The 4th Annual Norm Brewer First Amendment Lecture will feature speaker and award winning writer Leonard Pitts.
The event will focus on current social justice issues in the United States such as the Ferguson riots.
“The event is free and open to all University students as well as the public,” said Otis Sanford, the creator of the lecture series.
The Norm Brewer First Amendment Lecture is an annual series of lectures created to stimulate conversations about the issues on our campus and in our community. Sanford holds the Hardin Chair of Excellence in Journalism and part of his job is to bring social issues into the light. During the lecture, the featured speaker will discuss rights of the First Amendment as well as current issues that go along with it. The goal is to get students talking about the issues in their community.
Karen West, a sophomore history major, is excited to go to the lecture and hear what Pitts has to say.
“I think that its great that the school is offering these lectures yearly so people can hear about the issues and know what freedoms we have from the First Amendment,” West said. “I went last year and thought it was a great way to honor the late Norm Brewer.”
The series is named after longtime Memphis journalist Norm Brewer who devoted his life to reporting about politics, social issues, and equal justice. Sanford wanted to honor him because he was one of the first reporters in Memphis to discuss these issues openly.
“I was able to work with Mr. Brewer for years and wanted to honor him by furthering journalist discussion,” Sanford said.
Leonard Pitts was born and raised in Southern California and currently lives in Washington, DC. He is a columnist for the Miami Herald and also a winner of the 2004 Pulitzer Prize for commentary. In addition to writing for the Miami Herald, he has written several books. He has held many jobs outside of writing from college professor to radio producer, but above all he considers himself a writer.
Pitts mostly writes for the Miami Herald, but has had stories featured in papers all over the country including the Commercial Appeal in Memphis. His column is focused mostly on first amendment rights and social issues in the country. He wrote extensively on the Trayvon Martin case as well as the police brutality in Ferguson and New York.
“We wanted Mr. Pitts to come because he is a nationally know columnist and has boldly spoken out about current issues,” Sanford said.
Professor Sanford, National Association of Black Journalist, and the Society of Professional Journalists will sponsor the First Amendment lecture series. The lecture will be on March 3 at 6 pm in the University Center Theater.
