Melissa Harris-Perry, professor of political science at Tulane University, columnist for The Nation, author and frequent guest on MSNBC, will be the keynote speaker at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Urban Forum Nov. 3, starting at 6 p.m. in the Wisconsin Room of the UWM Union, 2200 E. Kenwood Blvd.
Harris-Perry is a founding director of the Anna Julia Cooper Project on Gender, Race and Politics in the South, and author of the recently published “Sister Citizen – Shame, Stereotypes and Black Women in America.”
The book discusses how potentially harmful stereotypes profoundly affect black women’s politics, contribute to policies that treat them unfairly and make it difficult for black women to assert their rights in the political arena.
In addition to being a regular contributor on MSNBC’s “Sound Off” with Thomas Roberts, Harris-Perry provides expert commentary on “The Rachel Maddow Show” and “The Last Word,” with Lawrence O’Donnell. She filled in as host of the Maddow show for a week last July.
The UWM School of Education has hosted the Urban Forum since 1997. This annual forum is designed to help adult educators, administrators, community educators, counselors, policymakers, psychologists, teachers and students examine influences across diverse populations; analyze urban social, political and educational issues; improve skills practices and outcomes; and influence change in urban institutions.
To register for the Urban Forum, go to http://www.soe.uwm.edu and click on the Urban Forum link.
Note to photographers and television journalists: Dr. Perry has requested no photos or filming take place after the first five minutes of her speech.
About UWM
As Wisconsin’s premier public urban institution, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee enjoys a growing national reputation for excellence in research, teaching and community engagement. On an operating budget of $680 million, it educates approximately 30,000 students and is an engine of innovation for Southeastern Wisconsin. The 104-acre main campus and satellite sites are located in the economic and cultural heart of the state. The university’s recent expansion includes new academic and research facilities and the creation of the only School of Freshwater Sciences in the United States and the Joseph J. Zilber School of Public Health.
