NAACP President Cornell William Brooks to Speak at Simon's Rock

GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass., April 25, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Cornell William Brooks, President and CEO of the NAACP, will deliver the 21^st annual W.E.B. Du Bois Lecture at Bard College at Simon's Rock on Wednesday, April 26, at 7:00 p.m. in the Daniel Arts Center.

This talk will be live streamed, view here: https://simons-rock.edu/naacp.

The annual W.E.B. Du Bois Lecture at Simon's Rock celebrates the legacy of Great Barrington native, civil rights activist, and NAACP founding member, W.E.B. Du Bois. With the renewed visibility and voice President Brooks has brought to the NAACP, it is particularly fitting for him talk with students and the community about issues crucial for Du Bois and for our democracy. This year's lecture will be presented in partnership with The Center for Early College at Bard College, the Berkshire County Branch of the NAACP, Multicultural BRIDGE, and the Town of Great Barrington.

Since assuming the role of president in 2014, Brooks—a civil rights attorney, social justice advocate, fourth-generation ordained minister, and coalition builder—has led the Association in its fight for equality for all American citizens. Under his leadership, the NAACP has increased its membership, strengthened partnerships, and initiated alliances, building critical support for its civil rights agenda, including education reform, criminal justice regulatory reform, and voting rights.

"I am pleased to welcome Cornell William Brooks to Simon's Rock and to Great Barrington, the hometown of W.E.B. Du Bois. Du Bois was instrumental in founding the NAACP, and he was a champion for the liberal arts and sciences as essential for democracy," said Simon's Rock Provost Ian Bickford. "President Brooks has been an important voice in renewing Du Bois's legacy in the fight for social justice and economic equality—an especially important legacy in today's political climate, and especially meaningful for Simon's Rock students seeking to create change."

ABOUT SIMON'S ROCK
Bard College at Simon's Rock, the Early College is the only college in the country specifically designed for bright, highly motivated students ready to enter college after the 10th or 11th grade. Simon's Rock offers a challenging program in the liberal arts and sciences, taught exclusively in small seminars by a supportive, highly trained faculty, who are leading scholars in their fields. The College grants degrees in more than 35 majors. The Princeton Review's Best 380 Colleges rates academics at Simon's Rock higher than Harvard and Princeton.

Contacts:
Karen Anderson
Associate Director of Marketing and Communications
[email protected]
413-528-7209  

SOURCE Bard College at Simon's Rock