| Cory
Booker
Rhodes Scholar, Lawyer, Director of Newark Now, and Senior Fellow at
the Rutger’s School of Public Policy and Planning.
 Born in
northern New Jersey, Cory Booker’s passion for politics and justice
was instilled at an early age by a family committed to change. His
parents successfully fought against racial discrimination and
shattered corporate ceilings, inspiring him to pursue a life of
breaking barriers and working for change.
While a varsity football player and class
president at Stanford University, Booker ran a local crisis hotline
and organized programs for city youth in East Palo Alto, Cali. As a
Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University, Booker made headlines through his
friendship with then-Lubavitcher Rabbi Schuler Bo teach. Their
friendship, and Booker’s leadership of the L’Chaim Society, was a
powerful example of his strong belief in the strength of diversity and
the tremendous possibilities that result when people embrace racial,
ethnic and religion intolerance.
During his first election, Booker rose to
prominence by upsetting a four-term incumbent to become councilman.
He knocked on tens of thousands of doors, inspiring more than 1,000
previously discouraged voters to turn out for the first time.
Booker lives his politics, often in
unconventional and creative ways. In the summer of 1999, he went on
a 10-day hunger strike in one of the most drug-infested housing
complexes in Newark, an effort that resulted in increased police
presence and improved security for residents. For five months in
2000, Booker took to the streets; he lived in a motor home and parked
it on the worst drug corners in the city, inspiring residents and
businesses to fight against drug dealing and crime. For this, TIME
magazine called him “The Savior of Newark,” and he proved to the city
and the nation that he is dedicated to fighting inner-city problems.
The headlines in an article on him in the
magazine SHOUT: Insurgent Thought and Culture stated: “Cory Booker:
The first black President of the United States?”
Booker was an All-American football player and
excelled in sports throughout his academic career. He ran a mentoring
program for low-income youth while studying history in Oxford,
England. While earning his law degree at Yale University, he
co-founded and ran legal clinics to help low-income residents of New
Haven. He is currently the director of Newark Now, a grassroots
nonprofit group.
http://www.corybooker.com/
|
Lyceum Series
Fall 2004 - Spring 2005
click on speaker name for more information on speakers
Sept.
15 — Cory Booker
"How To Change The World With Your Bare Hands
"
7:30 pm
The Jane M. Smith Memorial Church
Oct.
6 — Ida Hakim,
C.U.R.E. Founder and Curator
"Caucasians United for Reparations and Emancipation
"
7:30 pm
The Jane M. Smith Memorial Church
Nov.
2 — Francis Bok
7:30 pm
The Jane M. Smith Memorial Church
Nov.
9 — Joyce Appleby, Ph.D.
Professor Emerita, University of California in Los Angeles
Phi Beta Kappa Lecture
“Coming to Terms with Thomas Jefferson”
7:30 pm
The Jane M. Smith Memorial Church
Feb.
2 — Awadagin Pratt, Piano Virtuoso
Piano Recital
7:30 pm
The Jane M. Smith Memorial Church
Feb.
16 — JCSU Faculty Showcase: John Fitch, III
“Maxyme” Film Screening
4:00 pm & 7:00 pm
Newsom Humanities Building Room
March
9 — Dr. Charles L. Blockson
Historian and Curator
A Historian’s Quest: Research Above Ground and Underground
7:30 pm
TBA
March 29 —April 1: 9th Annual World
of Words Poetry Festival
March
29 —Terrence Hayes, Poet and Educator
Workshop
4:00 pm
Humanities 108
Poetry Reading
7:30 pm
Grimes Lounge
March
30 — JCSU Favorite Poems Night
Poetry Reading
7:00 pm
Grimes Lounge
March
31 — Ursula Rucker, Performance Poet and Recording Artist
Workshop
4:00 pm
Humanities 108
Poetry Performance
7:30 pm
Grimes Lounge
April
1 — Black Ink Monks, Inc. of Johnson C. Smith University
Fourth Annual Performance by the Black Ink Monks, Inc.
7:30 pm
Grimes Lounge
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