice Chief of Staff of the Army when President Nixon named him White House Chief of Staff, at which point he retired after twenty-six years in the Army. In October 1974 at his request, President Ford recalled him to active duty as Commander-in-Chief, U.S. European. Two months later he was appointed Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, responsible for the integrated military forces of NATO. In 1979, he resigned his post and retired from the Army. He was elected president and COO of United Technologies Corporation, also serving on its board of directors. In January 1981, he was sworn in as the 59th U.S. Secretary of State. General Haig is currently chairman of his own advisory firm, Worldwide Associates, Inc., assisting corporations around the world in providing strategic advice on global, political, economic, commercial and security matters. He is host of the weekly television program, “World Business Review,” and is a member of the board of directors of Metro-Goldwyn Mayer, Inc, MGM Mirage, inc., Indevus Pharmaceuticals, inc., and the Chairman of the Board of DOR BioPharma, Inc. He was a founding Director of America Online, Inc. General Haig is the author of two books: Caveat: Realism, Reagan and Foreign Policy (1984), and his autobiography, Inner Circles: How America Changed the World – A Memoir (1992).
Hill Harper Despite his many accolades and awards, or maybe because of them, Hill Harper made a commitment to work in service of our youth. To pass along the lessons he learned and provide a foundation for young brothers and sisters to use as a launching pad to success. Hill knew early on that education is the key to unlock potential and open doors. He pursued his education with a passion and determination that resulted in him graduating Magna Cum Laude from Brown University. But not satisfied with that success, he went on to earn graduate degrees in Law and Public Administration from Harvard University.After achieving his goals in higher education, Hill began to pursue his career in acting with the same dedication and discipline he exhibited in the classroom. His hard work paid off as he is now seen in the hit CBS drama, CSI:NY. His appearance on the show has earned him two NAACP Image Awards. Prior to his current series Hill appeared in the CBS series' City of Angels and The Handler and he made numerous guest starring appearances in top shows such as Soul Food, The Sopranos, ER, NYPD Blue, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Of course, Hill is also an accomplished and acclaimed film actor he recently starred in the HBO movie, Lackawanna Blues and received critical acclaim for his performance in the independent film, The Visit. Again, Hill's film credits are numerous and include appearances in In Too Deep, Beloved, He Got Game, Get On The Bus, Zooman, and One Red Rose [which he co-wrote for Showtime.]He has been awarded an additional three NAACP Image awards for his literary accomplishments Outstanding Literary Work: Youth/Teens (2007, 2008) and Outstanding Literary Work: Debut Author (2007). Hill has authored his first book for adults: The Conversation: How Black Men and Women Can Build Loving, Trusting Relationships; it has also been recognized as a New York Times Bestseller. Also Letters to a Young Sister: DeFINE Your Destiny, published in 2008 and "The Conversation", published in 2009.
Immaculee Ilibagiza Immaculee Ilibagiza is a survivor of the Rwandan genocide and author of Left to Tell and Led by Faith. Immaculee is a living example of faith put into action. Immaculees life was transformed dramatically during the 1994 Rwandan genocide when she and seven other women spent 91 days hiding, huddled silently together in the cramped bathroom of a local pastors house. She emerged to find that nearly her entire family had been brutally murdered. Immaculee found solace and peace in prayer and began to pray from the time she opened her eyes in the morning to the time she closed her eyes at night. Through prayer, she eventually found it possible, and in fact imperative, to forgive her tormentors and her familys murderers. This is a powerful presentation of faith and forgiveness.
Jesse Jackson Reverend Jesse Jackson is one of America's foremost political figures. For more than thirty years he has played a pivotal role in virtually every movement for empowerment, peace, civil rights, gender equality, economic and social justice. A two-time presidential candidate and a leader in the fight against South African apartheid, he has been on the Gallup List of "Ten Most Respected Americans" for the past ten years. Reverend Jesse Jackson serves as president of the National Rainbow Coalition and is one of America's foremost political figures. Over the past three decades he has played a major role in virtually every movement for empowerment, peace, civil rights, gender equality and economic and social justice. Rev. Jackson has been called the "conscience of the nation" and "the great unifier," challenging America to establish just and humane priorities and bringing people together on common ground across lines of race, class, gender and belief. Years before they were common positions, Rev. Jackson was advocating national health care, a war on drugs and peace negotiations with the Soviet Union and the Middle East. His strong stand against apartheid in South Africa in 1984 made it a forefront national issue. Rev. Jackson's two presidential campaigns broke new ground in U.S. politics. His 1984 campaign won 3.5 million votes, registered over a million new voters and helped the Democratic Party regain control of the Senate in 1986. His 1988 candidacy won seven million votes and registered two million new voters. His clear progressive agenda and his ability to build an unprecedented coalition inspired millions to join the political process. As a highly respected world leader, Rev. Jackson has acted many times as an international diplomat in sensitive situations. In 1984, he secured the release of captured Navy Lieutenant Robert Goodman from Syria, as well as the release of 48 Cuban and Cuban-American prisoners in 1987. He was the first American to bring hostages out of Kuwait and Iraq in 1990. Rev. Jackson was elected a U.S. Senator from Washington, D.C. in 1990, a position also known as "Statehood Shadow Senator." The office was created to advocate for statehood for Washington, D.C. A hallmark of Rev. Jackson's work has been his commitment to the youth. He has visited thousands of high schools, colleges and universities, encouraging excellence and challenging students to stay in school and away from drugs. He has also been a major force in the American labor movement, working with unions to organize workers, mediating labor disputes, walking picket lines and speaking at labor rallies. He has visited prisons, bringing comfort to the abandoned and discouraging recidivism. Rev. Jackson has received numerous honors for his work in human rights and social justice. In 1991, the U.S. Post Office placed his likeness on a pictorial postal cancellation, only the second living person to receive such an honor. He has been on the Gallup List of Ten Men Most Respected by Americans for 10 years. He has also received the prestigious NAACP Springarn Award and been awarded over 40 honorary degrees.
Eugene Jarecki Eugene Jarecki is an award winning dramatic and documentary filmmaker and visiting senior fellow at Brown Universitys Watson Institute. After training at Princeton as a stage director, Jarecki turned to film in 1992, and his first short film, Season of the Litterbees, premiered at the 1993 Sundance Film Festival before winning both a Student Academy Award and the Time Warner Grand Prize at the Aspen Film Festival. His most recent film, Why We Fight, won the 2005 Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival. He also directed the award-winning film The Trials of Henry Kissinger, 2001s dramatic feature The Opponent, and Quest of the Carib Canoe. His experience behind the camera and tackling challenging topics makes Jarecki an exciting keynote speaker. In 2008, Eugene Jarecki released, The American Way of War: Guided Missiles, Misguided Men, and a Republic in Peril. The book reveals America at a crossroads, and focuses on what can be done to get the country back on track. Examining American military might, it is a unique appraisal of the balance of power in American democracy and what can be done to preserve our goverment as a beacon of hope around the world.
Olivia Newton John Actress, singer, songwriter, devoted mother, humanitarian and cancer survivor, Olivia Newton John is a beloved figure to millions of people worldwide. On stage she is a profound and inspiring speaker no matter what the topic the future of our children, the importance of raising breast cancer and AIDS awareness, environmental conservation, or animal rights. Her appearances always empower listening audiences while communicating her genuine warmth and concern for the future of humanity and our planet. First gaining worldwide fame as the star of Grease and the singer songwriter behind an incredible 25 Top 40 singles, Olivia has been a deeply committed activist her entire life. She has served as Goodwill Ambassador to the United Nations Environment Program and National Spokesperson for the Childrens Health Environmental Coalition, and received innumerable awards from the American Red Cross, the Rainforest Alliance, and the Environmental Media Association. In 1992 Olivia was diagnosed with breast cancer, which at the time seemed a fatal blow to her hopes and future. True to form, however, she not only conquered the disease but courageously used her experience to talk openly about it and to promote awareness of the importance of early detection something she continues to do today. In 1996 she founded the Olivia Newton John Cancer Centre in her hometown of Melbourne, Australia its mission is to be the countrys leading center for cancer education and research. An amazing woman whose indomitable spirit and courage are an inspiration to all who hear her, Olivia is a passionate speaker on the following topics:
Sarah Jones Sarah Jones is a Tony Award winning playwright, actor, and poet. Her multi-character solo shows include Bridge & Tunnel, which was originally produced Off-Broadway by Oscar-winner Meryl Streep, and went on to become a critically acclaimed, long running smash-hit on Broadway. Jones career has taken her from a sold out run at The Kennedy Center to tours of India, Europe and South Africa to performances for such audiences as the United Nations, members of the U.S. Congress and the Supreme Court of Nepal. Her multicultural cast of characters has always been a reflection of her diverse audiences. A proud Queens, New York native, Sarah attended the United Nations International School and Bryn Mawr College where she was the recipient of the Mellon Minority Fellowship, then returned to New York and began writing and competing in poetry slams at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe. There she developed her first show, Surface Transit, which was presented at The American Place Theatre and PS122. Her next piece, Women Can't Wait! was commissioned by Equality Now to address the human rights of women and girls. A subsequent commission by the National Immigration Forum yielded Waking the American Dream, the inspiration for Bridge & Tunnel. Most recently, Jones has been commissioned by the WK Kellogg Foundation for a piece entitled A Right to Care, which tackles themes of inequality in health. Jones has also received grants and commissions from Lincoln Center Theater, The Ford Foundation, and theater honors including an Obie, a Helen Hayes Award, two Drama Desk nominations, HBOs US Comedy Arts Festival's Best One Person Show Award, and an NYCLU Calloway Award in recognition of Jones as the first artist in history to sue the Federal Communications Commission for censorship. The lawsuit resulted in reversal of the censorship ruling, which had targeted her hip-hop poem recording, Your Revolution. A regular uncensored guest on public radio, she has also made numerous TV appearances on HBO, NBC, ABC, CBS, PBS, CNN, and in her own special, “The Sarah Jones Show,” on Bravo. Jones lives in New York with her creative partner and husband Steve Colman.
Naomi Judd Naomi Judd has always dared to do the impossible. A former nurse and single mother, she turned a musical pairing with daughter Wynonna into a six-time Grammy Award-winning country music phenomenon. She is the best-selling author of Love Can Build a Bridge, a moving story of the human spirit. Although she would modestly insist otherwise, there has never been anything simple or commonplace about Naomi Judd - not her vision, her life, her faith, nor the music she and her daughter, Wynonna, created as The Judds. She dreamed bigger, worked harder, took greater risks and triumphed more resoundingly than most people ever will. From the beginning of The Judds' meteoric rise, her "china doll" looks and magnetic personality paralleled the duo's music for the public's attention and appreciation. As their songs became #1 hits, their RCA albums went platinum and their concerts became sellouts. Their popularity kept them undefeated for eight consecutive years at all three major country award shows. They received six Grammys and a vast array of other awards and honors. Bringing values and insistence on integrity to every aspect of her public and personal life, Judd helped The Judds set new standards of excellence and ushered in the resurgence of country music's popularity. America fell in love with the self-proclaimed country girl from Ashland, Kentucky. From small town humble beginnings, this daughter of a gas station owner father and riverboat cook mother became a hope seller to the duo's legions of fans. The music industry labeled her the "Cinderella" of country music because of her real life rags-to-riches story. During the Judds' eight-year reign as superstars, she became infinitely more to the public than a singer, songwriter and engaging performer. She came to represent every woman. Having been an R.N., a secretary, waitress and clerk, the divorced, working mother stood for the modern American family, with all its defects and glories.
Doris Kearns Doris Kearns first came to the attention of President Lyndon Johnson when she co-wrote a very critical article on Johnson for the New Republic magazine. Several months later, when they met in person at the White House, Johnson asked her to work with him in the White House. He soon asked her to help write his memoirs. During and after Johnson's Presidency, Kearns visited Johnson many times, and, three years after his death, published her first book, Lyndon Johnson & the American Dream. She drew on the friendship and conversations with Johnson, supplemented by careful research and critical analysis, to present a picture of his accomplishments, failures and motivations. She married Richard Goodwin in 1975. Her husband, an advisor to John and Robert Kennedy as well as a writer, helped her to gain access to people and papers for her story on the Kennedy family, begun in 1977 and finished ten years later. This book, too, was acclaimed critically, and was made into a television movie. In 1995 Doris Kearns Goodwin was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for her biography of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, No Ordinary Time. She then turned to writing a memoir of her own, about growing up as a Brooklyn Dodgers fan, Wait Till Next Year. She is a regular political commentator for television and radio.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is a nationally known attorney, environmental activist, university professor and author. He serves as chief prosecuting attorney for the Hudson Riverkeeper Program; as senior attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council; and as a clinical professor and supervising attorney at the Environmental Litigation Clinic at Pace University School of Law in New York. He is regarded as a pioneer in the area of municipal and government responsibility for environmental problems. Kennedy's reputation as a resolute defender of the environment stems from a litany of legal actions which include the prosecution of governmental agencies and industrial companies for polluting the Hudson River and Long Island Sound, winning settlements for the Hudson Riverkeeper, arguing cases to expand citizen access to the shoreline, and suing sewage treatment plants to force compliance with the Clean Water Act. Kennedy is credited with leading the fight to protect New York City's water supply. The New York City watershed agreement, which he negotiated of behalf of environmentalists across the state, is regarded as an international model in stakeholder consensus negotiations and sustainable development. On the national front, he was instrumental in helping defeat several anti-environmental bills during the 104th Congress. He has also worked to tackle environmental issues across the Americas and has assisted several indigenous tribes in Latin America and Canada in successfully negotiating treaties protecting traditional homelands. Although Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is known as an activist for environmental protection everywhere, he considers fighting pollution in the Hudson River a priority. In an interview with the Natural Resources Defense Council, Kennedy avowed that he would continue to fight pollution in the Hudson River, despite the many governmental barriers that have been erected to discourage the works of citizens who wish to hold polluting agencies accountable. Kennedy stated, "The Hudson is my backyard, and the primary obligation of anyone in the environmental community is to clean his or her own backyard first. Global reform starts with local reform." Earlier in his career, Kennedy served as assistant district attorney in New York City. He has worked on several presidential campaigns, including those of Edward M. Kennedy in 1980 and Al Gore in 2000. Kennedy is the author of numerous articles and three books, including Judge Frank M. Johnson, Jr., A Biography (1977), the New York State Apprentice Falconer's Manual, and his latest book, The Riverkeepers (1997), co-written with John Cronin. His articles have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Atlantic Monthly, The Boston Globe, and The Washington Post, among other publications. Kennedy is a graduate of Harvard University. He studied at the London School of Economics and received his law degree from the University of Virginia Law School. Following graduation he attended Pace University School of Law, where he was awarded a master's degree in environmental law. March 20, 2003 Quick LinksAcademics @ Guilford Academic Departments Academic Skills Center BannerWeb Certification Programs College Calendar Course Catalog Course Schedules First Year Program Guilford Writing Manual Library Study Abroad Programs What's Going On @ Guilford? Art Gallery Athletics Campus Life Guilfordian Guilford Buzz Local Events and Activities News Services Where Can I Find Help? Admission Information Adult Programs Campus Ministry Campus Map Employment Opportunities Information Technology International Student Info Office of College Relations Office of Public Safety Services & Administration Ways of Giving.
Craig Kileburger Craig Kileburger is an accomplished child rights advocate, leadership specialist, and award-winning author and public speaker.. Kielburger founded Free The Children when he was just twelve years old. What started as a small group of classmates quickly became in international phenomenon which has helped to build more than 400 primary schools in third world countries helping to education more than 35,000 children. Craig has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize three times, received the Nelson Mandela Human Rights Award, the Roosevelt Freedom Medal, and in 2006 received the World Children’s Prize also known as the “Children’s Nobel Prize.” His first book, Free The Children, earned the Christopher Award and has since been translated into eight languages. He is co-author of the national bestseller Take Action! – A Guide to Active Citizenship. His most recent book, co-written with his brother Marc, is entitled Me to We: Turning Self-Help on Its Head has already spent more than 25 weeks on numerous national bestseller’s lists. Craig has shown that no one is too young to make a difference and has partnered with the United Nations and Oprah’s Angel Network. His work has been featured on Oprah, 60 Minutes, Time, People Magazine, and numerous newspapers around the world.
Martin King, III Son of the late civil rights leader, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. he is the president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). Martin Luther King, III is founder of the civil rights organization, American United for Affirmative Action.
Nicholas D. Kristof Nicholas D. Kristof, a columnist for The New York Times since November 2001, writes op ed columns that appear twice a week. He is temporarily on leave to write a book with his wife about women in the developing world. Previously, he was associate managing editor of The Times, responsible for the Sunday Times. Kristof graduated from Harvard College, Phi Beta Kappa, and then won a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford, where he studied law and graduated with first class honors. He later studied Arabic in Cairo and Chinese in Taipei. After working in France, he caught the travel bug and began backpacking around Africa and Asia, writing articles to cover his expenses. Kristof has lived on four continents, reported on six, and traveled to 140 countries, plus all 50 states, every Chinese province and every main Japanese island. Hes also one of the very few Americans to be at least a two time visitor to every member of the Axis of Evil. During his travels, he has had unpleasant experiences with malaria, wars, an Indonesian mob carrying heads on pikes, and an African airplane crash. After joining The New York Times in 1984, initially covering economics, he served as a correspondent in Los Angeles and as bureau chief in Hong Kong, Beijing, and Tokyo. In 2000, he covered the presidential campaign and in particular Governor Bush, and he is the author of the chapter on Bush in the reference book The Presidents. In 1990 Kristof and his wife, Sheryl WuDunn, then also a Times journalist, won a Pulitzer Prize for their coverage of Chinas Tiananmen Square democracy movement. They were the first married couple to win a Pulitzer for journalism. Kristof won a second Pulitzer in 2006, for commentary. He has also won other prizes including the George Polk Award, the Overseas Press Club award, the Michael Kelly award, the Online News Association award, and the American Society of Newspaper Editors award. Kristof and WuDunn are authors of China Wakes: The Struggle for the Soul of a Rising Power and Thunder from the East: Portrait of a Rising Asia.
Bill Kurtis Acclaimed documentary host and producer, network and major market news anchor, and multimedia production company president, Bill Kurtis is celebrating his fortieth anniversary in the field of broadcasting. Over the years, Kurtis has created a body of work that is virtually unparalleled. Born in Florida and raised in Independence, Kansas, Kurtis graduated from The University of Kansas with a Bachelor of Science degree in Journalism. He attended Washburn University School of Law where he was awarded a Juris Doctor degree. Kurtis began his television career at WIBW-TV (CBS) in Topeka, Kansas. In 1966, after being recognized for his 24-hour coverage of a devastating tornado, Kurtis was hired by WBBM-TV in Chicago where he was a field reporter and later anchor of The Channel Two News. Kurtis moved on to the network level at CBS where he anchored the CBS Morning News and contributed to CBS Reports. During his career as a network newsman, Kurtis covered such notable stories as the Richard Speck murders and the Charles Manson trial. He is also credited with breaking the Agent Orange story and the story of Amerasian children in Vietnam. Returning to Chicago and WBBM-TV as news anchor in 1985, Kurtis began his career as a documentarian, traveling to the far ends of the earth for the Peabody Award-winning series The New Explorers, which aired on A&E®. In 1990, he founded Kurtis Productions and began producing programs for the A&E Network, including the long-running, award-winning Investigative Reports and Cold Case Files® as well as Investigating History for The History Channel. Kurtis has also served as the host of A&E's AmericanJustice – the longest running non-fiction justice series on cable. Cold Case Files® was nominated for 2004 and 2005 Primetime Emmys for Outstanding Nonfiction Series. Kurtis also provides satirical narration for the feature film comedy Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, starring Will Ferrell and has provided spoken word elements to the recent Dandy Warhols' album released by Capitol Records. Kurtis is also an author. The Death Penalty on Trial: Crisis in American Justice (PublicAffairs) is his most recent book, which explores issues surrounding capital punishment in America. By profiling two murder cases, Mr. Kurtis reveals his change of mind regarding capital punishment.
Dr. James Loewen James Loewen's gripping retelling of American history as it should, and could, be taught, Lies My Teacher Told Me, has sold more than 800,000 copies and continues to inspire K-16 teachers to get students to challenge, rather than memorize, their textbooks. Jim Loewen taught race relations for twenty years at the University of Vermont. Previously he taught at predominantly black Tougaloo College in Mississippi. He now lives in Washington, D.C., continuing his research on how Americans remember their past. Lies Across America: What Our Historic Sites Get Wrong came out in 1999. The Gustavus Myers Foundation named his new book, Sundown Towns, a "Distinguished Book of 2005." His other books include Mississippi: Conflict and Change (co authored), which won the Lillian Smith Award for Best Southern Nonfiction but was rejected for public school text use by the State of Mississippi, leading to the path breaking First Amendment lawsuit, Loewen et al. v. Turnipseed, et al. He also wrote The Mississippi Chinese: Between Black and White, Social Science in the Courtroom, and The Truth About Columbus. He has been an expert witness in more than 50 civil rights, voting rights, and employment cases. His awards include the First Annual Spivack Award of the American Sociological Association for "sociological research applied to the field of intergroup relations," the American Book Award (for Lies My Teacher Told Me), and the Oliver Cromwell Cox Award for Distinguished Anti-Racist Scholarship. He is also Distinguished Lecturer for the Organization of American Historians.
Nelson Mandela Human Rights leader and former President of South Africa.
Makiziwe Mandela Educator and daughter of Nelson Mandela, President of the Republic of South Africa.
Wilma Mankiller In an historic tribal election in July 1987, the members of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma elected their first woman Principal Chief, Wilma Mankiller. She was re-elected in 1991 with nearly 83% of the vote. In 1983, Mankiller was elected Deputy Principal Chief, also the first woman to hold that position. She succeeded the previous Principal Chief upon his resignation in December 1985. Chief Mankiller's roots are planted deep in the rural community of Rocky Mountain in Adair County, Oklahoma. She was born at the Indian Hospital in Tahlequah, and grew up in a rural setting with few amenities. When she as 11, her family moved to California as part of the Bureau of Indian Affairs' Relocation Program. In 1969, when American Indian activists occupied Alcatraz Island to dramatize the injustices their people had suffered, she experienced an awakening, or call to action, that changed her life. Besides participating in that struggle, Mankiller did volunteer work among Native Americans in California. By 1974, she and her two children, Felicia and Gina, returned to Oklahoma. Chief Mankiller's initial work for the Cherokee Nation included the recruitment of young native Americans for university training in environmental sciences. In 1979, she completed her college degree, then began commuting to the University of Arkansas for graduate study. En route to the school, Mankiller suffered a near fatal head-on automobile collision. To recover from her extensive injuries, she adopted what Cherokee's call "being of good mind," meaning, "one has to think positively, to take what is handed out and turn it into a better path." Through her commitment to rural community development, she persistently pursued proposals for various housing, education, and health care projects. She was the founding director of the Cherokee Nation Community Development Department. Mankiller, who left office in 1995, co-authored Mankiller: A Chief and Her People, which includes the story of the Cherokee Nation, one of the country's largest tribal groups. She also co-edited the Readers Companion to the History of Women in the U.S. and served as a Montgomery Fellow at Dartmouth College during the 1996 winter term. Today, as in her childhood, Mankiller lives in the Rocky Mountain Community of Adair County, Oklahoma on the Mankiller land allotment. Her husband, Charlie Soap, serves as the Chief Professional Officer for the Boys and Girls Club Inc. of Tahlequah, Oklahoma.
David McCullough McCullough, author of the bestseller 1776, is twice winner of the National Book Award and twice winner of the Pulitzer Prize. He has been called a "master of the art of narrative history," and his books have been praised for their exceptional narrative sweep, their scholarship and insight into American life, and for their literary distinction. 1776, his latest work, has been called "brilliant," "lucid," "gripping," "a masterwork," "a classic," and has been a continuing national triumph from the time of publication last June when it debuted at No. 1 on the New York Times bestseller list. McCullough's previous work, John Adams, remains one of the most critically acclaimed and widely read American biographies of all time (to date, more than two million copies have been sold. McCullough's other books include The Johnstown Flood, The Great Bridge, The Path Between the Seas, Mornings on Horseback, Brave Companions and Truman. As may be said of few writers, none of his books has ever been out of print. McCullough is also twice winner of the prestigious Francis Parkman Prize. He has been honored with the National Book Foundation Distinguished Contribution to American Letters Award, the National Humanities Medal and the New York Public Library's Literary Lion Award, and has received 38 honorary degrees. In a crowded, productive career, he has been an editor, essayist, teacher, lecturer, and familiar presence on public television -- as host of "Smithsonian World," "The American Experience," and narrator of numerous documentaries including The Civil War. His is also the narrator's voice in Seabiscuit. A gifted speaker, McCullough has lectured in all parts of the country and abroad, as well as at the White House. He is also one of the few private citizens to speak before a joint session of Congress
George Mitchell Mitchell, a Maine native and graduate of Bowdoin College, served in the U.S. Senate from 1980-95, including the last six years as Majority Leader. He was appointed to complete the un-expired term of Edmund Muskie, who resigned to become Secretary of State, and was elected to full terms in 1982 and 1988. While in the Senate, Mitchell led the Senate to passage of the nation's first childcare bill and was principal author of the low-income housing tax credit program. He was instrumental in the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act and a higher education bill, and he led the Senate to ratification of the North American Free Trade Agreement and creation of the World Trade Organization. He served on the Senate's Finance, Veterans Affairs and Environment and Public Works Committees. Mitchell served as chairman of the peace negotiations in Northern Ireland, and under his leadership, the governments of Ireland, the United Kingdom and the political parties of Northern Ireland agreed upon an historic accord ending decades of conflict. In May 1998, the voters of Ireland, North and South, in a referendum, overwhelmingly endorsed the agreement. For his service in Northern Ireland, Mitchell received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor that the U.S. Government can give, the Philadelphia Liberty Medal, the Truman Institute Peace Prize, the German Peace Prize and the United Nations Peace Prize. At the request of the governments of the United States and Israel and the Palestinian Authority, Mitchell served as chairman of an international fact finding committee on violence in the Middle East. Following graduation from Bowdoin in 1954, he served in Berlin, Germany, as an officer in the U.S. Army Counter-Intelligence Corps until 1956. He received an LLB degree from Georgetown University Law Center in 1960. From 1960-62 he was a trial lawyer in the Justice Department in Washington, D.C. From 1962-65 he served as executive assistant to Sen. Muskie. In 1965 he returned to Maine where he engaged in the private practice of law in Portland until 1977. He was then appointed U.S. District Attorney for Maine, a position he held until 1979, when he was appointed U.S. District Judge for Maine. Mitchell is the author of four books. With his colleague, Sen. Bill Cohen of Maine, he wrote Men of Zeal, describing the Iran-Contra investigation. In 1990, he wrote World on Fire, describing the threat of the greenhouse effect and recommending steps to curb it. His next book was Not For America Alone: The Triumph of Democracy and The Fall of Communism. In 1999, Mitchell wrote Making Peace, an account of his experience in Northern Ireland.
Toni Morrison Morrison is one of the most prominent authors in world literature. Her eight major novels (The Bluest Eye, Sula, Song of Solomon, Tar Baby, Beloved, Jazz, Paradise and Love) have received extensive critical acclaim. She won the National Book Critics Award in 1978 for Song of Solomon and the 1988 Pulitzer Prize for Beloved. In 1993, Morrison was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. Since 1989, Morrison has been Robert F. Goheen Professor in the Council of the Humanities at Princeton University. She holds degrees from Howard University and Cornell University, and has also taught at Yale University, Bard College and Rutgers University. Morrison has been awarded honorary degrees from numerous institutions, including Harvard University, the University of Pennsylvania, Oberlin College and Columbia University. Morrison, who was a senior editor at Random House for twenty years, co-authored the children's books Who's Got Game? The Lion or the Mouse?, Who's Got Game? The Ant or the Grasshopper?, The Book of Mean People and The Big Box. Her books of essays include Playing in the Dark: Whiteness and the Literary Imagination; the edited collection Race-ing Justice, En-Gendering Power: Essays on Anita Hill, Clarence Thomas, and the construction of Social Reality; and the co-edited collection Birth of a Nation'hood: Gaze, Script, and Spectacle in the O.J. Simpson Case. Additional awards she has received include the 2000 National Humanities Medal; the 2000 Library of Congress Bicentennial Living Legend award; the 1996 National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters; the 1994 Condorcet Medal, Paris; the 1989 Modern Language Association of America Commonwealth Award in Literature; the 1988 Anisfield Wolf Book Award in Race Relations; and the 1978 Distinguished Writer Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Morrison is a founding member of the Academie Universelle Des Culture, a trustee of the New York Public Library, a member of the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She served on the National Council of the Arts for six years, and is a member of the Africa Watch and Helsinki Watch Committees on Human Rights.
Bill Moyers Television journalist and social commentator. During his 25 years in broadcasting, Bill Moyers has pursued a broad spectrum of journalism for which he has received many major awards including over 30 Emmys; the Erik Barnouw Award from the Organization of American Historians; the George Foster Peabody Award for political reporting and international coverage; and the prestigious Gold Baton, which is the highest honor of the Alfred I. duPont/Columbia University Award.
Ralph Nader Ralph Nader is an attorney and political activist. Issues he has promoted include consumer rights, feminism, humanitarianism, environmentalism, and democratic government. Nader has also been a strong critic of American foreign policy in recent decades, which he views as corporatist, imperialist, and contrary to fundamental values of democracy and human rights. His activism has played a large part in the creation of many governmental and non-governmental organisations, such as the EPA, OSHA, Public Citizen, PIRGs and many more. Nader has run for President of the United States three times (1996, 2000, 2004). In 1996 and 2000 he was the nominee of the Green Party; Winona LaDuke was his vice-presidential running mate. In 2004 he ran as an independent with Green activist Peter Miguel Camejo as his vice-presidential nominee.
Petra Nemcova Petra Nemcova is a Czechoslovakian-born fashion model and author. She was featured on the cover of the 2003 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, and has also modeled for Victoria's Secret, and for many other companies in the women's clothing market. On June 3, 2004, she was one of the telecast judges during the 53rd annual Miss Universe competition in Quito, Ecuador. Atlee was killed by drowning, and Nemcova a broken pelvis and serious internal injuries, and was stripped naked of her swimsuit, but she managed to hold onto the top of a palm tree, reportedly for eight hours, until she was rescued by Thai civilians and airlifted to an inland hospital nearby. Petra spent three weeks in a Thai hospital, and then flew home to the Czech Republic, where she spent an additional three weeks in the hospital. Her first interview after her near-death experience was with Diane Sawyer on ABC's Primetime Live, on March 9, 2005. Petra has also told of her experiences on the "Coady Read Live" program on CNN television. Glamour magazine recently awarded Ně­Łová ˇ "Survivor Award" for the tsunami ordeal, and how she has picked up her life since then (her comeback being complete with her appearance in the 2006 Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue). She wrote Love Always, Petra, ISBN 0446579130, published December 2005. It tells of her early life under Communist rule in Czechoslovakia, her entrance into the field of fashion and modeling, and her breakthrough into Sports Illustrated, which was her springboard to becoming a supermodel. She also tells of her life with Simon Atlee and how they fell in love and became engaged to marry.
Dr. Antonia Novello Antonia Coello Novello, M.D., M.P.H., Dr.P.H., was nominated by Governor George Pataki and confirmed as the thirteenth Commissioner of Health for the State of New York on June 15, 1999. Dr. Novello was born in Fajardo, Puerto Rico, and earned her B.S. and M.D. degrees at the University of Puerto Rico. Dr. Novello served a pediatric internship and residency at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and completed subspecialty training in pediatric nephrology at the University of Michigan and Georgetown University. She also earned Masters of Public Health and Doctor of Public Health degrees from Johns Hopkins University. She is a board-certified pediatrician. Dr. Novello has a long and illustrious career in public health. From 1979 to 1990, she worked for the U.S. Public Health Service at the National Institutes of Health, where she served in various capacities, rising to Deputy Director of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. In 1990, Dr. Novello was appointed by President George Bush as the U.S. Surgeon General, a position she held until 1993. From 1993 to 1996, Dr. Novello served as the Special Representative for Health and Nutrition with UNICEF. Immediately prior to joining the New York State Department of Health, she served as Visiting Professor and Special Director of Community Health Policies at the Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health. Dr. Novello is Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at the Georgetown University School of Medicine and the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. She is also Adjunct Professor of Pediatrics and Communicable Diseases at the University of Michigan and Adjunct Professor of International Health at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. Dr. Novello is a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics and a member of the American Society of Nephrology, the American Society of Pediatric Nephrology, the American Pediatrics Society, and the Society for Pediatric Research. She is a member of the Institute of Medicine and a member of Alpha Omega Alpha. She is the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including Surgeon General's Exemplary Service Medallion and Medal, Distinguished Service Medal of the U.S. Public Health Service, the American Medical Association's Nathan B. Davis Award, the National Women's Hall of Fame, the American Academy of Pediatrics Excellence in Public Service Award, the Johns Hopkins Society of Scholars Award, the Elizabeth Blackwell Award, the Public Health Service Commissioned Officer's Association Health Leader of the Year Award, the Charles C. Shepard Science Award for Scientific Excellence, and the Ronald McDonald Children's Charities Award of Excellence. She holds over 45 honorary degrees.
Sidney Poitier Poitier is known the world over for his consistent, sensitive and powerful portrayals in such socially charged films as No Way Out, Blackboard Jungle, Something of Value, The Defiant Ones, A Raisin in the Sun, A Patch of Blue, To Sir With Love, In the Heat of the Night, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, Lilies of the Field and many others. He has been walking tall among Hollywood's most respected and honored stars for more than five decades. He made his motion picture debut in No Way Out, garnered critical acclaim and national recognition in Blackboard Jungle, received his first Academy Award nomination for The Defiant Ones in 1958, and won the coveted Oscar for Best Actor for his performance in Lilies of the Field. In addition to Poitier's personal success, he has been a leading figure among African American achievers. He serves as the Ambassador to Japan from the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. He was knighted by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in 1968. He has received the American Film Institute Lifetime Achievement Award, the Kennedy Center Lifetime Achievement Award and the Screen Actors Guild Lifetime Achievement Award.
Colin L. Powell General Colin L. Powell, USA (Ret.) became the 65th Secretary of State on January 20, 2001. As he stated at his confirmation hearing, the guiding principle of U.S. foreign policy during his tenure was that "America stands ready to help any country that wishes to join the democratic world." General Powell brought extensive experience with him to his office. Before becoming Secretary of State, Colin Powell served as a key aide to the Secretary of Defense and as National Security Advisor to President Reagan. He also served 35 years in the United States Army, rising to the rank of Four-Star General and serving as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (1989 – 1993). During this time he oversaw 28 crises to include the Panama intervention of 1989 and Operation Desert Storm in the victorious 1991 Persian Gulf War. That experience served him well, both before and particularly after the events of September 11, 2001, the day of the greatest tragedy on American soil since Pearl Harbor. As Secretary he stood shoulder to shoulder with the President and the other members of the President's cabinet in fighting the war on terrorism. As he often said, "winning that war is our first priority, and it will remain so for as long as necessary." A fervent purveyor of democratic values, Colin Powell stressed that fighting the war on terrorism is not just a military but also a diplomatic task – the two go hand in hand. He led the State Department in major efforts to solve regional and civil conflicts – in the Middle East, between Israel and its Arab neighbors; in Sudan, Congo and Liberia; in the Balkans, Cyprus, Haiti, Northern Ireland and elsewhere. He was especially concerned with the peace and security of Afghanistan and Iraq, countries where winning the peace is as important as Coalition battlefield victories. In all areas, he used the power of diplomacy and the universal ideal of democracy to build trust, forge alliances and then begin to transform these once-unstable regions into areas where societies and cultures prosper. General Powell was devoted to grasping opportunities as well as to confronting the global and regional security challenges of the 21st century. He was at the forefront of the administration's efforts to advance economic and social development worldwide – in the fight against HIV/AIDS, in the promise of the Millennium Challenge Account, the most significant change in helping needy nations since the Marshall Plan, and in pursuing a freer trading and investment climate worldwide. These efforts, too, are not separate from the nation's security agenda. Indeed, in testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, then Secretary Powell affirmed that our main purpose is to extend democracy, prosperity, and freedom to every corner of the world. It is a process that is establishing a balance of power that favors freedom across the globe.
Mary Robinson Robinson, the first woman President of Ireland and more recently United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, is the superb example of a woman politician who puts her humanity very much at the forefront of her politics. She is currently the president of Realizing Rights: The Ethical Globalization Initiative, chairs the Council of Women World Leaders and is a member of the Global Commission on International Migration. As an academic, legislator and barrister, Robinson has always sought to use law as an instrument for social change, arguing landmark cases before the European Court of Human Rights as well as in the Irish courts and the European Court in Luxembourg. In 1988, Robinson and her husband, Nicholas Robinson, founded the Irish Centre for European Law at the University of Dublin, where she has served as chancellor since 1998. She was a member of the Irish senate from 1969-89 before her election as president (1990-97). Robinson served as the U.N.'s High Commissioner for Human Rights from 1997-2002. Kofi Annan, U.N. secretary-general, said of Robinson's tenure as high commissioner: "The job of United Nations HIgh Commissioner for Human Rights is not for the faint of heart ... (Mary) brought to the task a leader's vision, a lawyer's precision and a believer's conviction ... she was able to convey the very essence of human rights ... And she never shied away from controversial issues ... When Mary left the United Nations in 2002, she left the world a better place than she had found it." Her newest project, the Ethical Globalization Initiative, is supported by a partnership of the Aspen Institute, Columbia University and the Swiss-based International Council on Human Rights Policy. Its goal is to bring the norms and standards of human rights into the globalization process and to support capacity building in good governance in developing countries. The recipient of numerous honors and awards throughout the world, President Robinson is a member of the Royal Irish Academy and the American Philosophical Society and is Honorary President of Oxfam International as well as Penal Reform International. A member of the Club of Madrid (a group of former heads of state and government), Robinson was educated at the University of Dublin (Trinity College), King's Inns Dublin, and Harvard Law School. She holds honorary doctorates from more than 40 universities around the world. Since 2004, Robinson has been Professor of Practice in International Affairs at Columbia University, where she teaches international human rights. She was named one of Glamour's Women of the Year in 2005
Julie Chavez Rodriguez The granddaughter of civil and labor rights activist Cesar Chavez, human rights activist and diversity speaker Julie Chavez Rodriguez was introduced to the farm worker movement at an early age. Throughout her life, she has played an active role in the fight for social justice, human rights, and the rights of working people. Chavez Rodriguez is currently the programs director for the Cesar E. Chavez Foundation, where she spearheads the National Youth Leadership Initiative, an effort which addresses academic and civic engagement among today's youth. Julie Chavez Rodriguez has also worked with the state of California on the development and administration of the Cesar Chavez Day of Service and Learning, and a web based K 12 curriculum on the life and work of Cesar Chavez. Prior to joining for the foundation, she worked with the United Farm Workers on voter registration and community empowerment programs throughout California. Chavez Rodriguez holds a bachelors degree in Latin American studies from the University of California at Berkeley.
Loretta Ross Loretta J. Ross Womens Rights are Human Rights Loretta J. Ross is a founder and the National Coordinator of the SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Health Collective, composed of 70 women of color organizations across the country. She was the Co-Director of the April 25, 2004 National March for Womens Lives in Washington D.C., the largest protest in U.S. history. She is also the co-author of Undivided Right: Women of Color Organizing for Reproductive Justice (2004, South End Press). Ross areas of expertise are reproductive rights, human rights, womens issues, diversity issues, hate groups and bias crimes. Ross is the founder and former Executive Director of the National Center for Human Rights Education (NCHRE), a training and resource center for grassroots activists on using human rights education to address social injustices in the United States. Prior to that, from 1990 to 1995, she served as the national program research director for the Atlanta-based Center for Democratic Renewal (CDR) (formerly the National Anti-Klan Network). CDR is a national, non-profit clearinghouse for information on hate groups and bigoted violence, including the Ku Klux Klan and the neo-Nazi movement. Ross directed specific projects on far right organizations in South Africa and Ku Klux Klan and neo-Nazi involvement in anti-abortion violence in the U.S. Rosss involvement in women’s health issues was initiated as a result of a personal triumph. She was one of the first African American women to direct the first rape crisis center in the United States in the 1970s. Womens human rights are of significant concern for Ross because she was sterilized at age 23. Ross was also one of the first black women to win a suit against A.H. Robins, manufacturer of the Dalkon Shield that sterilized thousands of women worldwide. As an advocate for social justice, she has coordinated several conferences that address the reproductive rights movement and violence against Third World women. She co-coordinated the first national conference on Violence Against Third World Women in 1980. From 1985 to 1989, she served as the Director of Women of Color Programs for the National Organization for Women. She also organized a second “first,” a national conference on Women of Color and Reproductive Rights in 1987. She successfully organized women of color delegations for the massive pro-choice marches sponsored by the National Organization for Women (NOW) in 1986 and 1989. In 1990, she coordinated the first national conference of African American Women and Reproductive Rights as Program Director for the National Black Women’s Health Project. The year 1989 was marked by the publication of a popular brochure for African American women called “We Remember.” A quarter million copies were distributed in a project she co-coordinated with Donna Brazile, then director of the National Political Congress of Black Women. Ross is co-author, with 3 other writers, of the book Beyond the Politics of Inclusion: Women of Color in the Reproductive Rights Movement (2004, South End Press). She is currently authoring a book on a black women’s activism in the reproductive rights movement called Black Abortion. Other writing projects include editorials for the Progressive Media Project for the Knight-Ridder newspaper chain and she serves as a political analyst for Pacifica News Service and Alternative Radio. Ross has appeared on talk shows such as The Donahue Show, The Charlie Rose Show, CNN, BET Lead Story, and Good Morning America. She has also been featured in Emerge Magazine, Biography Magazine, San Antonio Express News, and the Los Angeles Times. For the last two years, she has also been collecting oral histories of elder feminists of color for archives at Smith College. Ross was invited to testify before the U.S. Congress, the United Nations, and the Food and Drug Administration on women’s health and human rights issues. She served eight years on the Washington D.C. Commission for Women. She currently serves on the board of directors for the Foundation for African American Women, the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, the Committee on Women, Population and the Environment, and SisterLove Women’s AIDS Project. Ross received an honorary Doctorate of Civil Law degree in 2003 from Arca
Joseph Sebarenzi Joseph Sebarenzi, former head of the Rwanda Parliament, he has endured tragedy most of us cannot fathom. He lost both his parents, seven siblings, and numerous other relatives in the Rwandan genocide of 1994. Yet, years later, as a senior government official in a position to exact revenge, he instead pushed for peace and reconciliation. "Revenge is like adding guilt to victim hood." says Sebarenzi. "It solves nothing. At some point, we have to ignore the past and envision the future." Sebarenzi grew up in Rwanda, and as a child saw glimpses of the tribal violence which years later would engulf his country. In 1994, when Hutu extremists slaughtered more than 800,000 Tutsis, Sebarenzi and his immediate family were safely out of the country, but many of Sebarenzi's extended family were not so lucky. Returning to Rwanda, Sebarenzi rose through the ranks of Parliament, eventually becoming Speaker, third in power only to the country's president. As the leader of parliament, Sebarenzi worked to improve good governance, speaking out for the independence of the legislature and against corruption in the government. Forced to resign, and Informed of a plot to assassinate him, he fled Rwanda and found exile in the United States. He still champions a broad process of restorative justice in Rwanda as the country struggles with the ongoing effects of mass genocide and retaliatory killing among its Hutu and Tutsi people. Sebarenzi teaches conflict resolution at the School for International Training, lectures on his experiences, consults, and works toward his PhD. Sebarenzi has also been an executive for national and international nonprofit organizations and a regular speaker on BBC and Voice of America. He plans to return to Rwanda eventually, and hopes his home country will soon be a safe place for people of all races, creeds and heritages. For his college lectures, Sebarenzi tells his dramatic and historic story, and imparts a message of peace and forgiveness. This unforgettable and emotional program is perfect for International Studies departments, Genocide Programs, African Studies, Multi-Cultural Programs, Peace Groups, Progressive Groups, Christian organizations and keynote lectures. Whatever your group, Joseph Sebarenzi is a man of peace and grace whose message will not soon be forgotten.
Mike Shiley Mike Shiley, producer/director of Shidog Films is a photographer, filmmaker and freelance journalist. He has recently returned from two months in Iraq, developing exclusive stories for ABC World News Tonight, Nightline and Good Morning America as well as ABC-TV affiliates KATU-Portland, OR, KMGH-Denver, CO and WFTS Tampa/St. Petersburg FL, international humanitarian aid groups and a variety of online news services. His new film is entitled Inside Iraq: The Untold Stories, an 80-minute documentary that highlights the challenges, opportunities and the inside lives of the Iraqi people and the US soldiers stationed in Iraq. Mike traveled extensively throughout Iraq from the Kurdish controlled region in the North, through the infamous Sunni Triangle in central Iraq and to the sacred Shiite controlled cities in the South. He visited impoverished villages with Western medical teams, went on night patrols along the Syrian border in a tank squadron, flew over the country in a Blackhawk helicopter and walked the streets of Baghdad uncovering the lives of the Iraqi people. Mike literally risked his life every day to bring you this film. Mike has also worked as a freelance photographer for CNN covering the war in Sarajevo, trekked to Everest Base Camp in Nepal and completed a 3,000 mile solo bicycle trip from British Columbia, Canada to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Mike is also an accomplished scuba diver and as a certified Divemaster, he has guided over 250 dives in the Red Sea in Egypt. Mike has produced travel films on Iraq, Nepal, Thailand and Cambodia. He has visited 36 countries and loves meeting people, especially children, from around the world. Mike is 37, single and lives in Portland, Oregon with his dog, Bear.
Cicely Tyson Actress, activist and humanitarian was discovered by a fashion editor at Ebony magazine and, with her stunning looks, she quickly rose to the top of the modeling industry. In 1957, she began acting in Off-Broadway productions. She had small roles in feature films before she was cast as Portia in The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter (1968) in 1968. Four years later, Cicely was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress for her sensational performance in the critically acclaimed film Sounder (1972). In 1974, she went on to portray a 110-year-old former slave in The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman (1974) (TV), which earned her two Emmys. While Cicely has not appeared steadily onscreen because of her loyality to only portray strong, positive images of Black women, she is without a doubt one of the most talented, beautiful actresses to have ever graced the stage and screen. She holds a record 12 Image Awards as best actress from the NAACP and has received awards from such civil rights organizations as PUSH, CORE, the SCLC and the Martin Luther King Jr. Center, among others.In 1974, Tyson co-founded the internationally celebrated Dance Theater of Harlem. She currently serves on its board, as well as on the boards of the American Film Institute, Urban Gateways and the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund. A founding member of the Coalition for a Healthy and Active America, Tyson in 2002 was appointed by President George W. Bush as a commissioner of the National African American Museum of History and Culture. In 2003, Tyson received the National Women's Law Center Award, the Ellis Island Family Heritage Award and was a featured speaker at the Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit and has served as Chairperson for UNICEF and works with the United Nations and celebrity organizations in promoting global cultural understanding.and was married to legendary trumpeter Miles Davis from 1981 to 1988.
Edward O. Wilson Edward O. Wilson, Pellegrino University Research Professor, Emeritus, at Harvard University, is one of the most highly respected scientists in the world today. Hailed as "the new Darwin" by Thomas Wolfe, and one of "America's 25 Most Influential People" by TIME Magazine, he has twice received the Pulitzer Prize, for The Ants and On Human Nature. Wilson's book The Diversity of Life, which brought together knowledge of the magnitude of biodiversity and the threats to it, had a major public impact. Today he continues entomological and environmental research at the Museum of Comparative Zoology. Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge draws together the sciences, humanities, and the arts into a broad study of human knowledge, and his The Future of Life offers a plan for saving Earth's biological heritage. In his new book, The Creation: An Appeal to Save Life on Earth, Wilson sounds the alarm that the earth is in danger and its destruction threatens us all—no matter what we believe about its origins. The fate of the planet rests in our hands, he writes, and the only way the earth can be saved is if science and religion join forces. Wilson has received 75 awards in international recognition for his contributions to science and humanity, including the U.S. National Medal of Science, Japan's International Prize for Biology, the Crafoord Prize from the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Germany's Terrestrial Ecology Prize, and the Franklin Medal of the American Philosophical Society. For his conservation work he has received the Audubon Medal of the National Audubon Society and the Gold Medal of the World Wide Fund for Nature. He is also the recipient of 27 honorary doctoral degrees from North America and Europe.
Charlie Wilson Former Congressman and Inspiration for Charlie Wilson's War In 1980, Texas Congressman Charlie Wilson read an alarming Associated Press report of thousands of refugees fleeing Afghanistan. Not many people knew what was happening, or even recognized what was clearly at stake in the region, but Wilson immediately arranged to have CIA funds directed toward Afghanistan doubled. He promptly set in motion what would become known as "Charlie Wilson's War" his long fight championing the cause of the Afghan people against Soviet tyranny. Wilson candidly and vividly recounts the compelling story the subject of a best selling book and a 2007 movie starring Tom Hanks of his role in reshaping the region, as well as altering history. Wilson also provides insight on how the lessons learned from "his war" apply to current foreign policy, and specifically the war we're waging today. Charlie Wilson discusses the compelling circumstances under which he began his initially single-handed crusade to help Afghanistan repel a Soviet invasion. Charlie Wilsons War: In the early summer of 1980, Charlie Wilson, a newly elected Democrat Texas congressman, read an alarming Associated Press report of thousands of refugees fleeing Afghanistan. Few people, including those in the U.S. government, were paying attention or realized what was happening. Wilson, at the time on the Appropriations Committee, phoned the committee to request that CIA funds directed toward Afghanistan be doubled, thus beginning Charlie Wilsons War his long fight championing the cause of the Afghan people against Soviet tyranny. An Inspiring Story: Out of the public eye, Wilson, along with many others, helped defeat the Soviets in Afghanistan by supplying millions of dollars to the Afghan Mujahideen. With a single phone call, Wilson helped save the Afghans from the repression of Soviet tyranny. Wilsons story became the subject of the best selling book Charlie Wilsons War, which also inspired the movie of the same name, starring Oscar winners Tom Hanks, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Julia Roberts. Wilson provides insight on how the lessons learned from his war apply to the wars of today.
Alfre Woodard Alfre Woodard pushed the art of deadpan to new heights as the hotel manager in Robert Altmans droll satire Health (1979). Eventually, she would create a rich gallery of characterizations which, whether poverty-stricken or upper class, educated or not, never lost a certain instinctual savvy and realistic viewpoint. Committed to political activism in the United States and Africa, Woodard was among artists and activists who, in 1989, founded Artists for a New South Africa, a nonprofit organization dedicated to democracy and equality in South Africa and civil rights in the United States. She also has been active in campaigns against environmental racism and efforts to raise AIDS awareness. Woodard recently played the mysterious Betty Applewhite on ABCs hit series Desperate Housewives. She has starred in Beauty Shop opposite Queen Latifah, The Forgotten, K-PAX opposite Kevin Spacey, and many more. In 1998, she starred in Maya Angelous directorial debut, Down in the Delta, as a troubled woman sent to live with relatives in the South. Woodard has also lent her voice to animation, portraying the cheetah mother in The Wild Thornberrys Movie, as well as the lemur named Plio in Dinosaur. A four-time Emmy Award winner, Woodard was honored for her performances as a grieving mother of a child killed by a police officer on the acclaimed series Hill Street Blues and a rape victim on the pilot of L.A. Law. She received an Emmy Award for Best Actress in a television mini-series for Miss Evers Boys and a 2003 Emmy for her guest-starring role in The Practice. She was also honored with an ACE Award for her portrayal of Winnie Mandela in the HBO presentation Mandela, co-starring Danny Glover. A former high school cheerleader and track star, she got the acting bug after being persuaded to audition for a school play by a nun at her school. She went on to study acting at Boston University and enjoyed a brief stint on Broadway before moving to LA. She got her first break in Remember My Name (1978), which also starred Jeff Goldblum. The youngest of three children, Woodards godmother, who claimed she saw a vision of her name written out in gold letters, named her Alfre. Woodard currently resides in Santa Monica with her husband, writer Roderick Spencer, and their two adopted children: Mavis and Duncan.
Adeeb Yousif Adeeb Yousif, the chairperson of the Darfur Reconciliation and Development Organization, will speak about his experiences as human rights activist in Sudan and the current situation in Darfur. Yousif is a co-founder of the Sudan Social Development Organization - a human rights, humanitarian relief, and development organization, which has since been shut down by the government of Sudan. Yousif has been detained twice by the Sudanese government and suffered torture while in detention for 11 months. Topic: 1. Embittered Lives: Sudan Darfur: A wakeup call. 2. The Voice from Darfur 3. Darfurian Yelling 4. Global responsibility 5. Political Stability, Humanitarian Issues, & International Inventions 6. Local Perspectives on a Global Responsibility. 7. the third Genocide in Sudan on the Watch of international community 8. The reality in Darfur. 9. Sudan future and the way forward 10. The extension of Darfur conflict in Africa. 11. Unification and fragmentation in Darfur.