Cory Booker and Marc Lamont Hill To Speak at Rider for Black History Month

Editor's Note: The following is a news release issued by Rider University.

A keynote address from noted educator and television contributor Dr. Marc Lamont Hill on Feb. 5 will introduce a month-long Black History Month celebration, titled Moving Forward Toward Success, at Rider University.

Some 15 events, ranging from the spiritual to the artistic and historical, will acquaint the University community with the African-American experience throughout February. Rider’s Black History Month celebration is presented by the Black Student Union.

Currently a host for HuffPost Live, Marc Lamont Hill is a former political contributor to Fox News Channel, and was a frequent contributor to CNN, MSNBC and Court TV. A noted social activist and expert on education, he is a founding board member of My5th, a nonprofit organization that aims to educate at-risk and underprivileged young people about their legal rights and responsibilities.

Currently an associate professor of education at Columbia University Teachers College, Hill earned a Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania, where his research focused on the relationship between culture, politics and education. His keynote address on February 5 at 7 p.m. in the Bart Luedeke Center Cavalla Room will center on what he calls an entirely new approach to teaching, while discussing race and education in a post-Obama America.

The mayor of New Jersey’s largest city will share the spotlight when the Rebovich Institute for New Jersey Politics co-sponsors An Evening with the Hon. Cory Booker on Tuesday, Feb. 19, at 7:30 p.m. in the Daly Dining Hall Mercer Room.

Booker, the popular Democratic mayor already being prominently mentioned as a U.S. Senate candidate, will present an address before participating in a lively Q&A session with attendees.

Because spring semester classes were not yet in session during the actual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, the Department of Service Learning for Campus Life will host a day of service on Friday, Feb. 15.

Organizers are looking for volunteers to participate in afterschool programs at the Boys & Girls Club of Trenton. Some 80 students participated in the service project last year and organizers are expecting a similar turnout this year. For more information, please contact Jane Sanchez at jsanchez@rider.edu.

Several other Rider organizations will also present a series of events during the month-long celebration.

Feb. 5
Keynote Speaker: Dr. Marc Lamont Hill

Bart Luedeke Center Cavalla Room, 7 p.m.

Feb. 6
NAACP Round Table
Science & Technology Center, Room 201, 6 p.m.
Join a round table discussion on the history of the NAACP and how it impacts communities today.

Feb. 7
Common Cents: Money Management Tips
Joseph A. Vona Academic Annex, Rooms 23 and 24, 5 to 6 p.m. and 6 to 7 p.m.

Join two workshops facilitated by Rider alumni from the financial field. RSVP at 609-895-5614 by February 5, as there is a 20 student limit per workshop.

Feb. 8
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings: Reflections of the African American Experience
Westminster Choir College campus, Bristol Chapel, 8 p.m.

Feb. 12
Black History Month Jeopardy!
Mercer Room, 6:30 p.m.

Test your knowledge of black history in this quiz-style game.

Feb. 13
Black History Month Worship Service
Gill Chapel, 6 p.m.

Join the Rev. Tamara Davis and the Unashamed Gospel Choir for an evening of music and the Word. Dinner to follow. For more information, contact the Rev. Katie Mulligan at kmulligan@rider.edu or 805-448-9641.

Feb. 15
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service

For more information, contact Jane Sanchez at jsanchez@rider.edu.

Feb. 16
Trip to the National Great Blacks in Wax Museum

Baltimore, Md.
For more information about this trip, contact Ashley Theosmy, Black student Union president, at theosmya@rider.edu.

Feb. 18
Black and Hispanic Alliance Open Mic Night

Westminster Choir College Dining Commons, 8 p.m.

Feb. 19
Screening of the film Elza, followed by discussion with director Mariette Monpierre
Sweigart Auditorium, 7 p.m.

Elza, a Parisian student returning to her birthplace of Guadalupe to find her father whom she barely remembers, makes her way into his luxurious home by posing as a babysitter for his 6-year-old granddaughter, only to discover a family marked by adultery, mental illness and racism.

Feb. 19
An Evening with the Hon. Cory Booker, Mayor of Newark, N.J.

Daly Dining Hall Mercer Room, 7:30 p.m.
Co-sponsored by the Rebovich Institute for New Jersey Politics

Feb. 20
Greek Organizations Round Table
Science & Technology Center, Room 201

Join a conversation with the Divine Nine Greek Organizations while they discuss their history and the changes they have seen in the past century.

Feb. 21
African Drumming Seminar

Westminster Choir College Campus, Recital Hall, 11:30 a.m. to 12:20 p.m.

Feb. 24
Gospel Fest
Bart Luedeke Center Cavalla Room, 5 p.m.

Enjoy an evening of praise, music and worship.

Feb. 27
Freedom of Black Voices

Fireside Lounge, 6:30 p.m.
Enjoy the spoken word of Rider’s own, as well as others in our community.

For more information, please visit www.rider.edu/campuslife or contact the Office of Multicultural Affairs at 609-895-5781.