Published: January 12, 2009 03:08 pm      

Tony Brown is MLK speaker at Central, set for Jan. 19

Speaker Tony Brown will present “Martin Luther King Jr. Convocation: His Past, Our Present, and The Future” at Central College on Monday, Jan. 19, 2009, in Douwstra Auditorium. The presentation will begin at 11 a.m. and is free and open to the public. There are 100 tickets available. Contact Sarah Lunsford at 641-628-5656, or e-mail lunsfords@central.edu for more information.

Tony Brown was born in Charleston, W. Va., where he graduated from Garnet High School. He received a bachelor’s degree in sociology and a master’s degree in psychiatric social work at Wayne State University in Detroit, Mich. He received numerous honorary doctorates for achievements in civil rights, education, economics and journalism.

Brown is best known as the commentator of the PBS series Tony Brown’s Journal, the longest-running series on PBS and the nation’s oldest and leading African-American TV series. He has also distinguished himself as a best-selling author of three books and as a keynote speaker, commentator, syndicated columnist, film director and educator.

Brown is the first recipient of the National Director’s Legacy Award for Journalism from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA). Called “Television’s Civil Rights Crusader” in a cover story by Black Enterprise magazine, this self-help proponent coordinated a march in Detroit that featured Martin Luther King Jr. and drew an estimated 500,000 people, where it is believed King delivered his famous “I Have A Dream” speech for the first time. USA Today recently selected him as one of the top five leaders to analyze the status of Black America. His motto is “Self Help.” His call to action is very explicit: No Black Lies, No White Lies — Only the Truth!